Michael Jordan Now Suing Two Grocery Stores
Michael Jordan now wants to get $10 million dollars from two separate Chicago grocery stores that he claims used his name without his permission in a grocery store ad. According to Yahoo Sports, the former basketball great is suing because he claims that Dominick's Finer Foods and Jewel Food Stores both used his name in order to drive customers to their stores....but they failed to get his permission when they ran the ads for the commemorative Sports Illustrated issue, "Jordan: A Hall of Fame Career." The Michael Jordan lawsuit rampage begins.
In two separate lawsuits, Mr. Jordan claims that each grocery store is guilty of false endorsement, consumer fraud, deceptive trade practices and unfair competition.
In the first lawsuit against Dominick's Finer Foods, the grocery store used his name with the catch phrase: "You are a cut above" and featured a steak ad for its Rancher's Reserve steak (which is sold by its parent company Safeway). Mr. Jordan already has two steakhouses and sells steaks online.
The second lawsuit against Jewel Food Stores features a picture of Michael Jordan's Nike sneakers with a congratulatory message, but also mentions that the store is "just around the corner". Mr. Jordan claims that the photo in that ad is an "inaccurate and misleading copy" of his Nike sneakers.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the lawsuits were filed in Cook County Circuit Court. The lawsuits both claim that neither grocery store "received Jordan's permission to use his identity or to imply his endorsement in connection with the goods and services offered." Both grocery stores have not responded to the lawsuits yet.
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