Opinion ID: 669089
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Newton's State Law Misappropriation Claims

Text: 15 Newton contends that summary judgment was improper because there are genuine issues of material fact on two elements of his common law right of publicity claim and his statutory appropriation claim. First, he challenges the district court's finding that he undisputedly consented to the use of his name in the TV Series. 4 Second, he argues that a genuine issue of material fact exists on whether Appellees used his name for a commercial purpose. 5 16 Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to Newton, we still disagree with him that consent is a disputed issue. Even though, as Appellees conceded, Newton did not consent orally to the use of his name, we doubt that any fair-minded jury could find non-consent based on Newton's July 18, 1990 letter and subsequent conduct. In the letter, Newton said he was flattered that Appellees were using his name: Everyone I've talked to thinks it's exciting and so do I. By his own deposition testimony, Newton admitted that he did not expect Thomason to believe he objected to the use of his name. Appellees went ahead with the TV Series and committed themselves to using Newton's name. Newton spoke with Thomason on several occasions in the ensuing months and never even hinted that he objected to the use of his name. He did not object until December 1990, when Appellees rejected his proposed theme song, even though he knew by May or June 1990 that they planned to use his name. Nor does the fact that a lawyer, out of caution, requested a writing from Newton stating, I consent mean that Appellees did not believe they had Newton's consent--recall that even Newton did not expect them to believe he objected. Although Newton never uttered the words I consent, it is obvious that he did consent. There is no material issue of fact regarding consent. 17 An additional defect in Newton's state law misappropriation claims was his failure to offer sufficient evidence, in response to the motion for summary judgment, to support his general allegation that Appellees used his name for a commercial purpose. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e) (party opposing summary judgment must set forth specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial and may not rest upon allegations in pleading). We recognize that California courts have liberally defined commercial purpose to include more than traditional, direct advertising. E.g., Eastwood v. Superior Court, 149 Cal.App.3d 409, 421-22, 198 Cal.Rptr. 342 (1983) (Eastwood sufficiently alleged commercial exploitation where the National Enquirer printed his picture on the magazine cover with a sexy story title to attract consumers' attention and provide a commercial advantage over competitor publications.). 18 Nonetheless, commercial purpose means more than merely using a person's name as part of a cast of characters in a television program advertisement that highlights the program's general plot. In this case, Appellees did no more than use the name Wood Newton in the text of newspaper articles announcing Burt Reynolds's debut as a character in the TV Series. Nothing indicated that Reynolds's character name was the same as Newton's name or that the fictional character in the TV Series in any way resembled Newton. Based on the evidence before the court on summary judgment, it is clear that any commercial advantage that Appellees gained by these advertisements was totally unrelated to Newton's notoriety as a country/western music performer. See T.J. Hooker v. Columbia Pictures Indus., 551 F.Supp. 1060, 1062 (N.D.Ill.1982) (no evidence that defendants adopted plaintiff's name for a television police drama to avail themselves of his reputation as an extraordinary woodcarver). We affirm summary judgment on Newton's state law misappropriation claims. 19