Martin v. Living Essentials, LLC

160 F. Supp. 3d 1042, 117 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1629, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11287, 2016 WL 374142
District Court, N.D. Illinois·Decided February 1, 2016·No. No. 15 C 01647·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

[1044] MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

John J. Tharp, Jr., United States District Judge

Oscar Wilde once observed: “It is a curious fact that people are never so trivial as when they take themselves seriously.” Case in point: Plaintiff Johannes T. (“Ted”) Martin claims invasion of privacy and false advertising based on a television commercial in which an actor plugging an energy drink claims to have accomplished a series of seemingly impossible feats, all within the five-hour boost of energy the product purports to provide. These include mastering origami “while beating the record for Hacky Sack.” Am. Compl. 2, ECF No. 8. Martin, who holds the world record for most consecutive kicks (no knees) in the footbag (ie. hacky sack) singles category and has held that record since 1988 (with the exception of a brief period of 50 days in 1997), takes umbrage at the suggestion that consuming an energy drink could enable someone to break a record— his record — that doubtless requires a great deal of athleticism and countless hours of practice. He sees no humor in what he perceives to be an effort to exploit his achievement. But, whether Martin himself finds it humorous or not, the ad is clearly a comedic farce and in no way trades on Martin’s identity. Were he to take a step back, Martin might even see that, if anything, the ad promotes the game to which he has given so much of himself (including, perhaps, his sense of humor). In any event, the amended complaint asserts no plausible cause of action and, for the reasons set forth more fully below, is dismissed with prejudice.

BACKGROUND1

Martin brings claims against Defendant Living Essentials, LLC (“Living Essentials”) under the Illinois Right to Publicity Act (“IRPA”), 765 ILCS 1075/1 et seq., and the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a). Currently before the Court is Living Essential’s motion to dismiss the Amended Complaint in its entirety. ECF No. 10. At issue is a commercial for an energy drink called “5-hour ENERGY” (“5HE”) in which an actor claims that “in the last 5 hours” he: disproved the theory of relativity; swam the English Channel and back; found Bigfoot; and mastered origami while beating “the record for Hacky Sack,” all because he took a 5HE shot (“the Commercial”).2 Mem. in Supp. Ex. A, ECF No. 12. The specific portion of the Commercial that is at issue depicts a Caucasian male actor kicking two hacky sacks while using his hands to construct an elaborate origami figure. Id. The Commercial also displays small-print text on the bottom of the screen stating, “For comedic purposes only. Not actual results[,]” and “Not proven to improve physical performance, dexterity or endurance.” Id. Martin takes is[1045] sue with the statement in the Commercial that the actor beat the record for hacky sack because he consumed 5HE, asserting that the statement is a false representation of fact and that the actor assumed his identity as the hacky sack world record holder, in violation of the IRPA and the Lanham Act.

DISCUSSION

To survive a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), a plaintiffs “[f] actual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). A complaint must state a “plausible claim for relief,” and “where the well-pleaded facts do not permit the court to infer more than the mere possibility of misconduct, the complaint has alleged — but it has not ‘show[n]’ — ’that the pleader is entitled to relief” under Rule 8. Iqbal, at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937. Although a court must accept all of the plaintiffs factual allegations as true when reviewing the complaint, conclu-sory allegations merely restating the elements of a cause of action do not receive this presumption: “A complaint must allege facts to support a cause of action’s basic elements; the plaintiff is required to do at least that much.” Adams v. City of Indianapolis, 742 F.3d 720, 728 (7th Cir.2014).

I. Jurisdiction

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 requires that a complaint contain “a short and plain statement of the grounds for the court’s jurisdiction.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(1). Martin pleaded in his Amended Complaint that, “The jurisdiction of this Court is invoked pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332.” Am. Compl. 2. While this statement alone is not sufficient to state the grounds for jurisdiction, Martin has adequately supplemented the jurisdictional statement in his response to the motion to dismiss, stating, “The Defendant is based in Michigan and I am a long term resident of the Northern District of Illinois. I seek damages in an amount exceeding $75,000.” Resp. 15, ECF No. 15. Moreover, while Martin does not cite the statute, he correctly states that this Court has original jurisdiction over a Lanham Act case. Resp. 14; see 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Thus, Martin has fulfilled the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(1), and this Court has jurisdiction over this case.

II. IRPA Claim

A. Statute of Limitations

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Martin v. Living Essentials, LLC, 160 F. Supp. 3d 1042, 117 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1629, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11287, 2016 WL 374142 (N.D. Ill. 2016).

160 F. Supp. 3d 1042 (Martin v. Living Essentials, LLC) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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