Olivia de Havilland's 'Feud' Trial Expedited, Set for November

By Nardine Saad

Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles (September 13, 2017, 11:31 AM)

Two-time Oscar winner Olivia de Havilland will be getting her day in court this fall.

The 101-year-old Hollywood icon, who sued FX and Ryan Murphy over her depiction in the Emmy-nominated docuseries "Feud: Bette and Joan," has been granted the speedy trial she was seeking due to her advanced age.

De Havilland's jury trial will begin on Nov. 27 and is expected to last five to seven days, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Holly Kendig ruled Wednesday at a hearing for the actress' motion to fast-track the lawsuit.

"I can't imagine not granting the motion based on the plaintiff being 101," Kendig said (via Deadline).

Though de Havilland, who lives in Paris, did not appear in court, her daughter Gisele Galante Chulack, an L.A. resident, attended the hearing instead, Deadline reported. It is unclear if the veteran actress will appear for later court dates.

The "Gone With the Wind" star sued FX and Murphy in June claiming that her depiction in "Feud" was unauthorized. De Havilland, who was played by Catherine Zeta-Jones in the miniseries about rival actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, makes four major legal claims about violations of her common law and statutory rights of publicity, her right to privacy and unjust enrichment.

Catherine Zeta-Jones as Olivia de Havilland in "Feud." (Kurt Iswarienko / FX)Her attorney Suzelle M. Smith said de Havilland is "absolutely thrilled" that the trial has been expedited.

"Having this case resolved quickly is particularly meaningful to the plaintiff, who is defending the reputation of grace and integrity that she has built over the course of her 80-year career," Smith said in a statement following the hearing.

A rep for FX had no further statement regarding Wednesday's hearing.

In the lawsuit, de Havilland alleges that neither FX, Murphy nor producers at 20th Century Fox TV sought or obtained her permission to include her in the eight-episode anthology. De Havilland also took issue with her portrayal during an episode about the 1963 Oscars during which Zeta-Jones had ample screen time and relayed gossipy commentary about the players of the night. The veteran actress believes the episode cast her in a "false, hurtful and damaging light."

On Wednesday, FX's attorney sought more trial time to track down third parties and experts because the issue "goes back decades." FX and Murphy's attorneys have argued that de Havilland's lawsuit impinges on the defendants' First Amendment right to "create expressive works about matters of public interest" and filed an anti-SLAPP motion to strike the lawsuit in its entirety last month.

They said that de Havilland's consent was not needed to include her in the series, nor did her inclusion violate her right of publicity. They argued that de Havilland "cannot carry her burden of showing a probability of prevailing on any of her four causes of action" under the state's anti-SLAPP statutes protecting petition and free-speech rights.

That motion further complicates the situation because, if granted, the defendants would be awarded an automatic pre-trial appeal, which could push the trial date back further, the Hollywood Reporter said.

A hearing on the anti-SLAPP motion has been set for Sept. 29.

Olivia De Havilland Scores Win In ‘Feud’ Lawsuit; Trial To Start In November

By Dominic Patten
(Deadline, Los Angeles)

As FX and the producers of Feud: Bette and Joan learned today in court, time waits for no one, especially if 101-year old Olivia de Havilland wants a speedy trial for her lawsuit over how she was depicted in the Emmy nominated series.

Just days before the Ryan Murphy co-created Feud could see big wins at the 69th annual Primetime Emmy Awards on September 17 for stars Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange, LA Superior Court Judge Holly Kendig unsurprisingly ruled Wednesday in the two time Oscar winner’s favor. An approximately five to seven-day trial has been set to start on November 27.

While the Paris-based de Havilland was not at the well-attended hearing today with her attorneys, her daughter and LA resident Gisele Galante Chulak was there. There was no real opposition from FX and the other defendants in the matter, though the parties differed over how long the trial should take. “Because this goes back decades, there are third parties we have to locate,” said FX attorney Robert Rotstein this morning seeking more trial time, looking at experts in genre and the like.

“I can’t image how one could not do that when the plaintiff is 101 years old,” said the Judge in court, though she expressed concerns about having a trial so close to the holidays. Judge Kendig set November 13 as the date of final exchange of documents between the parties, including jury instructions.

Seeking wide-ranging damages and a move to essentially shut down the FX anthology show with an injunction, de Havilland insisted in her initial June 30 lawsuit that her portrayal by Catherine Zeta-Jones in Feud damaged her “professional reputation for integrity, honesty, generosity, self-sacrifice and dignity.”

