Former The Young and the Restless star Victoria Rowell (ex-Drucilla Winters) is no longer pursuing her lawsuit against Sony Pictures Television and Days of our Lives. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a California judge dismissed the case on Monday after being informed of a settlement.
As first reported by Soap Central in February 2015, Rowell alleged that CBS, Bell Dramatic Serial Company, and Sony, the distributor of Y&R and Days of our Lives, actively engaged in discrimination against her by, as she described, refusing to hire her due to her outspoken nature over inequality in the genre.
The lawsuit was stalled in November 2015 when a judge dismissed Rowell's complaint, but the door was left open for Rowell to amend her complaint. Rowell did just that and in an amended complaint claimed that when she expressed interest in a role on Days of our Lives, her name was initially left off the audition list. Hearing the new information, a judge dismissed her case against CBS but allowed her complaints against Sony and DAYS to continue.
Corday Productions filed a summary judgment motion in December, claiming that the decision not to hire Rowell wasn't based on her advocacy. DAYS casting director Marnie Saitta testified that the character Rowell was being considered for (Melinda Trask) didn't have enough depth and therefore was inappropriate for Rowell and her talents.
THR reports Rowell submitted an opposition brief refuting those reasons. "She pointed to the soap being in last place in the ratings, interest among the producers in hiring big name actors, and some conjecture about how Sony might have been blocking her. Her lawyers were upset about not getting to complete the depositions she sought, and in any event, asserted there were genuine disputes of material fact that necessitated a trial."
Both parties were scheduled to battle in court on Monday, but they reportedly reached a settlement and agreed to end the case. No terms have been disclosed other than a waiver of costs.
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