Wahl v. ABC
Wahl v. ABC
14 CENTRAL DIVISION
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                                                                                                                              COMPLAINT
                                                           1              Plaintiffs James Wahl (“Jim”) and Timothy James Wahl (“Tim”) (collectively, “Plaintiffs”)
2 allege as follows:
3 INTRODUCTION
5 responded with unprecedented restrictions on freedom. They closed schools and shut down
6 industries. They banned travel and prosecuted churches. They decided which activities were
8 2. During 2020, several experimental vaccines were developed to help limit the effects
                                                           9    of Covid-19. But they are not miracle cures. They were developed quickly to protect those who are
                                                           10   at highest risk of getting seriously ill from Covid, especially the elderly and those with multiple co-
                                                           11   morbidities. Government officials now admit that vaccinated people can contract and transmit
JW HOWARD/ ATTORNEYS, LTD.
                                                           12   Covid-19. Many fully vaccinated and fully boosted people fell ill with the Omicron variant last
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13 winter.
14 3. Some public health experts and epidemiologists predicted all along that the Covid
15 shots would not eradicate Covid. They pointed to evidence of “breakthrough” infections, among
16 other signs, as evidence of this. Nonetheless, the vaccines became the center of a political dispute
17 last summer, with President Joe Biden and other leading Democrats blaming the unvaccinated and
18 so-called “anti-vaxxers” for not doing their part to eliminate the virus. They encouraged local
19 officials to mandate the Covid shots for public and private employees.
20 4. The media has been among the most aggressive in mandating the Covid-19 shots for
21 its employees. To that end, during the summer of 2021, Defendant American Broadcasting
22 Companies., Inc. (“ABC”), a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, ordered that
23 anybody working on a television show it produced would have to get the Covid-19 shot (the “Covid
24 Vaccine Mandate”).
25 5. Plaintiffs ran the construction shop and special effects department for the ABC-
                                                           26   produced soap opera General Hospital. Jim had worked on the show for 14 years. His son, Tim, had
                                                           27   worked on the show for 10 years. They are behind-the-scenes employees who were critical to
2 ABC said it would grant exemptions for sincerely held religious objections to the Covid-19 shots, it
3 refused to accept Plaintiffs’ request. It denied their requests without explanation, one week after they
4 requested them.
5 7. These actions were unlawful. ABC does not have the authority to force a medical
6 treatment on its employees against their will. Even if it did, it must offer religious exemptions to
7 anybody who requests one. It cannot discriminate among religions and cannot second-guess the
8 sincerity of one’s religious beliefs without an objective basis for doing so. It did not have one here.
                                                           9    ABC’s actions constitute religious discrimination and violate Plaintiffs’ rights under state law.
                                                           10          8.       Furthermore, like all Californians, Plaintiffs have a right to bodily autonomy, which
                                                           11   the Covid Vaccine Mandate violates. They also have a right to informational privacy. ABC violated
JW HOWARD/ ATTORNEYS, LTD.
                                                           12   those rights.
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13 9. Plaintiffs bring this action to hold ABC accountable for its unlawful discrimination
16 10. Plaintiff James Wahl is an individual who resides in Los Angeles County.
17 11. Plaintiff Timothy James Wahl is an individual who resides in Los Angeles County.
18 12. Defendant ABC is a corporation formed under the laws of the State of Delaware. Its
20 13. Defendant DOES 1 through 10 are individuals who at all relevant times were
21 officials, agents or employees of ABC and who bear some responsibility for the actions alleged in
22 this Complaint. Their identities are not yet known and thus they are sued fictitiously but Plaintiffs
24 14. Venue exists in Los Angeles County under sections 393(b) and 394(a) of the Code of
25 Civil Procedure because the parties reside here and the effects of ABC’s actions are felt here.
                                                           26                                       FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
                                                           27          15.      In early 2020, health officials discovered a novel coronavirus circulating in Wuhan,
2 unprecedented restrictions on liberty. Many of the restrictions started in California, including the
3 first statewide “lockdown” and unprecedented mass closures of businesses and criminalization of
5 17. During 2020, at the urging of then President Donald Trump, several pharmaceutical
6 companies began developing experimental treatments to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 and,
8 18. The Covid-19 shots were so controversial that then presidential candidate Joe Biden
                                                           9    would not commit to receiving one. Then vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris said she would
                                                           10   not take them if Trump recommended it. Governor Gavin Newsom also questioned the treatments,
                                                           11   saying he did not trust the Trump Administration and would review the treatments independently.
