Modern Family Cast Sues Over Contract Renegotiations

USMagazine, Tuesday, July 24, 2012, 3:30pm (PDT)

Modern Family lawsuit.

Sofia Vergara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell of ABC's Modern Family filed a lawsuit Tuesday over contract renegotiations going into season four of the hit show, The Associated Press reports.

PHOTOS: Secrets from the Modern Family set

The cast members have united to sue 20th Century Fox Television arguing their contracts are illegal under California law and they want them to be voided. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, states their contracts prohibit them from working on other projects and bind them to the ABC show from February 2009 to June 30, 2016.

PHOTOS: Stars in court

Vergara, 40, Ferguson, 36, Stonestreet, 40, Bowen, 42, and Burrell, 44, claim their current contract is a violation of a California law that prohibits personal service contracts from exceeding seven years. "Modern Family has been a breakout critical and financial success," the lawsuit states. "That success, however, has been built upon a collection of illegal contracts."

VIDEO: Sofia sings campfire songs on Modern Family

The six adult cast members also claim their contracts put a limit on how high a raise they receive for each additional season of the show. Vergara's raise reportedly can't exceed five percent per season, and the other members are capped at four percent per year.

The lawsuit asks a judge to rule their contracts should be voided.

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Modern Family Cast Sues Over Contract Renegotiations