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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A producer of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" will face trial in a lawsuit brought by a show dancer who claims she is owed unpaid wages, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Plaintiff Raphaelle Bardet says she was hired in February 2021 to appear on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" as a background talent to dance and appear on the program, but was denied her full wages, as well as meal and rest breaks and overtime.
Bardet previously dropped the former afternoon television personality and A Very Good Production as defendants in her lawsuit, leaving WAD Productions Inc. as the remaining defendant in the Los Angeles Superior Court suit filed in July 2021.
On Tuesday, Judge Stuart M. Rice denied a motion by WAD attorneys to dismiss the company as a defendant. The defense attorneys maintained that the parties agreed in December 2021 to a $30,000 settlement and that the former judge in the case congratulated both sides.
Rice said it is undisputed that there was a settlement, but it is not clear if it is enforceable. He noted that Bardet's attorneys maintain the purported accord involved a "material misrepresentation" by WAD's lawyers.
"The court's ruling is only that the evidence surrounding the settlement, taken in the light most favorable to (Bardet) and drawing all reasonable inferences in her favor, creates triable issues as to each element of fraudulent inducement (and) a defense to enforcement of the settlement agreement," according to Rice, who also scheduled a status conference for June 28.