Insurer Won’t Have to Pay for Model’s Lawsuit

(CN) - A California company that was sued by the model it hired to star in an exercise video cannot appeal to its insurer for cover litigation costs, a state appeals court ruled.

Aroa Marketing tapped Tara Radcliffe to star in a 2007 aerobics video it planned to showcase at a consumer electronics show and on its website.

Radcliffe filed suit when she learned that Aroa had allegedly been using her image to sell other products through media other than the website and the trade show.

Hartford Insurance declined to cover Aroa's losses after the parties settled the dispute.

The trial court ruled in Hartford's favor, and the Los Angeles-based Second District California Court of Appeals agreed. Under an intellectual property exclusion in the policy, Hartford is not required to cover the dispute, Justice Nora Manella wrote for the court.

"The exclusion provides that intellectual property rights are those 'such as copyright, patent, trademark, trade name, trade secret, service mark or other designation of origin or authenticity,'" Manella wrote.

"Thus, by its terms, the list is expressly nonexclusive," she added. "Moreover, to the extent Radcliffe is claiming use of her likeness constituted an endorsement, that too falls into the category of intellectual property claims listed in the exclusion, such as trademark."

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit