A judge has given a favorable ruling to two former “General Hospital” crew members who say they were wrongfully fired by ABC in 2021 after the network denied them a religion exemption to ABC’s coronavirus vaccination and now claim new evidence shows the shots were not required in the areas where they generally worked.
In court papers previously filed with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Tony Richardson, lawyers for James Wahl and his son, Timothy James Wahl, say the return-to-work agreement between the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees Local 33 and ABC only allowed the network to impose the vaccine requirement in what was known as Zone A, the set where unmasked actors were shooting scenes.
The Wahls worked in Zone B and only occasionally went into Zone A to perform special effects tasks, according to the Wahls’ attorneys.
On Friday, Richardson granted the Wahls’ lawyers motion to depose IATSE business representative Ronald Valentine. The Wahl lawyers say they expect Valentine to testify during his deposition and at trial that he did not intend the vaccination mandate to apply in zones other than Zone A.
ABC attorneys stated in their court papers that the Wahls were subject to a different Disney vaccination policy applicable to all “General Hospital” cast and crew members after Disney obtained IATSE’s permission.
The ABC lawyers further wrote in their pleadings that both Wahls admitted they would not take a COVID-19 vaccine under any circumstances, even if the shot had been developed without any connection to fetal stems cell, because they adhered to the principles of homeopathic medicine.
The Wahls were fired in 2021. At their attorneys’ request, the judge rescheduled the trial of the lawsuit from Sept. 29 to Feb. 9, 2027.