JW HOWARD/ ATTORNEYS, LTD.
                                                           12          19.     Then Mr. Biden won the presidency and many tunes changed. Still, President-elect
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13 Biden said he would not mandate that Americans get the Covid shots.
14 20. By the summer of 2021, tens of millions of Americans had chosen to take the Covid-
15 19 vaccines, including more than half of adults in California. They did so by choice not by coercion.
16 But Covid-19 had not disappeared. That should not have surprised anyone. Public health officials
17 have repeatedly said that eliminating a respiratory virus is impossible once it begins spreading in the
18 community.
19 21. Thus, anyone can still contract and spread the Covid-19 virus. Like the flu, Covid-19
20 is becoming endemic. The world will have to learn to live with it, as we live with many other
21 pathogens.
22 22. That includes people who have received one of the Covid-19 shots. Although the
23 shots have been declared a miracle by many, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers
24 for Medicare and Medicaid Services admitted that “the duration of vaccine effectiveness in
25 preventing COVID-19, reducing disease severity, reducing the risk of death, and the effectiveness of
                                                           26   the vaccine to prevent disease transmission by those vaccinated are not currently known.”
                                                           27          23.     This was not an isolated comment. Moderna and Pfizer executives have both
                                                           28   conceded that their shots, unlike others that have helped eradicate diseases like polio and smallpox,
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                                                                                                              COMPLAINT
                                                           1    have little known long-term benefit. The CMS has also said that “major uncertainties remain as to
2 the future course of the pandemic, including but not limited to vaccine effectiveness in preventing
3 ‘breakthrough’ disease transmission from those vaccinated, [and] the long-term effectiveness of
4 vaccination.”
5 24. These uncertainties played out last winter as the Omicron variant of COVID-19
6 spread throughout the world, infecting millions of fully vaccinated people. The CDC finally
7 conceded in February 2022 that “anyone with Omicron infection can spread the virus to others, even
                                                           9           25.      This deficiency seems to extend to the booster shots that were developed in response
                                                           10   to new Covid variants. As Fortune reported in January: “Booster shots with messenger RNA
                                                           11   vaccines such as those made by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE failed to block Omicron in a study of
JW HOWARD/ ATTORNEYS, LTD.
                                                           12   some of the first documented breakthrough cases caused by the highly contagious variant.” The
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13 same report stated that “[p]reliminary data from an Israeli trial involving 154 health workers,
14 showed that a fourth dose of Pfizer’s shot didn't prevent infection with Omicron.”
15 26. Other studies have reached similar findings. For example, according to one
16 investigation, which analyzed data from California and other states: “When the delta strain circulated
17 from mid-November to mid-December of last year, the vaccinated accounted for 21% of all COVID-
18 related deaths in California and Georgia, and 38% in Illinois. After delta was overtaken by the
19 omicron variant, the proportions in California and Georgia rose substantially to over 33% -- a level
21 27. Studies have also revealed potential serious side effects from the Covid-19 shots. For
22 example, a British report that examined data from more than 42 million people found an increase in
23 myocarditis with mRNA vaccines like the COVID-19 shots that increased with each additional shot,
24 including the booster shots. That report’s authors concluded that “[a]n association between Covid-19
25 infection and myocarditis was observed in all ages for both sexes.” According to another report, a
                                                           26   recent study from Sweden found that the “messenger RNA from Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine
                                                           27   reportedly can enter human liver cells and be converted into DNA, contrary to what the CDC has
                                                           28   said.” These disturbing trends—actual evidence that contradicts the CDC’s pro-vaccine narrative—
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                                                                                                              COMPLAINT
                                                           1    may explain why a CDC panel recently proposed extending the gap between Covid shots. They may
2 also explain why several countries, including Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, suspended
4 28. This growing body of evidence confirms what many public health officials have said
5 all along. As former Yale professor Dr. David Gortler put it: “Vaccines are one of the most
6 important inventions in human history, having saved millions of lives. That does not mean every
7 person should get every vaccine. Also, like every drug out there, it is critically important to quickly
8 detect and report safety problems.” Dr. Gortler concluded that the Covid-19 shots are “clearly no
                                                           9    longer effective, and [are] potentially causing additional illness and death.” Many other doctors and
                                                           10   public health officials agree with him.
