Louis CK Sues Health, Pension Union Plans Over Benefit Claim
Louis CK’s production company has gone to court to block a claim for $28,000 in health and benefit contributions for his work as an editor on his FX Networks series “Louie.”
Louis CK filed the suit against the directors of three union-industry plans Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan using his actual name Louis Szekely as the owner of production company Pig Newton Inc.
The action seeks a court order that Pig Newton does not owe the $28,000, alleging that the figure was calculated incorrectly by using Szekely’s status as an employee-owner — rather than using the hours Szekely actually spent working on the show.
Szekely is employed by Pig Newton under collective bargaining agreements with the Intl. Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. The suit alleges that an audit showed it accurately reported all hours worked by the show’s employees.
Katherine Orloff, a spokeswoman for the union, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The defendants are the boards of the Motion Picture Industry Pension Plan, the Motion Picture Industry Individual Account Plan, and the Motion Picture Industry Health Plan. The plans calculate the contributions based on full-time work rather than actual hours worked.
Szekley is the star, main writer, director and exec producer of the series, currently in production for a fourth season.
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