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Could Charlie Sheen Sue to Return to Work?

By Stephanie Rabiner, Esq. on February 17, 2011 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Charlie Sheen has had the fastest drug recovery known to mankind. What was it? Nine days?

In an interview, Sheen explained that he "heal[s] really quickly," reports The Montreal Gazette. Indeed, he also "unravel[s] pretty quickly"--so quickly, that he's itching to get back to work and fast, before boredom sends his "recovery" off track.

So, Charlie Sheen wants to return to work. He's doing fine. No more drugs or porn stars. The baby isn't his. But what if Warner Bros. and CBS don't want him to return to work? Can Charlie Sheen sue to force the show back to shooting?

As discussed on FindLaw's Law & Daily Life, the studios could not fire Charlie for simply going to rehab. He reportedly stopped his drug use and took a little (emphasis on little) time to clean up his act, which is protected by the American with Disabilities Act. Now that Charlie Sheen wants to return to work, the legal questions have changed.

Sheen is under contract with the studios, which means that not only does he have obligations to them, they have obligations to him. When one party makes it impossible for the other to perform their contractual obligations, that party is in breach of contract. In other words, if Charlie Sheen showed up to work, ready and lucid, and the studios refused to allow him on set or in front of a camera, they could be in breach of contract. Charlie Sheen could sue on this basis.

Though he could sue, he might not win.

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