Attorneys for the Walt Disney Co. are asking a judge to drastically pare a lawsuit filed by a former field producer for ABC News in its Los Angeles bureau who alleges she was wrongfully terminated after she sought and was denied medical leave and related accommodations.
Samira Said’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit was filed Aug. 13 and her allegations include discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination and intentional infliction of emotional distress. In court papers filed Monday with Judge Kevin C. Brazile in advance of a Jan. 8 hearing, the attorneys for the two companies are asking that all of Said’s causes of action be dismissed against Disney.
“TWDC does not belong in this action,” the defense attorneys’ state in their court papers. “It never employed plaintiff and the complaint alleges no facts that TWDC directed the alleged misconduct, employed any alleged wrongdoer or decision maker or made any challenged decision.”
Instead, Said names Disney based solely on the unsupported “conclusory” assertion that ABC and TWDC both directly and indirectly employed her, the companies’ lawyers’ further state in their court papers.
The companies’ attorneys are asking that eight claims brought against ABC are unsustainable and should be dismissed.
Said was hired in May 2021 as a field producer in the Los Angeles bureau and her responsibilities included producing live shots, covering breaking news, editorial news gathering and planning large scale shoots.
Said says she contracted COVID-19 in early 2022 and promptly notified the two companies. However, she was still urged to accept a high-profile field assignment in Uvalde, Texas, to cover the mass school shooting there in May 2022, the suit states.
“Said remained on location for an extended period, where she was required to interview child survivors who had witnessed the killing of their classmates and teachers,” the suit states.
After the Uvalde coverage, Said experienced severe psychological symptoms, but she was denied a short leave and did not take time off until her psychiatrist gave his approval, the suit states.
Said also was required to cover other news events, including the January 2025 wildfires, without proper accommodations for her health and she was terminated two months later, the suit states.