                                                           11           29.     Those who have touted the effectiveness of the Covid shots have often relied on the
JW HOWARD/ ATTORNEYS, LTD.
                                                           12   CDC’s recommendation and statement that they work. But in a February 20 article, New York Times
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13 reporter Apoorva Mandavilli wrote that the CDC “has published only a tiny fraction of the data it
14 has collected” regarding the shots’ effectiveness in preventing hospitalizations, much less death. Ms.
15 Mandavilli quoted a government official as saying the CDC was “reluctant” to make this information
16 available because it “might be misinterpreted as the vaccines being ineffective.” The CDC’s
17 credibility is eroding with reports like these and as the public learns about the results of studies (like
18 the Swedish DNA study) that contradict the CDC’s prior statements about the vaccines.
19 30. Despite this history, and mounting evidence that the Covid shots do not prevent
20 people from contracting or spreading Covid-19, much of which was available last summer, many
21 government officials and other leaders have mandated that people get the shot to participate in daily
23 31. To that end, during the summer of 2021, ABC decided that anybody who works on a
24 television show it produces would have to get one of the Covid-19 shots or would be fired. The
25 mandate was unprecedented. ABC has never required that individuals get a vaccine to work on a
                                                           26   television show. It never even inquired about such private medical information before the Covid
                                                           27   pandemic, recognizing that California prohibits employers from conditioning employment on
                                                           28   medical conformity.
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                                                                                                               COMPLAINT
                                                           1            32.     ABC said it would respect an individual’s sincere religious objection to the Covid
2 Vaccine Mandate. Therefore, during October 2021, Plaintiffs requested religious exemptions to the
3 mandate.
4 33. Rather than accept Plaintiffs’ request for a religious exemption, ABC scheduled an
5 interview between them and an ABC employee to discuss their requests. Although ABC described
6 the interview as an “interactive process,” the interview was conducted by a lawyer who works for
7 Disney. It was a cross-examination designed to elicit information that ABC could use to deny
8 Plaintiffs’ requests for an exemption, as it denied almost all such requests during 2021.
                                                           9            34.     On November 9, 2021, ABC officially denied Plaintiffs’ requests for religious
                                                           10   exemptions to the Covid Vaccine Mandate. It gave no reason for its decision, except to say that the
                                                           11   company was “unable to conclude that you are prevented from receiving the Covid-19 vaccine due
JW HOWARD/ ATTORNEYS, LTD.
13 35. ABC said nothing else. It did not ask Plaintiffs whether they could perform the
14 essential functions of their jobs. It did not show that the company would be unduly burdened by
15 continuing to employ Plaintiffs even if they did not get the Covid shots. It made no effort whatsoever
16 to comply with its obligations under the law and, on information and belief, it violated numerous
17 ABC/Disney policies about how to handle requests for religious accommodations, even when health
18 is involved.
19 36. These actions were unlawful. Once ABC decided to recognize exemptions to its
20 vaccine mandate, it had to honor them. Questioning the sincerity of an individual’s religious beliefs
21 without an objective basis to do so, which ABC did not have here, violates federal and state civil
22 rights laws.
23 37. Plaintiffs complied with generally applicable rules related to Covid-19. They tested
24 frequently and wore a mask when appropriate. They did those things for months, without incident.
25 They would have continued doing those things. Instead, they were let go so ABC could support a
                                                           26   political policy.
                                                           27           38.     This should not be a political issue. There is no need for everybody to get the Covid-
                                                           28   19 shot, especially since the shots do not prevent infection. Furthermore, Plaintiffs have a right to
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                                                                                                              COMPLAINT
                                                           1    privacy and a right to bodily autonomy, the right to choose what they do with their bodies. Lawsuits
2 decided a hundred years ago cannot eliminate that right. They cannot undo the progress that
3 Californians have made in recognizing medical freedom during the past 50 years.
4 39. Indeed, ABC/Disney have historically been overly protective of these rights. They
5 went to great lengths to accommodate people’s religious beliefs and medical conditions. They
6 developed reams of policies and procedures to govern that process. They ignored them all this time.
7 40. Plaintiffs bring this action to protect those rights and to seek damages for ABC’s
8 unlawful discrimination against their religious beliefs and physical condition. Plaintiffs received a
                                                           9    right to sue letter from the California Department of Fair and Employment and Housing and thus
                                                           10   exhausted their administrative remedies.
13 41. Plaintiffs incorporate paragraphs 1 through 40 of this Complaint as though set forth
14 fully herein.
15 42. Individuals have a right to privacy under the California Constitution. This state law
16 privacy right, which was added by voters in 1972, is far broader than the right to privacy that exists
17 under the federal Constitution. It is the broadest privacy right in America and has been interpreted by
18 the California Supreme Court to protect both the right to bodily integrity and bodily autonomy—the
19 right to choose what to do with one’s own body, free from coercion. Unlike the right to privacy that
20 has been recognized to exist under the federal Constitution, the right to privacy embodied in
22 43. Plaintiffs have a legally protected privacy interest in their bodily autonomy and
23 private medical information, as the California Supreme Court recognized in Hill v. NCAA. Their
24 expectation of privacy was reasonable under the circumstances as ABC has never had a vaccination
25 requirement for employment before now and has never disciplined, much less fired, an employee for
                                                           26   declining an injection. The only compulsory vaccination laws adopted in California during the past
                                                           27   century concerned certain vaccines that children need to attend school. Those laws do not undermine
2 as the type of “invasive and highly personalized medical treatments used in cases where the state
3 sought to override a person’s freedom to choose and where the Supreme Court has recognized a
4 liberty interest in freedom from such unwanted medical treatment.” Coshow v. City of Escondido,
5 132 Cal. App. 4th 687, 710 (2005). Although ABC is a private party, the California constitutional
6 right to privacy applies to private parties. It is also not the only entertainment company that adopted
7 a Covid vaccine mandate. Like many companies, ABC instituted the mandate because the
8 government said it wants universal vaccination. Therefore, the vaccine mandate constitutes a serious
                                                           11   employ when analyzing alleged violations of the United States Constitution does not apply in a state
JW HOWARD/ ATTORNEYS, LTD.
                                                           12   law privacy case. The California Supreme Court uses a fact-intensive balancing test to decide
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13 whether a mandate violates an individual’s state constitutional right to privacy. Moreover, while
14 ABC may argue that its vaccine mandate serves a compelling interest in reducing the spread of
15 Covid-19, there are feasible and effective alternatives to it that have a lesser impact on privacy
16 interests.
17 46. Indeed, evidence now shows that the vaccines do not prevent people from contracting
18 and transmitting Covid-19. That is why millions of vaccinated people, including ABC employees,
19 fell ill with the Omicron variant last winter. This trend will continue as other Covid variants emerge.
20 Thus, ABC’s vaccine mandate does not serve its stated purpose of preventing infection. The most
21 the Covid shots can do is, potentially, reduce the severity of Covid-19 symptoms but even that has
22 not been scientifically proven and there are other ways to reduce the severity of Covid-19 without
23 compelling people to get a shot they do not want. In any event, taking a shot to potentially reduce the
24 severity of illness is a private health issue, which state and federal law prohibit employers from
25 interfering with.
                                                           26           47.    On information and belief, ABC contends that its vaccine mandate does not violate
                                                           27   Plaintiffs’ privacy rights or that the mandate was justified.
                                                           28           48.    Plaintiffs desire a judicial declaration that ABC’s vaccine mandate is unconstitutional
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                                                                                                              COMPLAINT
                                                           1    because it violates their right to privacy under Article I, section 1 of the California Constitution. This
3 49. A judicial determination of these issues is necessary and appropriate because such a
4 declaration will clarify the parties’ rights and obligations, permit them to have certainty regarding
6 50. As a result of ABC’s actions, Plaintiffs’ contract was terminated, as alleged above.
8 51. This action serves the public interest, justifying an award of attorneys’ fees under
                                                           12          52.      Plaintiffs incorporate paragraphs 1 through 40 of this Complaint as though set forth
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13 fully herein.
