Lutz v. De Laurentiis

In 1975, after a month of experiencing alleged paranormal phenomena, George and Kathleen Lutz (plaintiffs) moved out of the home in which Ronald DeFeo murdered his parents and four siblings in Amityville, New York. The Lutzes hired a writer to author a book based on their experiences, and the ultimate book, The Amityville Horror, became a national best-seller. In 1977, the Lutzes granted Professional Films, Inc. (PFI) and its assignees the right to produce a motion picture based on the book but reserved the right to make sequels based on the events that happened to them after fleeing the home. The Lutzes made extensive promotional efforts to promote both the book and the much-anticipated movie adaptation, while also promising a sequel book and movie depicting the events that happened to them after fleeing the home. In 1979, the movie adaptation of the same name was released to great commercial success. In 1980, the Lutzes hired another writer to author the sequel book, and the ultimate book, The Amityville Horror II, also became a national best-seller. In 1982, Orion Productions, the successor-in-interest to PFI, along with Dino De Laurentiis, Dino De Laurentiis Corporation, and Productions, Ltd. (Orion) (defendants) released a movie entitled Amityville II: The Possession about the events that happened in the home before the Lutzes moved into it. In 1983, Orion released another movie entitled Amityville 3-D about fictionalized events that happened in the home. The Lutzes then filed suit for unfair competition, alleging that Orion’s use of the word Amityville in each of the movies’ titles in conjunction with the designation “II” or “3-D” misled the public into believing its two movies were the sequels to the Lutzes’ works and so diluted the value of their sequel that their plans to produce it collapsed. The trial court granted Orion’s motion for judgment on the pleadings after concluding the Lutzes could not, as a matter of law, allege that the word Amityville had acquired secondary meaning.