Legal News

Watchmaker Dials Up Theron in Summary Judgment. Damages to Come

By Dionne Searcey

Actress Charlize Theron, caught cheating on Raymond Weil with Dior, will have to pay up, says SDNY Judge Colleen McMahon.

For breaking her product endorsement agreement with Raymond Weil, the “Monster” star and her production company, Denver & Delilah Films Inc., could have to cough up $20 million — if Raymond Weil has its way. The fancy Swiss watchmaker scored a summary judgment victory over Theron’s alleged failure to exclusively wear its watches in public, per the agreement.

It’s a shocking break-up. If you remember, when we blogged the suit last year, we noted that Theron had once been called the “perfect Ambassador for our timepieces” by the company’s CEO.

The watchmaker, according to this NY Post story, claimed she wore a Dior watch at a news conference in Texas and jewelry by Dior and Montblanc in advertisements. (The complaint can be found at the Smoking Gun Web site.)

“It is obvious that Theron cannot be dismissed . . . she was not an unwary agent,” McMahon wrote in her summary judgment opinion, noting that Theron’s initials appeared 10 times on the 10-page contract the actress broke. Damages will be awarded at a trial.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on October 09, 2008 (boomark / email).