A few weeks ago, a mock ad for Ford surfaced on the web depicting the Kardashian sisters tied up in the back of Paris Hilton’s car. The image as never published by the ad agency but somehow leaked. The Kardashians are threatening legal action for likeness. 

According to the law, the right to publicity prevents the unauthorized commercial use of an individual’s name, or other recognizable aspects of one’s persona. It gives the individual the exclusive right to license the use of their identity for commercial promotion. In otherwords, use you cannot use a public figure or his/her likeness without their exclusive permission. Ford’s defense is that the ad leaked and it was never intended for publishing. 

Damages for a lawsuit like this is measured based on the plaintiff’s stature in the public eye. A public figure-plaintiff can recover damages for the value of his name or likeness. For a private plaintiff, emotional harm and general damages are recoverable. 

Here, the appeal of cartoons or caricatures (in this case) of public figures is typically based on the exaggeration of physical traits or embarrasing events - in this case, Paris Hilton is mad the Kardashians got thier foot in the door and became more famous than her, and is getting revenge on them by tying them up in her back seat. Even if it were published, it’s just a joke meant to be taken lightly. The Kardashians might have a chance if they can prove the content is so offensive and outrageously outside of the scope of the First Amendment Free speech protection, but the standard is pretty subjective. The K-Klan has the opportunity to make a case for themselves ifthey get a jury panel of Kardashian fans. 

I’d argue the nuance of the law that pertains to a public plaintiff’s stature in the public eye: The Kardashian’s empire has bene built on capitalizing off middle sister Kim’s sex tape, from that spawned several reality shows broadcasting the family’s very questionable behavior and dirty laundry, from 72 day marriages to drunken brawls. Could anyone could tarnish the Kardashians’ reputation more then the Kardashians, themselves? 

How does value reliance/expectancy?

The “rightful position” concept is the basic principle of compensatory damages - it seeks to restore the Plaintiff to his rightful position before the harm was caused by the Defendant. Our justice system rations making the Defendant pay the value of the rightful position because it’s our system’s way of delivering justice by correcting the harm. 

I proposed a theory that value and expectancy/reliance are used to define the rightful position in a monetary sense. In other words, it’s a method of monetarily measuring the rightful position or, putting a price tag to it. To answer the second question of “do we think about value first and then reliance/expectancy second?”,I’d argue they aren’t interchangeable, and the most appropriate measure shall be the applicable one.

The flipside perspective is that expectancy needs to be proven - it can’t just be granted because Plaintiff claims some large sum. From a policy standpoint, we want to encourage people to contract freely, so unless these amounts are defined someway, maybe in a clause within a contract, people will steer clear of them because they fear that they’ll be bound to some number the opposite party claims he is owed. 

Step back into first semester of contracts I with Acevedo: Take for example a simple contract, where expectation damages compensate the injured party for what he would have benefited from had the contract not been breached minus any amount he would have spent on performing the contract. Remember - these damages must be proven with certainty. This is done by measuring it by contract price, loss in value, or lost profits - defined numbers. But in a tort case, you’re not dealing with hard numbers, so we generally stick with reliance to put the plantiff back to his rightful position. 

This is a distinction I wanted to make about how to measure the value of “what puts the Plaintiff back to his rightful position:” in a contract, the Plaintiff’s expectancy is derived from the Defendant’s promise to the contract, but in a tort, lost wages and medical expenses are recoverable because of something Defendant did, not from the Defendant or his promise. 

Think of expectancy/reliance as a step by step analysis  What is the Plaintiff’s rightful position (where was he but for Defendant’s wrong)? What is the recoverable monetary value of the Plaintiff’s rightful position? So, simply put, what money amount put’s Plaintiff back to his rightful position? Then measure this recoverable monetary value of the Plaintiff’s rightful position, and depending on the proximity of Defendant’s wrongdoing, (i.e., was it a promise he made in a contract? So identify the part of the transaction that was wrongful: Was it something he did that caused plaintiff to get hurt and have to go to the hospital and stop working, etc).

Over the years, I have been collecting items piece by piece, bargain after bargain. With so much stuff, it’s hard to keep track of it all in an organized manner so that it’s easily and readily available when I want and need it. I used to put ensembles together, head to toe. Now I just grab what’s in plain sight and I forget I even own some pieces that are hidden in depths of my drawers and closet.

A friend of mine inspired me - she posted a picture of her newly reorganized closet on Facebook and I just had to take the challenge and step my closet game up.

I’m putting together some tips and tricks I’m using to get organized in my tiny little closet space. I upgraded from two fabulously enormous walk-ins, to endless closet space (I once turned a home office into a shoe closet), and then downgraded to what feels like a tiny little cubby hole and lots of under-the-bed storage bins. I’m desperately in need of a closet storage solution, because my current closet system is just plain cruel. I hope this helps all of you get organized, too!

