by Harry Wilmerding
Actor Clint Eastwood and the company that controls the rights to likeness won a $6.1 million lawsuit Friday against a Lithuanian company that used the actor’s image on its products without his consent, the New York Times reported.
Judge R. Gary Klausner of U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled in favor of Eastwood and his company Garrapata after Lithuanian company Mediations UAB did not respond to a summons in March, according to the NYT. The Lithuanian company was also ordered to pay for Eastwood’s $95,000 legal charges and is blocked from using his name again.
The actor Clint Eastwood was awarded $6.1 million in a lawsuit over fake CBD product endorsements.https://t.co/WfezBjTY8r
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 4, 2021
Eastwood filed two lawsuits in 2020 against the Lithuanian cannabidiol (CBD) company claiming his likeness was used in a fake interview making it appear that the actor endorsed the products, according to the NYT.
“Mr. Eastwood has no connection of any kind whatsoever to any CBD products and never gave such an interview,” court documents read, according to the NYT.
“In pursuing this case and obtaining this judgment, Mr. Eastwood has again demonstrated a willingness to confront wrongdoing and hold accountable those who try to illegally profit of his name, likeness and goodwill,” Jordan Susman, a lawyer for Eastwood, said in a statement obtained by the NYT.
Klausner did not grant the lawsuit’s full request for defamation on Friday saying it did not appear “libelous on its face,” according to the NYT.
“It requires additional context to understand what CBD products and why a person like Clint Eastwood would not endorse a marijuana-based product,” Klausner wrote.
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Harry Wilmerding is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Clint Eastwood” by Fanny Bouton. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Background Photo “Money” by SCR3AMFR3AK. Background Photo “CBD” by Vaping360. CC BY 2.0.
