CHARLESTON – A Kanawha County man says a theater stage union local failed to accommodate his injuries after a Disney On Ice backstage incident, calling him a "litigation risk."
Chester Calhoun filed his complaint March 22 in Kanawha Circuit Court against International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 271 Labor Center LLC.
According to the complaint, Chester was employed as a fork lift operator and laborer by IATSE. On March 7, 2020, he was injured during a Disney On Ice performance when a skater portraying Maui from the animated film “Moana” hit him with a boat backstage.
Following the incident, Calhoun filed a workers’ compensation claim. He also filed a civil lawsuit against Feld Entertainment Inc., which owns Disney On Ice. That case was resolved and dismissed in October.
Calhoun was off work because of injuries until March 23, 2021. When he was released to return to work, he says an IATSE representative saw The West Virginia Record story about Calhoun’s civil lawsuit against Feld and told him he couldn’t return to work until his lawsuit was over “because he was a litigation risk.”
“Calhoun was a disabled person within the meaning of the law while he was employed by IATSE, and IATSE failed to accommodate Mr. Calhoun’s partial disability,” the complaint states. “Calhoun was qualified to perform the essential functions of his job as a fork lift operator.”
He says IATSE’s failure to accommodate his disability was discriminatory and resulted in him being constructively discharged. He says the local’s actions were retaliatory and in violation of the West Virginia Human Rights Act and public policy.
Calhoun says he has suffered lost wages, back pay, front pay, indignity, embarrassment, humiliation, annoyance, inconvenience and emotional distress. He seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney fees, court costs, pre-judgment interest and other relief.
He is being represented by Stephen E. Hastings and David F. Nelson of Hendrickson & Long in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 23-C-254