Ruffin-Steinback v. Depasse
| Decision Date | 03 February 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. 99-71088.,No. 99-70514.,No. 99-70515.,No. 99-70513.,99-70513.,99-70514.,99-70515.,99-71088. |
| Citation | 82 F.Supp.2d 723 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan |
| Parties | Cheryl RUFFIN-STEINBACK, individually and in her capacity as Personal Representative of the Estate of Davis E. Ruffin, p/k/a David Ruffin, Nedra Ruffin, Kimberly Bogan, David Ruffin, Jr., Earline Ruffin, Josephine Miles, Johnnie Mae Mathews and Rose Franklin, individuals, Plaintiffs, v. Suzanne dePASSE, dePasse Entertainment, Otis Williams ("Temptations"), Shelly Burger, National Broadcasting Company, Inc., David Picker and Hallmark Entertainment, individuals and corporations, jointly and severally, Defendants. |
Gregory J. Reed, Bertram L. Marks, Gregory J. Reed & Associates, PC, Detroit, MI, for plaintiffs.
Herschel P. Fink, Cynthia G. Thomas, Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn, Detroit, MI, for defendant dePasse.
Gregory M. Kopacz, Douglas F. Fryer, Marvin D. Wilder, Dykema Gossett PLLC, Bloomfield Hills, for defendants Hallmark, NBC and David Picker.
The production and airing of a miniseries docudrama1 depicting the story of the "legendary Motown act" the "Temptations" set the stage for this case. Plaintiffs are the estate of one of the former members of the group, Davis "David" Ruffin (Ruffin), Ruffin's heirs and his mother, and three other persons depicted in the mini-series. They filed complaints against several defendants, alleging state law tort claims for violation of the right of publicity, unjust enrichment, negligence, conspiracy, invasion of privacy, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Defendants, in response, filed motions to dismiss the complaints for failure to state claims under Michigan law.
In November 1998, defendant National Broadcasting Company (NBC) aired a four-hour, two-night mini-series depicting the story of the Temptations as told by Otis Williams, a founding member of the group. Defendants Suzanne de Passe, de Passe Entertainment, Otis Williams, Shelly Burger, David Picker and Hallmark Entertainment were involved in the production of the mini-series.2
The mini-series relates the story of the Temptations from their beginning as a singing group until the present time. It is based upon a novel written by Otis Williams, and was told, essentially, from his perspective. It details portions of the lives of the original members of the Temptations, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, Otis Williams and Elbridge Bryant. Significantly, for our purposes, the mini-series also contains details of the life of the late David Ruffin, the lead singer for the Temptations from 1964 to 1968. It also depicts many of the people who were involved in either family or business relationships with the Temptations: Melvin Franklin's mother, Rose Franklin; Otis Williams' first wife, Josephine Miles; and the first agent of the Temptations (when they were known as Otis Williams and the Distants), Johnnie Mae Mathews. None of these persons, David Ruffin (through his estate), Rose Franklin, Josephine Miles or Johnnie Mae Mathews was compensated for the use of their life-stories as they related to the Temptations. Allegedly, none of these people consented to the use of their likenesses — through actor portrayals — in the mini-series.
In January 1999, plaintiff Cheryl Ruffin-Steinback (Ruffin-Steinback), individually and as the personal representative of the estate of David Ruffin, filed suit against the defendants in the Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit.3 She alleged, on behalf of the estate, state law tort claims for violation of the right of publicity, unjust enrichment, negligence, conspiracy and invasion of privacy. Joining with her in the complaint were David Ruffin's remaining heirs, including Nedra Ruffin, Kimberly Bogan and David Ruffin, Jr. They, along with Ruffin-Steinback, alleged individual claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress. Also joining in the complaint was the late Earline Ruffin, David Ruffin's mother. The complaint raised, on behalf of Earline Ruffin, separate counts of defamation, false light invasion of privacy, defamation by implication and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Three other related complaints were filed, one each by Rose Franklin, Johnnie Mae Mathews and Josephine Miles. Each complaint alleged violations of the right of publicity, unjust enrichment, negligence and conspiracy, and all of the complaints but that of Johnnie Mae Mathews alleged intentional infliction of emotional distress. Johnnie Mae Mathews' complaint also alleged defamation and false light invasion of privacy, and Josephine Miles' complaint alleged defamation and invasion of privacy based on the public disclosure of private embarrassing facts.
