Hoffman v. Capital Cities/ABC, Inc.

33 F. Supp. 2d 867, 50 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1195, 27 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1527, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 506, 1999 WL 38490
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedJanuary 22, 1999
DocketCV 97-3638 DT (Mcx)
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 33 F. Supp. 2d 867 (Hoffman v. Capital Cities/ABC, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hoffman v. Capital Cities/ABC, Inc., 33 F. Supp. 2d 867, 50 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1195, 27 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1527, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 506, 1999 WL 38490 (C.D. Cal. 1999).

Opinion

COURT’S MEMORANDUM OF DECISION, FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

TEVRIZIAN, District Judge.

I

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

The above action came on regularly for trial on January 12, 13, 14 and 15, 1999.

Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Ma-chtinger, LLP by Charles N. Sheppard, Esq. and Aaron J. Moss, Esq., appeared for Plaintiff, Dustin Hoffman.

Munger, Tolies & Olson, LLP by Steven M. Perry, Esq. and Steven B. Weisburd, Esq., appeared for Defendants, Los Angeles Magazine, Inc. and ABC, Inc. (formerly known as Capital Cities/ABC, Inc.).

Evidence was presented to the Court sitting without a jury. Oral argument made on behalf of the respective parties was presented and considered by the Court. The Court, now feeling fully advised, rules as follows:

1.Defendant ABC, Inc.’s Motion for Judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(c) is granted. The Court finds that insufficient evidence was presented to the Court on the theories of ratification and/or alter ego to hold Defendant, ABC, Inc., liable;
2. Plaintiff is entitled to judgment as against Defendant, Los Angeles Magazine, Inc., in the total sum of $1,500,000 for compensatory damages on all causes of action asserted by Plaintiff as against Defendant, Los Angeles Magazine, Inc.;
3. Plaintiff is entitled to an award of punitive damages as against Defendant, Los Angeles Magazine, Inc., in a sum to be ascertained after further evidence is presented to the Court. Evidence on this issue will be presented to the Court on January 28, 1999, at 9:30 a.m. in this Courtroom. The Court finds, pursuant to clear and convincing evidence, that the conduct of Defendant, Los Angeles Magazine, Inc., was wilful, malicious and in conscious disregard of Plaintiffs rights pursuant to California Civil Code Section 3294 in that said Defendant has been guilty of oppression, fraud and malice as defined in the said civil code' section;
4. Plaintiff is entitled to an award of attorney’s fees in an amount to be fixed by the Court pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure, Section 3344(a) and Section 35 of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1117(a); and,
5. Plaintiff is entitled to costs of suit as against Defendant, Los Angeles Magazine, Inc.

II

FINDINGS OF FACT

Plaintiff, Dustin Hoffman, is a highly successful and recognizable motion picture actor. For the past thirty years he has appeared in scores of motion pictures and has received numerous honors, including six Academy Award nominations and two Academy Awards. He has also been nominated and has been awarded a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award for his work. It can be said that Mr. Hoffman is truly one our country’s living treasures, joining the ranks of an exclusive handful of motion picture talent.

The right to use Plaintiffs name and likeness is an extremely valuable commodity and *870 privilege not only because of Mr. Hoffman’s stature as an actor, but because he does not knowingly permit commercial uses of his identity. 1 Since appearing in the film The Graduate, Mr. Hoffman has scrupulously guided and guarded the manner in which he has been shown to the public. Plaintiff maintains a strict policy of not endorsing commercial products for fear that he will be perceived in a negative light by his peers and motion picture industry executives, suggesting that his career is in decline and that he no longer has the business opportunities or the box office draw as before.

Defendant, ABC, Inc. (formerly known as Capital Cities/ABC, Inc.), is owned by the Walt Disney Company. ABC, Inc. owns 100% of Defendant, Los Angeles Magazine, Inc., the publisher of Los Angeles Magazine. While many officers and corporate directors of ABC, Inc. serve on the Board of Directors of Los Angeles Magazine, Inc., insufficient evidence was presented to the Court to hold Defendant, ABC, Inc., liable on the theories of ratification and/or alter ego. In fact, the operative pleadings are silent as to these theories.

At Page 118 of its March 1997 issue, Los Angeles Magazine published a photograph of Mr. Hoffman as he appeared to have appeared in the successful 1982 motion picture Tootsie, and through a process of technology employing computer imaging software, manipulated and altered the photograph to make it appear that Mr. Hoffman was wearing what appeared to be a contemporary silk gown designed by Richard Tyler and high-heel shoes designed by Ralph Lauren. Page 118 also contained the following text: “Dustin Hoffman isn’t a drag in a butter-colored silk gown by Richard Tyler and Ralph Lauren heels.”

Mr. Hoffman’s photograph and name appeared in conjunction with an article entitled, “Grand Illusions,” published on Pages 104 through 119 of the March 1997 issue of Los Angeles Magazine. The magazine article used computer technology to merge famous still photographs of famous actors/actresses, many of whom are now deceased, from classic films with photographs of body models wearing spring 1997 fashions identifying the designers of the articles of clothing used in the cannibalized photographs. Many of the articles of clothing used in the magazine article were designed by designers who were major advertisers in Los Angeles Magazine at the time of publication. The “Grand Illusions” article references a “shopping guide” that provides price and store information for the clothing used in the magazine article on Page 147.

The photograph that is the subject of the present litigation used in the “Grand Illusions” article was, as stated before, a still from the film Tootsie, which starred Dustin Hoffman. The original still photograph depicted Mr. Hoffman entirely, in character, wearing a long red dress and standing in front of an American flag with the printed material, “What do you get when you cross a hopelessly straight starving actor with a dynamite red sequined dress?” and “You get America’s hottest hew actress.” The new composite computer-generated photograph that appeared in the “Grand Illusions” article incorporated only Mr. Hoffman’s face and head and the American flag from the original still photograph, and a new photograph of a male model’s body clothed in the silk gown designed by Richard Tyler and high-heel shoes designed by Ralph Lauren.

On Page 7 of the magazine, a still photograph of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman appeared with the caption: “ON THIS PAGE. Fashion photographed by Alberto To-lot. Digital composite by ZZYZX. See ‘Shopping Guide’ on Page 147 for details.” Also contained on the same page was the following: “104 GRAND ILLUSIONS. By using state-of-the-art digital magic, we clothed some of cinema’s most enduring icons in fashions by the hottest designers.”

*871 At Page 10 of the magazine, the Editor-in-Chief of the

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33 F. Supp. 2d 867, 50 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1195, 27 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1527, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 506, 1999 WL 38490, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hoffman-v-capital-citiesabc-inc-cacd-1999.