UPDATE (6.18): I.E.A.U. founder Phyllisha Anne gave AVN the following statement Thursday morning: “No one, including myself had been served, nor are we aware of any lawsuit.”
However, APAG president Alana Evans supplied a Proof of Service document Tuesday showing that the suit—addressed to I.E.A.U. vice president Casey Blue—was served at the I.E.A.U. office in Woodland Hills on the morning of May 28 in the care of a “John Doe” clerk who was “informed … of the general nature of the papers.”
LOS ANGELES—Alana Evans, president of the Adult Performers Actors Guild (APAG), along with VP Ruby and Secretary Kelly Pierce, have filed a lawsuit against the organization's mother union, the International Entertainment Adult Union (IEAU), accusing it and its founder of fraud, unpaid wages and defamation.
The suit comes after IEAU filed with the Department of Labor in March to terminate the Guild and recover more than $200,000 in APAG assets from board members Evans, Ruby and Pierce after IEAU founder Phyllisha Anne accused them of hatefulness and bullying over their opposition to the controversial California Assebly Bill 2389, which IEAU supported but was shelved at the beginning of May by sponsor Cristina Garcia due a shift in focus to bills concerning COVID-19. At the time, IEAU claimed it was filing a lawsuit against Evans, Ruby and Pierce to recover the APAG assets they controlled, but no lawsuit was ever filed.
Despite the legal threat, Evans, Ruby and Pierce filed their own lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeking about $1.5 million in lost wages and damages.
“We’re suing IEAU because of the misleading information that they put out to performers about our status,” Evans told AVN. “They made people think that we’ve stolen over $200,000 in union property, which is ridiculous.”
The suit also named Phyllisha Anne as a defendant after she accused the three APAG officers of mismanagement and other improprieties during an interview on the “Dollhouse” radio show which aired on Blog Talk Radio on March 20.
Anne had not responded to requests for comment as of post time.
The lawsuit alleges that as a result of Anne's statements on "Dollhouse" and in a press release at about the same time, the plaintiffs have “suffered loss of their individual reputation, shame, mortification and injury to their feelings.”
The suit also seeks $124,000 in unpaid wages to each of the three plaintiffs who allege they were never paid for their services despite a signed contract that guaranteed compensation for their work between June 6, 2016 and May 1, 2020. In addition, the suit alleges they were never paid for other goods and services rendered during the same period, totaling $496,000.
“We have dedicated four years of our lives without getting paid a dollar and the idea that other people were getting their paychecks was unnerving, but we were willing to wait because doing the job was more important,” Evans said. “But obviously we weren’t going to wait anymore.”
Altogether, the plaintiffs each seek $100,000 in damages for defamation for comments made during the radio show and in the press release in March 2020, and another $100,000 each for damages for the alleged falsification of the minutes of a meeting of the IEAU board of directors on Feb. 20—which reportedly showed the plaintiffs in a bad light.
Ruby said the lawsuit is a final option to remedy the situation. “We’ve come too far and we have too many things on the table to continue and work upon,” she said. “Right now, we need to continue our good work. This is my life’s work and this is what I intend to keep on doing as long as they elect me as vice president.”
Likewise, APAG Secretary Pierce said she and her fellow plaintiffs are confident in their fight against IEAU. “We’re not going to be quiet and we’re not going to let them hamper our work,” she said. “Phyllisha keeps saying it’s her union, but it’s the members’ union and the members can vote and they want to be represented.”
