Modern Family Cast Sues Studio Pending Contract Negotiations

Modern Family, the half hour ABC comedy show who recently took home a slew of Emmy nominations is said to be in trouble as the cast anchors together to sue the studio in order to void their contracts.

Burrell, Bowen, Ferguson, Stonestreet and Vergara have decided to file suit to void their contracts which are in violation of California’s “7 Year Rule”, stating that their current contracts for Modern Family “prohibits personal services contracts for longer than 7 years.” Apparently this is a common practice when actors are seeking a raise in their compensation but are still in negotiation.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, after Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet and Sofia Vergara joined forces to ask for a raise, the negotiations on the contracts have been left alone, which has left huge concern for production purposes. The cast was scheduled for a table read today for the 4th season, but have opted not to go because of the lack of communication from 20th TV.

A big name missing from the Modern Family salary squabble is Ed O’Neil who is reportedly paid more than his co-stars and negotiates separately from his cast mates. However, it is said that O’Neill will join them as a plaintiff but over a different problem concerning his salary with 20th TV, even if he’s paid on a different scale. The move is said to create solidarity amongst his peers on the show.

According to sources close to the Modern Family production, the cast members are being offered $150,000 per episode plus $50,000 per episode bonus for the new season. For season 5 they are being bumped to $200,000 per episode and $225,000 for season 6 and apparently, up to $325,000 for a season 9. However, the Modern Family cast isn’t happy about this, and if the show does go on past 7 seasons they want to see a substantial raise.