LOS ANGELES, Aug. 12, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Vidal Sassoon's historic lawsuit against consumer marketing giant Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is going to trial. P&G's motion for summary judgment to prevent a trial has been denied by U.S. District Court Judge Margaret M. Morrow, ruling that Sassoon's multi-million-dollar damages lawsuit against P&G could proceed to court this October. Sassoon alleges the company made a conscious decision to starve Sassoon's hair-care product line of essential promotional efforts and marketing money in favor of P&G's competing product Pantene, thereby avoiding royalty payments to Sassoon.
In a lawsuit originally filed in April 2003, Sassoon claims that P&G flagrantly breached an exclusive license that he granted in 1985 allowing the company to be the sole worldwide distributor of products bearing the name of the legendary hair styling pioneer. Sales of Sassoon brand products in the U.S. and Europe have plummeted from a high of $344 million in 1992 to $56 million in 2002. P&G announced in 2003 that it was discontinuing the line in North America and Europe.
This was P&G's second failed attempt to dismiss the entire case. Judge Morrow denied the company's earlier motion to dismiss last October.
"I am thrilled that we will have our day in court -- especially after two attempts by P& G to bury this case as it tried to bury my brand and my name," stated Sassoon. "I want the company and its management held accountable for their conscious, quite intentional decision to damage a reputation and brand I have spent my life building, including nearly two decades with P&G."
He noted that even P&G, in its motion for summary judgment to dismiss the case, acknowledged that the Sassoon brand was still vital in certain areas, specifically Asia, where it is P&G's top-selling brand, achieving sales in excess of $200 million in 2003.
In her 70-page opinion, Judge Morrow ruled that Sassoon presented sufficient evidence of P&G's bad faith towards Sassoon, and should be allowed to present his evidence to a jury. The judge held that Sassoon's evidence inferred "P&G favored Pantene over Sassoon because Pantene had a higher profit margin" and this evidence in turn "supports an inference that P&G exercised its discretion with respect to the Sassoon brand in bad faith to protect Pantene and other P&G brands . . . " Sassoon's evidence includes internal P&G documents discussing concerns that Sassoon product sales would "cannibalize" sales of other P&G hair care products, such as Pantene. The ruling also noted, " . . . given the evidence he adduced . . . Sassoon has raised genuine issues of fact as to whether P&G breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing . . . by exercising its discretion arbitrarily or in bad faith." Judge Morrow granted in part P&G's motion for summary judgment, dismissing charges of fraud.
Sassoon is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages as well as the rescission of his license agreement with Procter & Gamble. The Cincinnati-based company posted more than $51 billion in global sales for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2004.
"We will prove in court that Procter & Gamble was a faithless fiduciary in its relationship with Sassoon," said Sassoon's lead trial counsel Pierce O'Donnell. "The company's blatant disregard for what had become the world's most famous hair care name led them to deliberately starve Sassoon of vital advertising dollars and promotion to favor Pantene -- all to avoid paying Sassoon a royalty."
Ann Marie Mortimer, Sassoon's other lead counsel at O'Donnell & Shaeffer in Los Angeles, added: "Procter & Gamble consciously took the world's icon of hair care and style and systematically set out to destroy his name. The company exploited the Sassoon brand name and image to establish themselves as hair care experts, cannibalizing his legacy and heritage, only to later dump the Sassoon products in some 99-cent sale bin. We will show that the company did so in absolute breach of its fiduciary duty, good faith and fair dealing."
Sassoon's case is scheduled for jury trial October 19, 2004 in Los Angeles, following months of discovery of the company's internal marketing and financial documents and sworn deposition testimony of senior Procter & Gamble present and former executives, among others.