GET YOUR HANDS ON A BUILT-IN CLOSET STORAGE ORGANIZATION SYSTEM

I’ve scoured the internet and home improvement stores for months and came into contact with ClosetMaids’s closet selective systems for the kind of closet organization system I need in my small space. It will run you about $100 - $150 to get the closet of your dreams, and it’s DIY! You can customize it yourself with drawers, additional shelves, section dividers, etc. I’m still trying to commit to a design! Here’s what it looks like finished and installed. SO FANCY, RIGHT?

UNIFORM HANGERS

This is really important because it allows you to focus on your clothes and not on the clutter. I have so many different styles of things, halters, chiffon, sweater, different colored stuff - I need as few distractions as possible. I’m giving these huggable hangers a try, only before I order them, I need to know what color. HELP ME PICK!!

BLACK?

or NEUTRAL? (I drool every time I look at Kyle Richards’ closet.)

EVERYTHING GOES IN ONE DIRECTION

No need to explain this concept.

COLOR COORDINATE

Getting inspired by Kyle Richards’ closet.

Black section - Only blacks and greys and black/white patterned, striped

Colored section - Pinks, purples, reds, oranges.

Nude section - Nudes, whites, off-whites, beiges, Lord knows I have way too much of this color.

SHOWCASE

For jewelry, handbags, accessories, shoes, etc, you have to showcase EVERYTHING. When things hide in boxes, they get lost or forgotten.

SHOES

One direction, toe facing you. None of that “one shoe one way, the other shoe facing the wall” nonsense. and of course, organize them by style. All your pumps go together, all your flats go together, and so on.

HANDBAGS

Line them up like books on a bookshelf.

Let’s face it: We try and dress like them on a budget, follow their personal lives in Tabloid magazines, idolize them on TV, and drool over their material possessions. We can’t help but feel a little jealous when we see what amazing places celebs vacation to (like private islands and ultra exclusive hideaway resorts). We’d love to charter a private yacht around the South of France like Mr. and Mrs. Carter (Jay Z & Beyonce) did, but most of us don’t exactly have $40 million laying around.

As a devout bargainista with a strong sense of taste for all things that sparkle, I couldn’t help myself on LuxuryLink.com, a travel site with awesome, all-inclusive vacation packages for as little as $1.00 fit for P Diddy!

On LuxuryLink, you’ll find villas and all inclusive resorts at an auction style sale with prices as low as $1.00.

LuxuryLink also has secret getaways in the same fashion Hotwire.com runs, which sounds like such a gamble but with such fabulous standard resorts to chose from like the Four Seasons and the Ritz-Carlton, this is about the only time I’d suggest that you put all your $$ on the table and roll the dice.

Check my Pinterest board, “In My Suitcase” to view all my picks for essential vacay pieces to pack.

Christian Louboutin and Yves Saint Laurent are two fashion house brands that are undeniably synonymous with ultra-luxury. The two giants went head to head in a high fashion legal battle brought on by Louboutin over YSL’s alleged use of the semelle rouge; the red sole trademarked by Louboutin.

His 1992 trademark application read:

“I incorporated the red sole into the design of my shoes. This happened by accident as I felt that the shoes lacked energy so I applied red nail polish to the sole of a shoe. This was such a success that it became a permanent fixture.”

The shoe in question is YSL’s tone-on-tone color concept. The concept features an identical shade for the suede covering the shoe that matches the sole. Louboutin is alleging that the shoe is “virtually identical” to his own signature style and ordered the French fashion label to stop production and remove all of its red-soled shoes from store shelves.

Both designer shoes are sold side-by-side at some of the same high-end luxury fashion stores such as Barneys New York. According to court documents, Louboutin’s complaint stated that the “defendants’ use of a red sole on their infringing footwear threatens to mislead the public, and has impaired the plaintiffs’ ability to control their reputation.” Louboutin seeks a court injunction against YSL’s sale of its shoes, as well as damages in excess of $1 million.

Yves Saint Laurent has established its namesake as a contemporary luxury brand with tasteful yet cutting-edge concepts. Lately, YSL has stolen some serious spotlight in the luxury footwear scene with styles such as the towering Tribute and Tribtoo heel, a favorite amongst celebs like Victoria Beckham.

The Louboutin and YSL designs are quite distinctive – as are their inside and bottom sole branding. Louboutin’s legal allegations offend luxury shoppers around the world suggesting they’re incapable of identifying one brand from the other.

Suggesting that YSL is piggybacking Louboutin’s product and market ignores the reality that YSL is a storied house on its own and continues to rise with a whopping $9 million generated by the brand over the last financial year in accessories alone. 

There are more serious legal implications to consider for this case; Should Revlon sue Mr. Louboutin for his “accidental” use of the red nail polish? Also, if Mr. Louboutin really wanted to defend the integrity of his semelle rouge, he should start by suing every red sole under the sun and consider taking legal action against Italian Luxury designer, Versace for their use of the red sole. (http://www.thebagforum.com/shoe-cover/4748-red-sole-versace-does-louboutin-shoes.html)

Yves Saint Laurent is probably turning over in his grave with all this absurdity brought on by Louboutin’s allegations and accusations.