Olive v. General Nutrition Centers, Inc.

Both parties appealed the trial court's order denying prevailing party attorney fees in an action where GNC admitted liability for the unauthorized use of plaintiff's likeness. The Court of Appeal held that the trial court abused its discretion in its determination that plaintiff was not the prevailing party. In this case, plaintiff achieved an undeniable victory on his Civil Code section 3344 claim: a $213,000 verdict for actual damages versus the $4,800 verdict proposed by GNC; and $910,000 in emotional distress damages versus GNC's recommendation of zero damages. In contrast, GNC prevailed by defeating plaintiff's demand for unauthorized profits. Therefore, the court reversed the order denying plaintiff's motion for attorney fees. View "Olive v. General Nutrition Centers, Inc." on Justia Law