Kim Kardashian & Old Navy Settle Lawsuit Over Look-A-Like

from the aggressive-discovery dept

Almost exactly a year ago today, I had the displeasure of doing something I said I'd never do: discussing Kim Kardashian. At that time, this (snicker) celebrity, best known for being equal parts pin-cushion and friend-of-Paris-Hilton, sued Old Navy because a young lady named Melissa Molinaro happened to look a bit like her. For this, Kim decided she needed the reasonable sum of $20 Million for Old Navy's infringement of her publicity rights. You can see the supposedly offending video below.
I noted at the time that beyond looking somewhat similar to Kardashian, there didn't appear to be much else in common between the celebrity and the woman in the commercial.
How does just hiring someone that looks like someone else require a lawsuit? At no point when I braved my way through watching the commercial did I think to myself, "Oh, that's totally something Kim Kardashian would have done". I mean, if the commercial showed the actress, oh I don't know, waving the Armenian flag, that would've been one thing. And perhaps if the commercial showed her videotaping herself being nailed by a mildly talented R&B singer, I would have inferred the reference. But the casting call for the commercial didn't even call for a Kim look-a-like! The actress, Melissa Molinaro, told E! Online that her casting call had been "for a true dance pop superstar."
Well, those questions may go unanswered now, as we learn that the two parties have settled the case. It would be very easy to assume that, with a settlement, Old Navy didn't feel as though they were in the clear enough to fight this all the way through. However, a couple of things are to be noted in this settlement.

First, as with many settlements, the terms have not been publicized. No dollar amounts have been discussed at all. So, when it comes to monetary settlement figures, we know exactly nothing. Or, more precisely, we know that Old Navy paid Kardashian somewhere between zero and twenty million dollars. The linked article suggests that the commercial has been pulled from YouTube, which doesn't seem to be the case since the embedded example above works as of the time of this writing. It looks like a whole lot of nothing, as far as I can verify.

Second, while the article doesn't indicate which party engaged to reach a settlement first, there is some interesting information of the full-court press Old Navy was preparing to unleash on Kardashian in court.
After the lawsuit was filed, attorneys for Old Navy parent The Gap were aggressive in the discovery phase, launching an investigation to see whether Kardashian's reputation has been tarnished.

Around the time the Old Navy commercial was cast, Molinaro reportedly was dating one of Kardashian's ex-boyfriends, football star Reggie Bush, who was one of the people The Gap wanted to depose. The Gap also had sought information about why the clothing retailer Bebe decided to drop its Kardashian clothing line, financial records concerning Kardashian's clothing deals and further information about "Kim Kardashian's reputation as a singer and dancer."
It sounds as though Old Navy (The Gap) was going to drag a bunch of Kardashian's personal life into the court room. This may strike some as vindictive, but I'd suggest that there was simply no getting around this. If The Gap wanted to investigate the impact of an alleged publicity rights violation had on someone who has made a name for themselves almost purely through exploiting their personal life (as is the case with Kardashian), that will inevitably drag that personal life into the courtroom.

So, while there are no details on the settlement terms at this point, the coupling of a weak case by Kardashian with what would have assuredly been an uncomfortable witness list put together by The Gap, makes it very easy to imagine Kardashian wanting the whole thing to go away quickly. And if that acts as a deterrent to future lawsuits over so-called publicity rights, that's a good thing.
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Filed Under: commercial, kim kardashian, melissa molinaro, publicity rights
Companies: gap, old navy


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  • icon
    Hephaestus (profile), 30 Aug 2012 @ 11:36pm

    Her butt isn't big enough and it has no cheese. Not Kim K. Tim you are dragging this site down to the level of the Star with this article.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    pdh, 31 Aug 2012 @ 12:39am

    Can't watch video to judge.. too painful on ears.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    That Anonymous Coward (profile), 31 Aug 2012 @ 12:54am

    "It sounds as though Old Navy (The Gap) was going to drag a bunch of Kardashian's personal life into the court room."