Each of the complaints requested that defendants be enjoined from further dissemination of the mini-series or sale of video-cassettes containing the movie and that defendants provide an accounting of all financial amounts resulting from the airing of the movie and sale of the videotapes.
The cases were removed to this court by defendants based on diversity jurisdiction and were consolidated pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 42(a). I denied plaintiffs' motions for remand to state court.
Defendants then filed motions to dismiss the complaints, contending that none of the approximately thirty counts in the four complaints could be maintained, either as a matter of Michigan law, or on the facts of this case. Several hearings have been held in order to clarify the parties' arguments and expand the record. For the reasons that follow, I conclude that only Johnnie Mae Mathews' counts of defamation and false light invasion of privacy can properly be maintained.
Defendants' motions were initially filed as motions to dismiss pursuant to FRCP 12(b)(6). In ruling on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, the factual allegations in the complaint are taken as true and construed in a light most favorable to the plaintiffs. See Pinney Dock and Transport Co. v. Penn Central Corp., 196 F.3d 617, 619 (6th Cir.1999) (citing Morgan v. Church's Fried Chicken, 829 F.2d 10, 12 (6th Cir.1987)). "Denial of the motion is proper `unless it can be established beyond a doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief.'" Id. (quoting Achterhof v. Selvaggio, 886 F.2d 826, 831 (6th Cir.1989)).
During the course of arguments, the parties have submitted documentary evidence, primarily in the form of affidavits, in support of their positions and I have, where appropriate and necessary, considered this evidentiary material. As to some of the counts of the complaint, then, defendants' motion to dismiss is more properly considered a motion for summary judgment pursuant to FRCP 56. See Fugarino v. Hartford Life and Accident Ins. Co., 969 F.2d 178, 182 (6th Cir.1992). Courts properly grant summary judgment when the moving party establishes through pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions, and affidavits that "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact, and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Mauro v. Borgess Medical Center, 137 F.3d 398, 401 (6th Cir.1998), quoting FRCP 56(c). Under Rule 56(c), a defendant bears an initial burden of demonstrating that an essential element of the nonmoving party's case is lacking. Kalamazoo River Study Group v. Rockwell Int'l Corp., 171 F.3d 1065, 1068 (6th Cir.1999) (citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)). The nonmoving party must then show that there is in fact a genuine issue for trial, Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986), and must identify specific facts, supported by evidence. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 561, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992); Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. In deciding a motion for summary judgment, the court must view the factual evidence in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Mount Elliott Cemetery Ass'n. v. City of Troy, 171 F.3d 398, 402-3 (6th Cir.1999) (citing Matsushita Elec. Industrial Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587-88, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)).
This case contains a myriad of claims, some of which are common to all plaintiffs and some of which are unique to only one or two plaintiffs. Some counts, though common to more than one plaintiff — such as the defamation counts — depend on differing facts in each plaintiff's case. With this in mind, I address the counts of plaintiffs' complaints and defendants' arguments for dismissal or summary judgment in the following manner:
(A) Misappropriation claims — all plaintiffs.
(B) Unjust enrichment, conspiracy and negligence claims — all plaintiffs.
(C) Defamation, defamation by implication, and false light invasion of privacy claims:
(1) Josephine Miles.
(2) Earline Ruffin.
(3) Johnnie Mae Mathews.
(D) Invasion of privacy based on public disclosure of private embarrassing facts — Josephine Miles only.
(E) Intentional infliction of emotional distress claims — all plaintiffs.
The principal issue in this case is plaintiffs' claim that defendants unlawfully misappropriated their life-stories, names, and likenesses in producing and airing the Temptations miniseries. Simply put, plaintiffs seek compensation for the use of their names and life-events in the miniseries.
The Michigan Supreme Court4 has recognized a tort-claim for the invasion of a right to privacy that includes misappropriation of a person's name or likeness:
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