In Bovinett v. HomeAdvisor, the actor and model Ray Alan Bovinett sued HomeAdvisor, alleging that the company used his photo in a commercial without proper authorization.
Although Bovinett had signed a release that granted the company the authority to use him in commercials and other media, he said that the company had told his agent that, "notwithstanding the consent and release language, HomeAdvisor would not put the photos to use in any video format." A year after the photo shoot, HomeAdvisor aired television commercials that incorporated his photo. Bovinett then sued, suing for fraudulent inducement and other claims.
Based on the language of the release that explicitly granted HomeAdvisor the right to use his photo in commercials, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted HomeAdvisor's motion to dismiss. With respect to the claim for fraudulent inducement, the court said that under Illinois law, these types of claims are generally not actionable, unless they are particularly egregious or are part of a larger scheme (which the court found was not the case here).
While the plaintiff wasn't successful in this case, in order to avoid claims like this, it's important to be sure that when you're engaging talent, you don't communicate information about the deal that is inconsistent with the release that the talent is signing.
https://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/illinois/ilndce/1:2017cv06229/343561/43
This alert provides general coverage of its subject area. We provide it with the understanding that Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz is not engaged herein in rendering legal advice, and shall not be liable for any damages resulting from any error, inaccuracy, or omission. Our attorneys practice law only in jurisdictions in which they are properly authorized to do so. We do not seek to represent clients in other jurisdictions.
