Lindsay Lohan is suing E-Trade over a Super Bowl commercial, which features a “milkaholic” boyfriend-stealing baby named Lindsay.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday in Nassau County Supreme Court in New York and obtained by Access Hollywood, claims that Lohan’s rights under the New York state civil-rights law were violated when E-Trade used the “likeness of the plaintiff’s name, characterization, and personality” in the commercial.
The suit claims that E-Trade “committed tortuous acts” and “are causing injury to” Lohan with the commercial.
The suit goes on to claim that the commercial, which features stock trading babies talking to each via a video chat “violated the plaintiff’s right of privacy.”
(CLICK HERE to view the lawsuit)
On Thursday, E-Trade released a statement over the litigation to Access Hollywood.
“While E-Trade doesn’t typically comment on pending litigation, we felt it appropriate given the high level of interest in the E-Trade Baby. With the E-Trade Baby, our advertising campaign is meant to be witty and memorable, while effectively communicating the powerful investing tools and services offered by E-Trade. We believe the claims are without merit and we intend to defend ourselves vigorously in this case,” E-Trade said in a statement to Access.
In the ad, a baby boy is apologizing to a baby girl for not calling her.
“And that milkaholic Lindsay wasn’t over?” the baby girl asks.
[POLL: Does Lindsay Have A Case? CLICK HERE to vote!]
“Lindsay?” the boy replies, as another baby girl appears on screen and says, “Milk-a-what?”
(See the E-Trade ad in question, HERE!)
According to the suit, Lohan is asking for $50 million in exemplary damages and another $50 million in compensatory damages.
When contacted by Access Hollywood, Lohan’s attorney, Anand Ahuja, said it was obvious that Lohan’s likeness has been used and denied it was a publicity stunt.
“It’s very much a legitimate case because if anybody looks at it they know her name and characterization have been used,” he told Access. “Everybody has a right to have one’s own perception, all that matters is that the truth will come out in court.”
In addition to $100 million in damages, the suit is asking for the E-Trade commercial be removed from the air and wants the financial company to turn over all copies of the spot to Lohan.
Access caught up with attorney Mark Geragos – who has defended Michael Jackson, Winona Ryder and Chris Brown – on Tuesday, who said the case would be difficult for Lohan’s legal team.
“It’s a very tough lawsuit to prevail on cause you run into a very meddlesome barrier which is the First Amendment,” he told Access. “I don’t think this is going to pass a pleading stage or motion to dismiss.”
He added that Lohan might walk away with more money if she decided to use E-Trade rather than sue the company, saying, “The average price for an E-Trade is probably more than they’ll ever get for this lawsuit.”
Copyright © 2024 by NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be republished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.