Lawyer sued by Judge Judy over TV ads says stations urged him to participate
Sued by Judge Judy over alleged unauthorized use of the famed TV-show jurist’s likeness in a video clip, a Connecticut lawyer says he simply participated in an advertising program when asked to do so by local stations.
John Haymond says he is a fan of Judy Scheindlin’s show and was happy to join in the arrangement when stations that had produced the footage pitched it to him, Courthouse News reports.
“The local stations proposed that the promotional advertisements would be cooperative advertising in which the stations would promote the Judge Judy show for their benefit, and presumably for the benefit of Sheindlin and her syndicator, by using John Haymond’s persona, and John Haymond would promote his own brand,” says Haymond in an answer and counterclaims last month in response to Scheindlin’s suit. “On information and belief, the local stations proposed this cooperative advertising in order to reduce their production costs for promoting the Judge Judy show.”
Judge Judy Sheindlin. lev radin / Shutterstock.com
Haymond added a counterclaim to his response, saying Scheindlin “maliciously” defamed him in the statement she issued when she filed her federal lawsuit in Connecticut in March. In it, Scheindlin said she felt compelled to sue because the advertising suggested she had endorsed Haymond, that “Haymond is a lawyer and should know better,” and that she never lends her name to products or services.
As a practical matter, there appears to be little need for her to do so: With annual earnings of some $47 million, she is reportedly television’s highest-paid personality.