Having won twice at the Creative Emmys this past weekend, Feud is up for 10 nominations on September 17 out of its total of 18. With a trial now set, de Havilland’s legal team of Don Howarth, Suzelle Smith and Zoe Tremaye of L.A.’s Howarth & Smith will surely depose Murphy, FX execs, Oscar winner Zeta-Jones and others connected to the case. Undoubtedly, de Havilland herself will also sit for a deposition and come to town for the trial from her home in France.

First proposed back in late July, the motion to fast track the proceedings is based on the reality of de Havilland’s “unusually advanced age,” to quote the paperwork from her lawyers. Simply put, without being too indelicate and aware of how long such suits can grind away in the courts, the July 1, 1916-born icon wanted everything expedited so she would be alive to see Lady Justice in action. A statute in the state of California provides for parties in a legal matter to petition for a faster trial, for the obvious reasons.

In her jury seeking complaint of late June, the Hold Back the Dawn and The Heiress actress asserts that FX, Murphy and producers 20th Century Fox TV never even sought nor obtained her permission to depict her or use her name in their eight-episode series about Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. Among other issues, de Havilland’s lawsuit specifically targets the alleged backstage drama depicted in Feud‘s “And the Winner Is” fifth episode at the 1963 Oscars.

“At the 1963 Academy Awards, Zeta-Jones’ de Havilland comments to Bette Davis, portrayed by Susan Sarandon, that Oscar host Frank Sinatra must have drunk all the alcohol in the backstage lounge, because they cannot find any,” says the June 30 compliant. “All of this is untrue and casts Olivia de Havilland in false, hurtful and damaging light.”

Of course, FX and the other defendants repudiate de Havilland’s claims – respectfully.

“By alleging that Feud casts her in a false light and violates her right of publicity, Olivia de Havilland’s meritless lawsuit seeks to impinge on Defendants’ First Amendment right to create expressive works about matters of public interest,” asserts an extensive August 29 anti-SLAPP motion to strike from FX’s Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP lawyers. “The Court should grant Defendants’ motion to strike in its entirety and award fees.”

A hearing on the anti-SLAPP motion is scheduled for September 29, also in Judge Kendig’s courtroom. If FX take a hit on that one, the defendant is expected to appeal quickly and seek an extended stay. To counter that, de Havilland’s side look sure to also seek an expedited treatment in the appellate court, as California law provides. The two sides could also mediate that part of the case, Howarth told the court Wednesday.

So, the Feud feud continues. See ya at the Emmys on Sunday.

Olivia de Havilland, at 101, Gears Up for a Fight In 'Feud' Court Battle

By Nardine Saad
(Los Angeles Times)

Hollywood legend Olivia de Havilland has strengthened her resolve in her court battle with FX and "Feud" showrunner Ryan Murphy.

The 101-year-old, two-time Oscar winner regarded the network's "weak" move on Tuesday to dismiss her latest complaint as a sign of "their continuing disrespect for her and for California law," her attorney, Suzelle M. Smith, said in a statement to The Times on Wednesday.

It’s the latest move in the "Gone With the Wind" star’s lawsuit against FX and Murphy, which she filed in June over her depiction in “Feud: Bette and Joan,” the miniseries about rival actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. The Paris-based De Havilland, who was played by Catherine Zeta-Jones in the docudrama, makes four major legal claims about violations of her common law and statutory rights of publicity, her right to privacy and unjust enrichment.

Her latest amended complaint was meant to establish the legal elements of falsity, reckless disregard for the truth and a conscious decision by FX and Murphy not to obtain her consent to use her name or character, Smith said in her statement.

Dishy details about the main characters and other Hollywood power players, as well as whether De Havilland described her sister and storied rival Joan Fontaine as a "bitch" in the series, are among the items discussed in De Havilland's amended complaint and FX's motion to strike it.

"In an effort to discredit her, they attempt to throw mud on a great lady," Smith said. The complaint also explained that De Havilland, an English dame, "built a public image of being a lady" who did "not speak in crude and vulgar terms about others, including her sister."

FX and Murphy's motion "strengthened Miss de Havilland’s resolve to stand up to big Hollywood and fight for her rights, and the rights of all others in such circumstances," Smith wrote. "If Defendants' view of the law were to prevail, then the California statute giving a celebrity the exclusive right to control and profit from her name and identity, and protect her reputation, would be meaningless."

Smith said the actress would be filing an opposition to the motion on Sept. 15, just days before the Primetime Emmy Awards, where "Feud" is expected to be a big winner, with18 nominations.

