The dismissal of a black screenwriter’s discrimination lawsuit against some of Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies was unanimously affirmed Tuesday by the Appellate Division, First Department.

Justin Samuels alleged in Samuels v. William Morris Agency, 402932/11, that the William Morris Agency and other top companies had rejected his screenplay submissions because of his race.

In an unsigned opinion, No. 13703, Justices John Sweeny (See Profile), Leland DeGrasse (See Profile), Sallie Manzanet-Daniels (See Profile), Paul Feinman (See Profile) and Judith Gische (See Profile) upheld the dismissal by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Lucy Billings (See Profile) because Samuels failed to sustain the claim the defendants “were actually aware of his race.”

Samuels relied solely on his claim that he sent defendants “a link to a social networking site that contained his photograph, which would show that he is black, and that his photo was also available on the Internet,” which was insufficient to establish knowledge, the ruling said.

The panel said that “the complaint itself suggests that defendants did not reject his screenplay submissions on account of his race, but because defendants reviewed such submissions only when they were referred by a movie industry insider, and plaintiff did not know such an insider.”

That did not amount to discrimination under New York state’s employment discrimination laws nor New York City’s human rights law, the panel found.

Samuels also brought a disparate impact claim based on the assertion that blacks make up about 5 percent of the movie industry while comprising roughly 13 percent of the U.S. population.

The court ruled that claim “fails to allege any facts showing that defendants’ insider-referral policy falls more harshly on black screenwriter applicants than other groups.”

Samuels was represented in the case by Daniel Dugan, an associate at the Law Offices of Stewart Lee Karlin.

The defendants were represented by Lawrence Sandak, a partner at Proskauer Rose.

Not sure what arguments Samuels’ counsel raised, but had they also focused on the company’s 116 year pattern and practice of excluding African Americans from meaningful positions such as Agent, then, one could better show the disparate effects the company’s discriminatory employment practices, policies and procedures has on screenwriters of color as a class. Remember, there were ZERO African American Agents employed in the New York office and less than five employed in Beverly Hills during my employment. This clearly has a direct impact on number and types of African American talent the company decides to “represent.”

Source: Ben Bedell. “Panel Upholds Dismissal of Screenwriter’s Bias Suit.” Law.com. December 11, 2014. http://www.law.com/sites/articles/2014/12/11/panel-upholds-dismissal-of-screenwriters-bias-suit/#ixzz3LhpcTPHf.