Nephi Hannemann v. Rita McQueen, George Simone and Connie Stevens
Published: Aug. 13, 1994 | Result Date: Jul. 21, 1994 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: BC043358 – $500,000
Judge
Court
L.A. Superior Central
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Michael E. Reznick
(Law Offices of Michael E. Reznick APC)
Jonathan G. Gabriel
(Gabriel Salomons LLP)
Defendant
Facts
In 1988, Plaintiff Nephi Hannemann, Norman Yoshino, and Defendants Rita McQueen and George Simone allegedly entered into a joint venture to develop and market facial toning machines and Rita McQueen Cosmetics, nationally and internationally, through a celebrity spokesperson. Shortly thereafter, Plaintiff allegedly conceived the idea to develop and market a small, hand-held battery operated facial toning device for the consumer market, which Plaintiff allegedly named "The Time Machine." Defendant Rita McQueen's alleged role was to develop the prototype and Defendant George Simone allegedly represented that Connie Stevens had agreed to be the celebrity spokesperson. Several months later, Defendant McQueen allegedly approached Connie Stevens and her company, "Connie Stevens Forever Spring, Inc." ("Forever Spring") to allegedly market Plaintiff's "Time Machine" concept. Defendant Simone is and was the vice president of "Connie Stevens Forever Spring," a California corporation, and is and was actively involved in marketing on behalf of "Connie Stevens Forever Spring." Plaintiff allegedly did not discover the alleged concealment until December 1989, when he allegedly saw "Forever Spring" selling the "Time Machine" concept on television on the Home Shopping Club.
Settlement Discussions
Defendant contends they offered $30,000 and Plaintiff demanded $1,000,000.
Damages
Nature and value not specified.
Other Information
At the end of Plaintiff's case in chief, Defendants moved for a directed verdict. The Court granted a directed verdict dismissing Connie Stevens. Defendant Rita McQueen filed for bankruptcy protection after the verdict on liability, but before deliberations began on the damages phase of the trial.
Deliberation
3.0 days
Poll
varied
Length
11 days
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