The defendants' Tuesday motion cited the U.S. and California Constitutions' rights to free speech in connection with a public issue and petitioned the court to strike De Havilland's latest complaint. It also asked for an order awarding them attorney's fees and costs, according to court documents obtained by Deadline.

"Feud: Bette and Joan," they argued, "is a prime example of an important expressive work."

"In dramatizing the infamous rivalry between iconic actors Bette Davis and Joan Crawford and how that rivalry played out during the shooting of their 1962 film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Feud is a social commentary on Hollywood's history of sexism, misogyny, and media manipulation, issues that still plague Hollywood today," the motion said.

FX and Murphy's attorneys argued that De Havilland's consent was not needed to include her in the show, nor did her inclusion violate her right of publicity. They argued that De Havilland "cannot carry her burden of showing a probability of prevailing on any of her four causes of action" under the state's anti-SLAPP statutes protecting petition and free speech rights.

The 25-page motion went to great lengths to explain how "Feud" is "an expressive television show and concerns matters of public interest."

"Feud's depiction of Plaintiff is transformative and constitutionally protected for that separate reason,” the motion said. “Moreover, a public figure like [de Havilland] cannot hold the creators of an expressive work liable in tort absent falsity and actual malice, neither of which is present here."

"Finally,” the motion said, “[De Havilland's] fourth cause of action for unjust enrichment claim fails because it is derivative of her other claims and is not a separate claim under California law."

A hearing in the case is set for Sept. 29 in Los Angeles Superior Court with Judge Holly E. Kendig presiding. Earlier this month, De Havilland's legal team filed a motion to expedite the lawsuit due to her advanced age.

Screen Icon, 101, Urges Speedy Trial of Lawsuit Over TV Series

By Lila Seidman
(Los Angeles Daily Journal)

Weeks after filing a lawsuit against showrunner Ryan Murphy and FX Networks over her depiction in the Emmy- nominated series, "Feud: Bette and Joan," Golden Age screen icon Olivia de Havilland has asked the court to expedite the trial, citing her advanced age. De Havilland celebrated her 101st birthday on July 1.

In its first public statement on thecase, Fox 21 defended the show on Wednesday, calling it "meticulously researched."

"By the logic of Ms. de Havilland's attorneys, no producer would be able to tell any stories about famous people, living or dead, without their consent," the statement said.

De Havilland's attorneys filed a request with Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Holly Kendig on Tuesday, asking that the trial be set in November or no later than 120 days after her motion is granted. The motion is set for a hearing on Sept. 13, days before the Prirnetime Emmy Awards, where the anthology series about the behind-the-scenes rivalry between Joan Crawford and Bette Davis is nominated for 18 awards.

The motion relies on a statute that allows people over 70 to fast-track the litigation process.

"[It's] a matter of common sense. When you reach 90, much less 100- plus, you're approaching the area where your longevity cannot be counted on," said de Havilland's attorney Suzelle Smith of Los Angeles- based Howarth & Smith. "I think this will be a pretty straightforward case for the judge." Don Howarth and Zoe Tremayne of the same firm are also on the plaintiff's team.

In the suit filed June 30, the "Gone with the Wind" star alleges unauthorized commercial use of her name and identity in the show, which details of a feud between Crawford and Davis. De Havilland v. FX Networks LLC, BC667011 (L.A. Super Ct., filed June 30, 2017).

According to two-time Oscar winner de Havilland, her character in the show, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones, is portrayed as gossiping about the title characters and disparaging her sister, actress Joan Fontaine.

The complaint alleges that statements attributed to de Havilland are false and "have caused her economic, reputatioμal, and emotional damages, including distress, anxiety and humiliation." She is seeking unspecified damages and an injunction against FX to prevent it from using her name and likeness. Smith said de Havilland was not consulted for the project, despite being the only living person prominently depicted.

Olivia de Havilland Wants to Take FX to Trial Before Her 102nd Birthday

By Ashley Cullins
(The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles)

This feud could reach trial in the next four months.

FX's biggest event this fall may not be the debut of American Horror Story: Cult — as Olivia de Havilland is asking the court to expedite her lawsuit against the network over her portrayal in Feud: Bette and Joan.

The 101-year-old actress says Ryan Murphy's series makes her look like a gossip who exploited the personal lives of others to further her own career. She's the only living person portrayed in the show, yet she wasn't consulted, and she's suing for infringement of common law right of publicity, invasion of privacy and unjust enrichment.

In a Tuesday filing, she asks L.A. Superior Court judge Holly Kendig to set a trial for November, relying on a California statute that essentially allows parties who are 70 or older to speed up litigation.

