Mando may offer a hand-o (hey oh!) in the Gina Carano v. Disney lawsuit for wrongful termination, which is currently pending in California federal court. Mando, of course, is shorthand for the titular Mandalorian himself, Din Djarin, as played by Pedro Pascal. Carano has previously pointed to Pascal and other Star Wars actors, including Mark Hamill of Luke Skywalker fame, as examples of male employees of Disney who were allowed to express sometimes extreme political positions on social media without repercussions.
Where Are We in the Legal Process of the Carano v. Disney Lawsuit?
Just a few weeks ago, the federal judge thwarted Disney’s attempt to have Carano’s lawsuit thrown out of the airlock and denied Disney’s motion to dismiss, which I wrote about here. With that hurdle passed, Carano and Disney move into the “discovery” phase of this case. This part of the lawsuit process allows the parties to make requests for documents from the other side (called Requests to Produce), to require written responses to questions (called Interrogatories), and to take depositions of witnesses in the case.
In federal court, the parties must list possible witnesses very early in the case, right after they all have a joint conference call to discuss scheduling issues, possible discovery hotspots, and other topics required by the court. Then the plaintiff (Carano in this case) and the defendants (Disney) must file a joint report to the court, which includes that list of witnesses. For her part, Carano listed Pascal, Jon Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, and Bear Grylls, among others.
Honestly, I would expect the next filing made by one of the parties to be a Motion to Compel at some point in the next few months. That means that one of the parties requested certain documents in the discovery process, and the other party refused to produce some or all of the requested documents or information. So the requesting party must go to the judge and ask the judge to decide whether those documents should be produced. Given the people involved, the subject matter of the litigation, and the scope of discovery, I would expect quite a few discovery disputes to arise. For example, Carano will likely request personal communications among these high-ranking Disney employees, including texts and emails, that mention or refer to Carano or any of the issues raised in the lawsuit. No one likes producing their private text messages, but such communications can provide valuable insight into the thought process behind certain decisions made by Disney that led to Carano being fired. She’ll probably also request financial information from Disney, which Disney wouldn’t want to produce.
Once written discovery is over, the parties will likely move into depositions, which is where Carano’s lawyers can compel the various witnesses to testify under oath in a conference room about everything that witness knows about the facts in this case. If the case does not settle before that takes place, then many of these Disney figures will be required to show up and go through the deposition wringer, which is not a pleasant process for the person being questioned.
What Happens Once Discovery is Over?
The court has set discovery to end in about one year, so sometime next summer. That gives Carano and Disney time to finish written discovery and take all the necessary depositions. Then Disney will file a Motion for Summary Judgment, again seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed. Unlike in the Motion to Dismiss that Disney filed earlier this year, the motion for summary judgment takes place after all the depositions are complete, so the judge can look at the transcribed testimony of the witnesses to determine whether there’s sufficient disputes over material facts for a jury to hear. If not, then the judge can decide the case based on the deposition testimony and exhibits. Carano wants to get her case past the judge and in front of a jury. Summary judgment is the last hurdle before trial.
At some point, the parties will be ordered by the court to try and settle the case, through a process called mediation. If they settle the case, then Carano gets paid some undisclosed amount and this Carano v. Disney lawsuit is dismissed. If not, then settle in for a wild ride.
