SHAW FAMILY ARCHIVES, LTD., EDITH MARCUS and META STEVENS, Plaintiffs, -against- CMG WORLDWIDE, INC., an Indiana Corporation and MARILYN MONROE, LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company, Defendants., 589 F. Supp. 2d 331

Summary

Plaintiffs' suit was filed in response to defendants' suit for alleged commercial exploitation of certain photographs under Indiana law. After the court granted summary judgment dismissing defendants' right of publicity claim under Indiana law, California passed a law conferring a right of publicity, which overruled this decision. Thereafter, a California court entered judgment in a similar case resolving the central issue of the domicile of the actress on her death, and based on this ruling, the court granted summary judgment in favor of plaintiffs in the instant action. The court found that plaintiffs were entitled to fees as prevailing parties under § 32-36-1-12 through the time that defendants' claim under the Indiana law was dismissed. However, a law firm related to plaintiffs was not entitled to fees because its time was expended pro se, and the amount sought was reduced as excessive. The court also awarded sanctions due to the additional work incurred from defendants' late ...