"This is the kind of case for which the statute was passed," said de Havilland's attorney Suzelle Smith in a statement. "There is a substantial risk that without a trial preference, Miss de Havilland will be prejudiced in not obtaining the benefits of the litigation. She is eager to have this case fully resolved well in advance of her 102nd birthday.”

Even considering de Havilland's three-digit age, this motion is unusually quick. Attorneys for FX haven't even filed an appearance in the matter. Also worth noting, the case was originally before judge Robert Hess, but Smith filed a peremptory challenge and it was reassigned last week. The exact nature of that conflict is unclear.

July 26, 9:40 a.m. Updated with a statement from Feud producers.

Olivia de Havilland Sues FX Over Feud: Bette and Joan

(BBC)

Oscar-winning actress Olivia de Havilland is suing the makers of a television show which she says portrayed her as a "petty gossip".

De Havilland, who turns 101 on Saturday, filed a lawsuit against FX Networks and producer Ryan Murphy over the miniseries Feud: Bette and Joan.

The drama explored the bad blood between the Hollywood screen legends Joan Crawford and Bette Davis.

The actress, who appeared in 50 films, was played by Catherine Zeta-Jones.

In papers filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court, de Havilland - who was made a dame in the Queen's birthday honours in June - said the show's characterisation of her damaged her "professional reputation for integrity, honesty, generosity, self-sacrifice and dignity".

The Gone With The Wind star is asking a jury to consider the emotional distress caused by the show, as well as potential financial losses and the profits made from using her identity.

She last appeared on the big screen in 1979's The Fifth Musketeer.

The Paris-based actress' lawyers told The Los Angeles Times: "The FX series puts words in the mouth of Miss de Havilland which are inaccurate and contrary to the reputation she has built over an 80-year professional life, specifically refusing to engage in gossip mongering about other actors in order to generate media attention for herself."

De Havilland - the only person depicted in the series who is still alive - also said she was not consulted.

But in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter earlier this year, Mr Murphy said he did not contact de Havilland because he "didn't want to be disrespectful and ask her, 'Did this happen? Did that happen? What was your take on that?'"

The eight-part series, which is a contender for an Emmy nomination next month, is due to air in the UK on BBC Two later this year.

Famed Hollywood Actress Sues Over ‘Feud’ Depiction

By Lynn Elber
(AP News, Los Angeles)

Hollywood great Olivia de Havilland has launched her own sequel to the TV series “Feud” — a lawsuit.

The double Oscar-winning actress filed suit Friday against FX Networks and producer Ryan Murphy’s company, alleging the drama inaccurately depicts her as a gossipmonger and is an invasion of privacy.

The suit was filed in Los Angeles on Friday — one day before de Havilland turns 101. The actress, whose credits include the role of Melanie Hamilton in “Gone with the Wind,” lives in Paris.

De Havilland’s suit alleges that “Feud: Bette and Joan,” about the testy relationship of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, used her name and identity without permission or compensation.

FX Networks declined comment Friday. Representatives for Murphy, who co-created the hit series “American Horror Story” and “Glee,” didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Catherine Zeta-Jones played De Havilland in the series, which aired earlier this year. The anthology series’ next announced chapter is about the ill-fated marriage of Britain’s Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

While De Havilland is “beloved and respected by her peers” and has a reputation for integrity and honesty, the series depicts her as “a hypocrite, selling gossip in order to promote herself” at the Academy Awards, the suit says.

This is false, the suit against FX and Ryan Murphy Productions contends.

“She has refused to use what she knew about the private or public lives of other actors (which was a considerable amount) to promote her own press attention and celebrity status,” a valuable aspect of her character, the suit says.

It argues that putting “false statements into a living person’s mouth and damaging their reputation is not protected by the First Amendment because the work is cloaked as fiction.

Suzelle Smith, an attorney for de Havilland, said in a statement that FX was “wrong to ignore Miss de Havilland and proceed without her permission for its own profit.”

The actress believes FX’s actions raise important principles that affect other celebrities, Smith’s statement said.

The suit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for emotional distress, damage to her reputation and past and future economic losses, as well as an injunction barring the defendants from using her name or image in the series or otherwise.

De Havilland won Oscars for 1946′s “To Each His Own” and 1949′s “The Heiress,” and was nominated for three other films, including “Gone with the Wind.” Her later projects included TV’s “Roots: The Next Generations” and “North and South, Book II.”

The statement from her lawyers, Smith and Don Howarth, said de Havilland is “no stranger to controversy with the powerful Hollywood production industry.”

