No Lawyers, No Cry

0

Twenty years after reggae singer Bob Marley’s death (the anniversary was earlier this month), two L.A. lawyers find themselves fighting a legal battle over the use of his likeness. Jill Pietrini and Barry Mallen of West L.A. firm Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP are representing Marley’s family in a case against a Reno, Nev., clothing company.

The company, Avela, had been selling unlicensed T-shirts with Marley’s face on them to retailers including Target and Wal-Mart. Marley’s family, which owns the rights to his image, wanted it to stop. After a January trial in Las Vegas, a federal judge awarded $300,000 to the family, with more damages to come in a later ruling. Pietrini and Mallen are seeking at least $3 million total.

A few members of the Marley clan, including sons Rohan and Ziggy Marley, live or spend time in Los Angeles. Rohan was a star witness of sorts during the trial, Pietrini said.

“He’s a very charismatic guy and when he testified, he had this great gray and white pinstripe suit on, with his dreadlocks, and he just engaged that jury like no other,” she said.

Asked if they’d gone through a Bob Marley phase, Mallen, 50, said he was still a big fan, citing albums “Legend” and “Exodus.”

Pietrini, 49, laughed: “In college, yeah, sure.”

Chips Are Up

Vera Quinn doesn’t play much poker. But you wouldn’t know that by looking at the tower of chips she built last week.

A senior vice president at Cydcor, a Westlake Village provider of outsourced sales teams, Quinn put together a winning streak last week at the company’s annual casino night. The event raised money for Operation Smile, a charity that offers free lip and cleft surgery in less developed countries.

Through the casino and other fundraising efforts, Cydor has gathered $120,000 to fund an Operation Smile mission to Peru, Cambodia or Rwanda.

After paying $30 to enter the poker tournament, Quinn played for two hours and amassed $3,000 in chips, despite being a novice. Then she had to exit the event, so she cashed in her chips and, like everyone else in the casino, donated her winnings to Operation Smile.

“We had some sales people who were self-described experts at the table, so I felt pretty good winning,” said Quinn, 37. “But I had to pick up my son, so I walked away.”

Staff reporters Alfred Lee and Joel Russell contributed to this column. Page 3 is compiled by Editor Charles Crumpley. He can be reached at [email protected].

No posts to display