The widow of professional wrestler Owen Hart is suing U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon, her husband and their company, World Wrestling Entertainment.
Martha Hart filed a suit on Tuesday morning in Connecticut accusing the WWE and the McMahons of using Owen Hart’s name and likeness without the right to do so in several commercial videos and other materials. She says this is in violation of a contract restricting the use of Hart’s name, likeness and wrestling footage.
Martha Hart also accuses the WWE and the McMahons of disregarding her wishes against associating her late husband’s name the WWE after his death.
Linda McMahon's Senate campaign is directing inquires about the lawsuit to the WWE.
Owen Hart died on May 23, 1999 after an accident at a wrestling event in Kansas City, according to NNDB. He fell to his death while filming Over the Edge, a wrestling pay-per-view special. The safety harness that was supposed to lower Hart to the ring released too early. Hart fell 50 feet and landed on a turnbuckle, according the NNDB.
In 2000, Martha Hart and the WWE settled a wrongful death lawsuit and she established the Owen Hart Foundation later that year.
Hart, represented by Nixon Peabody LLP, filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Connecticut against WWE, Vince McMahon, who is the current chairman and CEO, and Linda McMahon, who was the CEO until 2009.
McMahon is running in a high-profile race for the U.S. Senate seat Chris Dodd currently holds. She's in a race against financial pundit Peter Schiff and former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, who has stopped his campaigning but will remain on the Republican primary ballot.
One of the reasons Simmons ending his active campaigning is campaign spending. McMahon has pledged to spend $50 million of her own money in her quest for office.
“In the eleven years since Owen’s tragic and avoidable death, I have worked tirelessly to disassociate Owen’s name and likeness from anything related to WWE in order to protect our children from any reminder of the circumstances surrounding their father’s death, and to avoid any misplaced perception that I endorse WWE,” Martha Hart said in a statement.
She went on to say, “Unfortunately, even though WWE, Vince McMahon and Linda McMahon were and are well aware of my wishes and desire to shield my children from WWE and its activities, I was shocked to learn earlier this year that they have been using Owen’s name and likeness in videos, websites, television programs and print materials. Given this callous, insensitive and irresponsible behavior, one must question the moral character of Vince and Linda McMahon and the manner in which they conduct their business.”
Martha Hart wants to prevent the WWE from further use of Owen Hart’s name and likeness and wants unpaid royalties as well as damages for breach of contract, copyright infringement, unjust enrichment, accounting and unfair and deceptive trade practices.
