A lawsuit filed by the Argenta Contemporary Theatre against several of its former staff members has reached a conclusion.
According to a press release shared by ACT, the suit was resolved on Tuesday, when it was decided that Stage 13, a competing theater company formed by the ex-employees, will pay $150,000 to ACT.
“Additionally, the Stage 13 defendants and William Feland are voluntarily dismissing their claims against ACT, Christian Gwatney Baker, and Vincent Insalaco,” the statement continues. “The settlement includes no confidentiality provision, and the litigation concludes without any finding or admission of wrongdoing by ACT or its leadership, all of whom consistently and categorically denied the allegations made against them from the outset.”
Per a release from Stage 13, the settlement “includes no admission of liability or wrongdoing.” Their release also states that an anonymous donor provided “$150,000 to cover the settlement amount and personally paid all legal expenses.”
The drama leading up to the lawsuit began on August 24, when a group of 13 employees at ACT abruptly resigned, quickly forming a new theater arts nonprofit called Stage 13.
Soon after, ACT issued a release carrying some serious accusations: “In the midst of their sudden departure, ACT has learned of several alarming actions taken against its computer systems, intellectual property, and operations, including the unauthorized access and wiping of computers, deletion of website content, and the dissemination of false information regarding ACT’s upcoming educational programs.”
Days later, ACT sued Stage 13, with the legal complaint referring to the situation as “one of the most brazen acts of corporate sabotage and betrayal imaginable in Arkansas’s nonprofit arts community.”
A significant portion of the complaint against Stage 13 was devoted to accusations that the new group was trying to divert students enrolled in ACT’s educational programs to their own classes.
In response, Stage 13 shared a statement of their own: “While at Argenta Contemporary Theatre, we reported and documented what we believed to be instances of misconduct that threatened the well-being and integrity of our staff, the people we serve, and the organization. Upon formally conveying our concerns, the situation escalated to the point that current ACT Board Chairman, Jeremy Ables, stated that he was not able to guarantee our personal safety and, that if he was in our position, he would leave and start a new company.”
A counterclaim from Stage 13 eventually came in November, alleging a toxic work environment led by co-founder Vincent Insalaco that made them “feel uncomfortable, distressed, underappreciated, and concerned for the well-being of their students.” The counterclaim also expressed concerns about financial mismanagement.
Around the same time, ACT and Insalaca were accused in a separate lawsuit of misrepresenting the use of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of donations from a single donor — William Feland of Pinnacle Structures Inc. The suit was dismissed in May.
