Facts

Tanya Malch a/k/a Tanya Petrovna sued Daniel Dolan, Andrea McGinty, Native Foods Holdings LLC, Native Foods Illinois LLC, Native Foods Illinois Wholesale LLC, Native Foods Management LLC, Native Foods Clark Street LLC, Native Foods Wholesale LLC, Native Foods California LLC, Native Foods Bucktown LLC, and Native Foods Holding Corp., some of which are foreign.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiff was a chef who opened a chain of vegan restaurants. By 2008, plaintiff's restaurants had grown and she had five locations in Southern California. Around that time, defendants Dolan and McGinty, through Native Foods Holdings acquired the restaurant from plaintiff. Plaintiff was employed as part of the acquisition, but their relationship soon soured. The parties formally severed ties on Oct. 31, 2012. The release agreement required defendants to cease using plaintiff's name, image, or likeness by Nov. 20, 2013 and beyond. However, restaurants in Orange County and Chicago continued to use plaintiff's name, image, and/or likeness beyond the Nov. 20, 2013 deadline. Defendants' website also included a YouTube link that used plaintiff's name, image, and/or likeness. As such, plaintiff sued defendants, alleging causes of action for breach of contract, infringement of common law rights of publicity, violation of California Civil Code Section 3344, unfair competition under Business & Professions Code Section 17200, et seq., federal unfair competition, common law trademark infringement, palming off, and injunctive relief.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
Defendants moved to dismiss the action against the foreign defendants for lack of jurisdiction. Defendants also moved to dismiss the entire action for failure to state a claim.

Result

The court agreed that it lacked jurisdiction over the foreign defendants. Accordingly, the court dismissed the action as to those defendants. With respect to the remaining defendants, the court granted defendants' dismissal motion in part. Particularly, the court dismissed Malch's claim for damages under the UCL and the breach of contract. The court, however, granted Malch leave to amend her breach of contract claim.

Other Information

Dolan and McGinty, and the Delaware corporation, which is the holding company for all the Native Foods intellectual property, are still in the case for multiple causes of action. Plaintiff has filed an amended complaint. FILING DATE: March 17, 2015.