In 1943, she sued Warner Bros. over her contract.

The “landmark decision” in her legal victory set the outside limit of a studio-player contract at seven years, including suspensions, according to Ephraim Katz’s “The Film Encyclopedia.”

Olivia de Havilland Sues FX Over Unauthorized Use of Her Identity In 'Feud: Bette and Joan'

By Nardine Saad (Los Angeles Times)

It's "Feud: Olivia and FX."

On the eve of her 101st birthday, two-time Oscar winner Olivia de Havilland has announced she is suing FX and producer Ryan Murphy over the unauthorized use of her identity in "Feud: Bette and Joan," according to a statement released Friday morning.

The miniseries about the longtime rivalry between actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford featured Catherine Zeta-Jones as de Havilland — the "Gone With the Wind" star who was a confidant of Davis' and a commentator throughout the eight-episode show.

De Havilland, who resides in France and turns 101 on Saturday, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against FX Networks, LLC and Ryan Murphy Productions "based on the unauthorized commercial use of Dame Olivia's name and identity in the FX hit series," according to her attorneys, Suzelle M. Smith and Don Howarth of Howarth & Smith, noting that all the other real-life players who are featured in the series are dead.

Speaking on a panel at the Television Critics Assn.'s winter press tour, Zeta-Jones was asked whether she had ever met de Havilland.

"No, I didn't, unfortunately. I was going to try and get to see her. I was in the south of France this last summer. Then, unfortunately, there was the horrible tragedy that happened there in Nice, so I didn't get the chance to," Zeta-Jones said in January.

"Miss de Havilland was not asked by FX for permission to use her name and identity and was not compensated for such use," her attorneys said in a statement to The Times. "Further, the FX series puts words in the mouth of Miss de Havilland which are inaccurate and contrary to the reputation she has built over an 80-year professional life, specifically refusing to engage in gossip mongering about other actors in order to generate media attention for herself."

The suit accuses FX and its partners of appropriating de Havilland's name and identity and placing her in "a false light to sensationalize the series and to promote their own businesses" while ignoring her interests entirely.

"A living celebrity has the right to protect her name and identity from unauthorized, false, commercial exploitation under both common law and the specific 'right to publicity' statute in California," Smith said, asserting that, "FX was wrong to ignore Miss de Havilland and proceed without her permission for its own profit."

Her team plans to file a motion seeking an expedited trial date because of de Havilland's age.

De Havilland is no stranger to legal proceedings. In 1943, she filed a landmark lawsuit against Warner Bros. that resulted in the collapse of the binding long-term contract system and put the de Havilland Law on the books.

FX declined to comment on the lawsuit and Murphy's team did not immediately respond to The Times' request for comment Friday.

Update, 11:45 a.m.: This story has been updated to include FX's response.

The Real Olivia de Havilland Sues FX Over Her Depiction In Feud

By Sam Barsanti
(A.V. Club)

One of the biggest dangers in making a TV show about actual Hollywood drama is that the people involved in Hollywood drama are often very concerned with how they are perceived, as Feud creator Ryan Murphy is now learning. According to The Hollywood Reporter, actress Olivia De Havilland is suing FX and Murphy’s Ryan Murphy Productions over the way she was depicted on the show, explaining that it put “false words” into her mouth as part of a “fake interview that did not occur and would not have occurred.”

Catherine Zeta-Jones played De Havilland on Feud, and the lawsuit says that she was depicted as “a hypocrite who sold gossip to promote herself.” This is apparently very upsetting for the real De Havilland, who has prided herself on the “reputation for integrity and dignity” that she built by “refraining from gossip and other unkind, ill-mannered behavior.” She’s also upset about a line from the show where Zeta-Jones’ De Havilland referred to her sister as a “bitch,” which “stands in stark contrast with Olivia de Havilland’s reputation for good manners, class, and kindness.”

De Havilland is the only person who experienced the events from the show and is still alive, but THR says Murphy purposefully chose not to contact her about the series because he didn’t want to “intrude.” Earlier this year, though, THR contacted De Havilland about the show, and she basically responded by saying that she hadn’t seen Feud and that she didn’t care about the Bette Davis/Joan Crawford thing anymore after all these years anyway. She has presumably seen the show since then, and it’s starting to look like Murphy probably should’ve tried reaching out to her.

The lawsuit accuses FX of “infringement of common law right of publicity, invasion of privacy, and unjust enrichment,” and De Havilland is asking for damages, profits from the series, and an injunction to prevent FX from using her name and likeness in the future.