CHICAGO (Legal Newsline) — An Illinois woman alleges Comcast fraudulently led moviegoers to believe a well-known actress was in a film when she actually had no role in the movie.
Ilya Khait, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, filed a complaint March 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Comcast Corporation alleging violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and other claims.
According to Khait's class action, in 2019, Comcast, which operates Universal Studios, released its movie "Yesterday" about an alternate universe where the Beatles never existed. She claims the trailers featured actress Ana de Armas as "having a significant role" in the film.
She alleges Comcast falsely used 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. Khait further alleges she paid to view the movie and would have paid less or not viewed the movie if the defendant did not misrepresent the role of the stars in the film.
She claims the defendant's false and misleading representations in advertisements, trailers, interviews and digital media influenced the decision of movie goers when de Armas had no role in the movie.
Kahit and the class seek monetary relief, interest, trial by jury and all other just relief. They are represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan & Associates PC in Great Neck, New York.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division case number 1:23-CV-01877