    It would be a herculean effort to find something that was not already in the public eye.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2012 @ 1:57am

      Response to: That Anonymous Coward on Aug 31st, 2012 @ 12:54am

      She is just a slut. I am so sick of these Kardashians, just a bunch of fame whores!!! Kim is a bimbo... Enough said

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      AndyD273 (profile), 31 Aug 2012 @ 7:12am

      Re:

      Maybe the threat was to have all the stuff that is already in the public eye dragged together into one pile in the middle of the courtroom for the world to see how pathetic and shallow her life is.
      Something like:
      Old Navy: Ok, here's the deal, right now the pathetic wreckage that you made of your life is spread thinly across the world like a light dusting of ash from a crematory smokestack. We are giving you two choices. One, drop this, and we'll pull the commercial down and go our separate ways. Two, continue this and we'll pull every bad decision, every bit of dirty laundry, every closet skeleton, every bit of dirt and grime that we can find out into the open and shine a spotlight on it so bright that the world will ridicule you and the name Kardashian will become slang for shame. You know that guy you fooled around with in second grade? Yeah, he'll be up on the stand too.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    techflaws (profile), 31 Aug 2012 @ 2:52am

    launching an investigation to see whether Kardashian's reputation has been tarnished.

    more than already by herself opening her mouth and talking?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    SheriffFatman, 31 Aug 2012 @ 2:59am

    Logically, can't Melissa Molinaro sue anyone who produces anything featuring Kim Kardashian for infringing her publicity rights?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      SheriffFatman, 31 Aug 2012 @ 3:01am

      And ... that's exactly what Timothy said the first time around. Sorry.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      Berenerd (profile), 31 Aug 2012 @ 4:48am

      Re:

      I was thinking along this line too but more of, can't she sue Kim for now, basically, reducing her career as now no company will want to hire her to do commercials or anything to avoid a lawsuit with Kim.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Anonymous Coward of Esteemed Trolling (profile), 31 Aug 2012 @ 3:58am

    SHOW INTEREST IN HER....SHE WINS

            UNWARRANTED ATTENTION

    DON'T FEED THE NEEDY FAMEWHORE
     
                 ABANDON STORY

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    DViant, 31 Aug 2012 @ 4:20am

    No Posts About This Trollop

    Please and Thank you.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

    feed me the troll

    dont ignore them feed the troll remember kids feed the troll

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2012 @ 6:32am

    Any publicity is good publicity.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Lowestofthekeys (profile), 31 Aug 2012 @ 6:32am

    This is one of the reasons why I hope that as reality tv evolves and the public's desensitization grows, celebrities like Kim Kardashian will be forced into "reality arenas" akin to the Roman coliseums of old...cuz, I mean, who doesn't want to see her get eaten by a lion?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    aguywhoneedstenbucks (profile), 31 Aug 2012 @ 6:59am

    Who in the unholy fuck is Kim Kardashian?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2012 @ 8:12am

    "... launching an investigation to see whether Kardashian's reputation has been tarnished."

    Now that's funny.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 31 Aug 2012 @ 4:48pm

    Response to andyD237: What dirty piece of laundry on kim kardashian ? You mean the fact that she made a porno sex tape with Ray-Jay ? lol if so, that one is never going away. How embarrassing for her. No wonder why she dosn't get aproached by decent members of their so called "high society"

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Elles, 6 Sep 2012 @ 10:40am

    New Respect for Old Navy

    after reading your article...I think I will go out and shop at Old Navy and The Gap; it has been too long since I shopped at either.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    biography, 4 Dec 2013 @ 1:43am

    kim kardashian

    Kimberly Noel Kardashian is an American socialite, reality television star, actress and model. She began her career as a reality television star. She is now the most popular reality television superstar after Opera Winfrey. She came to the limelight for the sex tape program subsequently resulted in a court awarding her $5 million.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 26 Nov 2014 @ 11:21am

    can I now sue Kim Kardashian for ruining my enjoyment and understanding of all my Armenian friends.
    can I merely sue her for taking away my enjoyment of the Marlatt Molinari lady doing a funny job of representing Old Navy.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Paribahan, 11 May 2017 @ 3:23am

    kim kardashian

    Kimberly Noel Kardashian is an American socialite, reality television star, actress and model. She began her career as a reality television star. She is now the most popular reality television superstar after Opera Winfrey. She came to the limelight for the sex tape program subsequently resulted in a court awarding her $5 million.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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