Hoffman v. Capital Cities/ABC, Inc.

Dustin Hoffman (plaintiff) was a successful film actor who had received multiple honors over the course of his career. Hoffman had been involved in films for 30 years. Capital Cities/ABC, Inc. (ABC) (defendant) owned and published Los Angeles Magazine (magazine) (defendant). The magazine was regional, but its publication was in a market that included many motion picture-industry executives. The March 1997 issue of the magazine included a photograph of Hoffman. The photograph was from a movie in which Hoffman acted. Using a computer-imaging software, the magazine employees had altered the photograph of Hoffman to make it appear as though he was wearing a designer gown and designer high heels. The following sentence appeared with the photograph: “Dustin Hoffman isn’t a drag in a butter-colored silk gown by Richard Tyler and Ralph Lauren heels.” The magazine had not sought consent from Hoffman to publish the altered photograph; Hoffman scrupulously avoided commercial use of his likeness. Indeed, this was the first time Hoffman’s name and likeness had been used in a context unrelated to one of his films. In response, Hoffman sued ABC for, among other things, the unauthorized use of his name and likeness. The parties went to a bench trial and moved for judgments. The trial court found that there was an unauthorized use of Hoffman’s name and likeness and sought to determine the amount of damages for that violation.