Vidal Sassoon Scores Decisive Early Round Victory Over Procter & Gamble; Federal Judge's Decision Allows Sassoon's Legal Case to Proceed to Trial.Business Editors/Legal Writers LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 21, 2003 In a major ruling, a federal judge in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. decided yesterday that Vidal Sassoon's multi-million-dollar damages lawsuit against Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) may proceed toward trial. Specifically, U.S. District Court Judge Margaret M. Morrow denied P&G's motion to dismiss the entire complaint alleging a conscious decision by the consumer marketing giant to starve Sassoon's product line of essential promotional efforts and marketing money in favor of P&G's competing product Pantene. In a lawsuit filed last April, Sassoon claims that P&G flagrantly breached an exclusive license that he granted in 1985 allowing the company to be the sole worldwide distributor of products bearing the name of the legendary hair styling pioneer. Sales of Sassoon brand products in the U.S. and Europe have plummeted from a high of $220 million in 1994 to $42 million in 2002. Recently, P&G announced that it was discontinuing the line in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. and Europe. "This is a wonderful step in our fight to hold Procter & Gamble accountable for its intentional decision to put me out of business after so many years of making so much money for them," Sassoon stated. "I refuse to be buried. The brand's name remains vital, as attested to by our sales of $201 million in Asia last year and our record sales pace for 2003, making it P&G's top selling brand in Asia." In a 36-page opinion, Judge Morrow ruled that Sassoon had adequately alleged as a matter of law that P&G had a fiduciary relationship fiduciary relationship n. where one person places complete confidence in another in regard to a particular transaction or one's general affairs or business. The relationship is not necessarily formally or legally established as in a declaration of trust, but can be with Sassoon, that P&G had breached its fiduciary duties to Sassoon by promoting Pantene over Sassoon's brand, and that P&G breached its contractual duty of good faith and fair dealing to Sassoon by discontinuing his product in major markets and otherwise sabotaging his highly-successful product line. The federal court also found that Sassoon could go forward with a claim of constructive fraud constructive fraud n. when the circumstances show that someone's actions gives him/her an unfair advantage over another by unfair means (lying or not telling a buyer about defects in a product, for example), the court may decide from the methods used and the result against the Cincinnati-based company with more than $43 billion in global sales in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2003. In the same ruling, Judge Morrow required that Sassoon refile his claim for fraud against Procter & Gamble by alleging more specifically about his reasonable reliance on his distributor's gross misinterpretations of marketing plans and fraudulent concealment fraudulent concealment, n the deliberate attempt to withhold information or to conceal an act to avoid contractual responsibility. Fraudulent concealment as applied to health care providers arises when a treating doctor conceals from an aggrieved patient of its plans to scuttle Sassoon's brand. "Vidal Sassoon's unique stature as an icon in the world of hair care -- and his active cooperation and support of the product for more than two decades -- were pivotal facts in the court's decision," observed Thomas Girardi Tom Girardi, born 1939, is a founding partner of Girardi & Keese[1], a downtown Los Angeles law firm that has earned a reputation as L.A. County's king of the class action lawsuit. , a prominent trial lawyer in Los Angeles who specializes in complex business litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. . "Judge Morrow is a highly respected federal judge who has written a thoughtful, scholarly decision." Sasson is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages as well as the rescission The abrogation of a contract, effective from its inception, thereby restoring the parties to the positions they would have occupied if no contract had ever been formed. By Agreement of his license agreement with Procter & Gamble. "If Procter & Gamble can get away with such heavy-handed conduct toward Vidal Sassoon Vidal Sassoon (born January 17, 1928) is a hairdresser. Sassoon was born to Jewish parents in London. His father was from Thessaloniki in northern Greece with Iraqi origins, and his mother, whose family was originally from Kiev, was born in London. , no exclusive licensor is safe," commented Sassoon's lead trial counsel Pierce O'Donnell. "We will prove at trial that Procter & Gamble was a faithless fiduciary that callously sabotaged the world's most famous hair care brand to avoid paying Vidal Sassoon a 1.5% gross royalty." Sassoon's case will proceed with discovery of the company's internal marketing and financial documents and sworn deposition testimony of senior Procter & Gamble present and former executives. These witnesses will include present Chairman and Chief Executive Officer A.G. Lafley and his predecessor John Pepper John Pepper, real name József Pogány, also known as Joseph, (1886 - 1937) was a Hungarian Jewish-born Communist active in the United States. His original name was Josef Schwartz. . "We are confident that internal Procter & Gamble records Gamble Records was a record label founded by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. It was originally launched in 1966 as Excel Records but was soon renamed. In 1971 they launched Philadelphia International Records. will clearly establish that Vidal's brand was cannibalized to promote royalty-free Pantene," added Ann Marie Mortimer, Sassoon's other lead counsel at O'Donnell & Shaeffer in Los Angeles. A trial is scheduled for September 21, 2004. A copy of the court's decision will be available at www.oslaw.com/news_opinions.html. |
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