SAG settles affirmative action dispute

Supreme Court had been scheduled to hear case

By DAVE MCNARY

With a U.S. Supreme Court hearing due to take place later this week, SAG and its former director of affirmative action have reached a settlement on a long-running legal dispute.

"This matter has been fully resolved," said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG's deputy national exec director and general counsel, in a statement. "Both parties have dismissed their claims against each other, and the guild has withdrawn its petition for certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court."

A SAG rep said Tuesday that the guild would not provide any further information about the settlement agreement.

The case stems from SAG's 2001 suspension and firing of Patricia Ann Metoyer after the guild alleged suspicious use of grant money. Metoyer, who is black, alleged in her suit that her suspension and firing occurred in retaliation for her intent to disclose evidence of racial discrimination within SAG's management.

A federal court granted SAG summary judgment in 2004 but a split appeals court panel reversed the ruling, resulting in a trial being set for July. SAG then asked the Supreme Court to hear the case, and the matter had been set to go before the panel on Thursday.