The defendants in a lawsuit brought by a former production assistant on Amazon MGM’s upcoming Criminal series have formally asked a Los Angeles court to dismiss the case, calling the allegations against showrunner Ed Brubaker and the production companies “meritless” and disputing several of the claims made in the complaint.
The defendants filed a demurrer Sept. 17 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, arguing that Ijaaz Noohu’s complaint fails to adequately establish any of its 12 causes of action under California law. The court is scheduled to hear the demurrer Oct. 15.
Noohu sued Brubaker, executive producer Philipp Barnett, Big Indie Pictures, Big Indie Gemini, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Amazon.com Services LLC earlier this month. He alleges that while working as a production assistant on Criminal from 2023 to 2024, he was subjected to sexual, racial and religious harassment, as well as assault, battery and retaliation. Among the allegations is that Brubaker pointed a “functional firearm” at Noohu’s face and pulled the trigger.
The defendants’ filing directly disputes that allegation, calling it “pure invention.” The defense says the defendants first learned of the alleged firearm incident when Noohu resurfaced nearly two years after his employment ended and began seeking compensation. It also argues that the complaint provides no date for the alleged incident and does not connect it to Noohu’s sex, race, national origin or religion.
The defense also offers a different account of the circumstances surrounding the end of Noohu’s employment.
According to the filing, Noohu sent Brubaker an email on Sept. 11, 2024, titled “Why You Should Not Fire Me, and Promote Me Instead (a short essay).” The defense says Noohu argued that problems had “slipped through cracks” under Brubaker’s watch and proposed that he be promoted from production assistant to executive producer, replacing Barnett and working alongside Brubaker.
The filing quotes Noohu describing himself as “uniquely qualified, experienced, and talented” and calling the proposed promotion “the smart play.” He concluded the email by telling Brubaker that, if promoted, Brubaker would be able to say for the rest of his life, “I’m the guy who discovered Ijaaz Noohu.”
The defendants argue that the email is inconsistent with Noohu’s subsequent account of his relationship with Brubaker. Their filing says Noohu’s contemporaneous emails and text messages contain no references to harassment, discrimination or distress, and notes that he did not use any of the reporting mechanisms available under Big Indie’s anti-harassment policy.
The filing characterizes Noohu as “an opportunist, not a victim” and says the evidence will ultimately demonstrate that his claims lack merit.
Defense challenges the individual allegations
The defendants’ legal arguments cover all 12 causes of action in Noohu’s complaint.
- For the sexual-harassment claims, the defense argues that the alleged conduct is not sufficiently severe or pervasive under the applicable legal standard. The defense specifically addresses the bikini-barista allegation, arguing that Noohu’s own complaint says he responded to Brubaker’s text with “lol” and does not allege that he complained about the incident at the time.
- On the religious-discrimination claim, the defense says Noohu identifies only a single comment questioning whether he “supports Hamas,” and argues that the complaint does not adequately allege religious harassment.
- The defendants also challenge Noohu’s allegations that he was treated differently because he is Sri Lankan American. The complaint alleges that he was subjected to references involving curry, “Tiger Mom,” Never Have I Ever, presumed mathematical ability and being called “Indian.” The defense argues that the complaint does not adequately connect those allegations to an adverse employment action.
- The defense makes similar arguments concerning Noohu’s allegations of retaliation. The filing says the complaint does not adequately establish that the employment actions Noohu describes, including being barred from set, having equipment and benefits taken away and having his exit date accelerated, were caused by protected activity under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
- The defendants also argue that several claims against individual defendants are legally unavailable under FEHA, which generally distinguishes between liability for employers and individual supervisors.
- The negligence claim faces a separate challenge. The defendants argue that workers’ compensation law bars Noohu’s negligence claim against the corporate defendants because the alleged injuries arose from his employment. They also argue that Barnett did not owe Noohu the particular supervisory duty alleged in the complaint.
- Finally, the defense challenges Noohu’s defamation claim, arguing that he has not identified the allegedly defamatory statements, who made them, who received them or when they were made.
The defendants are asking the court to sustain some portions of the demurrer without allowing Noohu to amend them later, including the negligence claim and a portion of the claims against Brubaker. The filing asks the court to dismiss or otherwise sustain the demurrer to each of the 12 causes of action, although the precise grounds vary by claim and defendant.
Criminal, based on Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Eisner Award-winning Image Comics series, is being developed for Amazon MGM with Brubaker serving as showrunner and executive producer. The series has not yet been given a premiere date.