14 53. California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) forbids an employer from
15 firing someone “because of a conflict between the person’s religious belief or observance and any
16 employment requirement, unless the employer or other entity covered by this part demonstrates that
17 it has explored any available reasonable alternative means of accommodating the religious belief or
18 observance . . . but is unable to reasonably accommodate the religious belief or observance without
20 54. Plaintiffs worked for ABC. They had sincerely held religious beliefs or practices that
21 conflicted with a stated job requirement (the Covid-19 vaccine mandate). ABC was aware of this
22 conflict but did not explore any available reasonable alternatives for accommodating Plaintiffs’
23 beliefs and it refused to consider the accommodations they proposed, none of which would have
                                                           26   at trial. These actions were the actual and proximate cause of those damages.
                                                           27          56.      ABC acted with malice or reckless indifference to Plaintiffs’ rights, justifying an
4 58. Plaintiffs incorporate paragraphs 1 through 40 of this Complaint as though set forth
5 fully herein.
6 59. The FEHA prohibits California employers from firing someone because of their
8 60. Plaintiffs worked for ABC. They had a perceived physical disability (being
                                                           9    unvaccinated) that conflicted with a stated job requirement (the Covid-19 vaccine mandate). ABC
                                                           10   was aware of this conflict but did not explore any available reasonable alternatives for
                                                           11   accommodating Plaintiffs and it refused to consider the accommodations Plaintiffs proposed, none
JW HOWARD/ ATTORNEYS, LTD.
                                                           12   of which would have imposed a substantial burden on ABC. ABC fired Plaintiffs because of their
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15 at trial. These actions were the actual and proximate cause of those damages.
16 62. ABC acted with malice or reckless indifference to Plaintiffs’ rights, justifying an
18 63. Under the FEHA, Plaintiffs should recover their costs and legal fees.
21 64. Plaintiffs incorporate paragraphs 1 through 40 of this Complaint as though set forth
22 fully herein.
23 65. State law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin,
24 religion, age, disability and genetic information. An individual engages in protected activity when he
25 or she speaks out about, or exercises rights related to, workplace discrimination.
                                                           26          66.      Plaintiffs were engaged in protected activity when they sought a religious exemption
                                                           27   to ABC’s enforcement of Covid Vaccine Mandate.
                                                           28          67.      ABC retaliated against Plaintiffs for engaging in this protected activity, as alleged
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                                                                                                               COMPLAINT
                                                           1    above. The retaliatory acts included, but are not limited to, denying Plaintiffs’ requests for an
2 exemption to the Covid vaccine mandate and firing them for not complying with the mandate while
3 granting requests for exemptions from people who follow certain other religions.
5 at trial. These actions were the actual and proximate cause of those damages.
6 69. ABC acted with malice or reckless indifference to Plaintiffs’ rights, justifying an
8 70. Under the FEHA, Plaintiffs should recover their costs and legal fees
                                                           11          71.      Plaintiffs incorporate paragraphs 1 through 40 of this Complaint as though set forth
JW HOWARD/ ATTORNEYS, LTD.
                                                           12   fully herein.
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13 72. ABC fired Plaintiffs for asserting their constitutional rights, including their rights to
15 73. The assertion of these rights was a substantial motivating reason for ABC’s actions,
16 as alleged above, and thus constituted wrongful termination, in violation of public policy.
18 at trial. These actions were the actual and proximate cause of those damages.
19 75. ABC acted with malice or reckless indifference to Plaintiffs’ rights, justifying an
21 76. This action serves the public interest, justifying an award of attorneys' fees under
                                                           28          4.       For costs and attorneys’ fees under section 1021.5 of the California Code of Civil
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                                                                                                               COMPLAINT
                                                           1    Procedure; and
2 5. For such other relief that the Court determines is just and proper.
                                                           4                                            By:
                                                           5
                                                           6                                                    John W. Howard
                                                                                                                Scott J. Street
                                                           7                                                    Attorneys for Plaintiffs JAMES WAHL and
                                                                                                                TIMOTHY JAMES WAHL
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                                                           1                                        JURY TRIAL DEMAND
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                                                                                                        By:
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                                                           8                                                    John W. Howard
                                                                                                                Scott J. Street
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                                                                                                                Attorneys for Plaintiffs JAMES WAHL and
                                                           10                                                   TIMOTHY JAMES WAHL
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