Photo: spxChrome / E+ / Getty Images
TORRANCE (CNS) - An actress has reached a tentative settlement with CBS Studios Inc. and Eye Productions Inc. in a lawsuit she filed after she broke a foot and suffered other injuries during a 2019 fall on the set of "Jane the Virgin."
An attorney for plaintiff Nicole Barnes filed court papers Monday with Torrance Superior Court Judge Deirdre Hill notifying her of a "conditional" resolution of the case with the expectation a request for dismissal will be filed by Jan. 22. No terms were divulged.
Eye Productions was a co-producer with Warner Bros. of The CW show, which ended a five-season run in July 2019. Warner Bros. was dropped as a defendant in May 2020, three months after Barnes brought the suit.
According to her suit filed alleging battery, negligence and premises liability, Barnes fell on the set April 1, 2019, while in full costume with a papier-mache head that impeded her ability to see. She also wore high heels and the room was dark and foggy, her suit says. She alleged the producers told her to put one foot into a "set rock," further limiting her mobility.
"The scene was an alien red-carpet cocktail party," according to Barnes' sworn declaration. "I was playing a cocktail waitress dressed as an alien. I stood on a floor with fake rocks."
Without warning, a crew member grabbed Barnes on one shoulder and pulled her back, causing her to fall and break her left foot, the suit filed alleged.
"I believe that this was an intentional assault with intent to cause harm as it was clear that I would be injured by being violently pulled back from the position I was in," Barnes said. "As a result of the perpetrator's actions, I fell and broke my foot and developed a disabling pain condition..."
Barnes said she was in an "extremely vulnerable position" because her costume obstructed her vision and she was carrying a tray with about eight drinks with one hand. She also said her costume was heavy and interfered with her movements.
"The scene was filled with machine generated smoke with very little visibility," Barnes said. "The set was dark and the floor was wet. The set was crowded with a lot of people."
Barnes said she was not allowed to go back onto the set to get her belongings and was forced to wait in a hallway in back of the set. She also said she was not immediately taken to a hospital, but instead to an urgent care facility about an hour after her fall.
Barnes further said she was employed by Central Casting at the time and that the company sent her to various jobs.
CBS Studios lawyers maintained the company was not involved with the production of season five of the series and that no CBS employee was present on the set the day Barnes was hurt.
"Rather, Eye Productions was the producer of the program and had control over the film set," the CBS Studios lawyers stated in their court papers.
Barnes' lawyers maintained, however, that CBS Studios was responsible as the owner of Eye Productions and that the producers had an obligation to use reasonable care on the set so as to avoid such an injury and to assure that performers are not touched on the set without their permission when they are in vulnerable positions.