CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) - The class action lawyer who wants money for fans of the actress of Ana de Armas failed to support his argument, Comcast is arguing.
The case concerns de Armas' appearance in a trailer for the movie Yesterday, which was released by Comcast's Universal Studios in 2019. Plaintiff Ilya Khait says he saw de Armas in a trailer but was disappointed to find out de Armas' scenes were cut from the final version of the film.
He claimed the trailers showed de Armas as "having a significant role" in the film. Attorney Spencer Sheehan filed the complaint, seeking monetary relief, in March in Chicago federal court.
Comcast responded with an Aug. 14 motion to dismiss, arguing Sheehan and Khait failed to specify what advertising he saw before paying to see the movie, what about the advertising was misleading and when or how he viewed the movie.
"All these facts are known only to Plaintiff - and were known before Plaintiff filed suit - yet Plaintiff has twice filed complaints that fail to allege the most basic underpinnings for his claims," the motion says.
"Moreover, Plaintiff alleges no facts to justify naming Comcast Corporation as Defendant. He instead makes only the conclusory allegation that Comcast 'operates' Universal City Studios, which distributed Yesterday. This is not enough to subject Comcast to suit and requires dismissal of all of Plaintiff's claims."
The suit says Comcast falsely use de Armas' 'star buzz' in its marketing of the film to give moviegoers the expectation that she would be in the movie, when she had no role in the film when it was released to the public. Sheehan is a prolific class action-filer known for his novel theories of consumer deception that have sometimes angered judges.
The same year Yesterday, which imagines a world without The Beatles, was released, de Armas played a lead role in the hit Knives Out. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress.
However, her scenes in Yesterday were cut because test audiences weren't on board with her character's story.
Comcast says Khait and Sheehan have failed to provide the factual grounds of Khait's entitlement to relief and urge the judge hearing their case not to allow a second amended complaint.
"Plaintiff's failure to identify the format in which he saw the movie is problematic, among other reasons, because de Armas appeared in 'bonus' material available in some formats," the motion to dismiss says.
"Notably, Plaintiff does not allege that de Armas did not appear in whatever format he viewed; he instead makes the vague allegation that de Armas had no 'role' in what he paid to see."