A class action suit against Action Lab Entertainment on behalf of nearly 60 comics creators has been dismissed by the presiding judge, The Beat has learned.
The suit was filed February 22, 2024 in Allegheny County court, and claimed non-payment by comics publisher Action Lab on dozens of titles. Word first began circulating in 2021 over Action Lab’s non-payment, lack of reporting and other issues.
It came after Action Lab had what seemed like a decent run as a comics publishing company, including launching with a cute logo of a dog strapped to a rocket. The publisher was founded in 2010 and had success with a few hits, like Jeremy Whitley’s Princeless, but had lapsed into non payment by 2021. The company has been extremely dormant since word of the troubles started circulating, with the Facebook page, for instance, having had no new posts since September 2021. the Action Lab website is just a Bluehost holding page. CEO/Publisher Bryan Seaton, named in the suit, is still technically in charge of the company, but was been similarly silent on social media.
The initial complaint runs to over 300 pages of exhibits so it may take a little time to sort through it, however according to attorney Michael Katz, who represents the plaintiffs, the presiding judge dismissed the suit on the grounds that too many of the contractual agreements submitted in the case had different terms. The plaintiffs had too many varying claims with Action Lab for it to truly be a class action suit.
The case was previously voluntarily withdrawn from federal court in 2023, and refiled in a state court on technical grounds. Among the creators who took part in the suit:
Tom Rogers, Tilly Bridges, Susan Bridges, Chad Perkins, Corey Kalman, Brockton Rylend, Grant, David Pepose, Jorge Santiago Jr., David Schrader, Kristian Horn, Joshua Henaman, Jeremy Whitley, Jason Strutz,Emily Martin, John J. Perez, John Reilly, Dexter Weeks, Massimo Rosi, Jason Inman, Ashley Victoria Robinson, Ben Matsuya, Dillon Gilbertson, James Wright,Jackie Crofts, Riley Biehl, Martheus Wade ,Christopher Mill,s Anthony Ruttgaizer, Robert Harrington, DeWayne Feenstra , Colleen Douglas, John Matsuya, Rod Espinosa ,Steve Bryant, Mark Stegbauer, Kyle Puttkammer, Marcelo Bondi, Miguel Martinez-Joffre, Charlie McFarland, Aleksandar Jovic, James Joseph Walsh, John Joseph Walsh, Jackson James Walsh, Jason Nutt ,Alexis Vivallo, Markisan Naso, Jason Muhr, Orlando Baez, Eugene Selassie, Samantha Nang, Wes Locher, and Luke Martinez.
Despite Action Lab not really existing as a publisher any more, creators may not be getting their properties back even with the alleged unfulfilled contracts: many of the contracts only revert rights to the creators when the book goes “out of print.” Although Action Lab has not put out any comics in quite a while, the books are still available through Comixology, meaning they are technically still “available” from Action Lab.
All in all it’s a stark reminder: read every word of that contract. Also, if digital copies are considered to be in print, nothing will ever go out of print, as long as there are computers, so definitely read that contract carefully.
The judge gave the plaintiffs 45 days to file an amended complaint, so there may still be further developments on behalf of creators and we’ve reached out to several for comment.
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