The stars of “Modern Family“; Sofia Vergera, Ed O’Neill, Julie Bowen , Ty Burrell, Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Ferguson have sued Fox on Tuesday saying that their contracts on the multiple Emmy Awards winner show are illegal and should be invalidated.
The reason for the contracts to be invalid was they have bound the actors to the show for more than seven years.
These five stars have reached new contracts, only after 3 days, to keep working on the Emmy-winning comedy ‘ Modern Family‘.
A 20th Century Fox spokesman confirmed Friday evening that the deals had been reached and that shooting on the ABC series’ fourth season will begin Monday.
Executive producer Christopher Lloyd said the lawsuit wouldn’t have interfered with production but it is “great to have that not hanging over our head.“
The lawsuit, which claimed the actors’ contracts were illegal because they bound them to the show for more than seven years, will be dropped. Exact terms of the deal were not released.
“The particular grounds for the lawsuit are debatable,” Lloyd said. “It was a tactic in negotiations. I don’t think it was ever taken that seriously.
“It was a step along the way. I think personally our actors got some bad advice,” he said, quickly adding: “I have nothing negative to say about our actors.”
Asked if the standoff could have been avoided, he replied: “It could have been avoided if Fox and ABC wanted to overpay. It could have been avoided if the actors asked for less than they probably deserve.” But neither side wanted to back down.
“I don’t know the terms of (the deal), probably both sides feel it didn’t end up where they wanted it to end up and that’s usually the sign it was a well-executed negotiation,” he said.
Modern Family was recently nominated for 14 Emmy Awards
