I know a little about the case. Actually pretty interesting.
Farley's family filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles. They are claiming Chris Farley's likeness is protected under CA law, which places limits on how an individual can profit from the image and/or likeness of a deceased person. Trek is claiming IL law applies, citing the fact that Farley was an IL resident at the time of his death, died in IL, and his parents filed probate in IL.
The case was transferred from LA to the Western District of Wisconsin District Court in Madison, WI. The transfer was a venue claim. Basically, Trek argued Madison was a more convenient forum in light of the number of witnesses in the area.
However, the case will still boil down to whether CA or IL law applies. If IL law applies, Trek likely wins. If CA law applies, Farley likely wins.
But, there are other issues as well. Trek claims the statute of limitation has run and therefore, the claim was not filed in time. Trek also claims "Farley" does not necessarily apply to Chris Farley.
Interested side note: The Judge is James Peterson. I have appeared before him. Good guy. Before going into law, he taught film and television history at Notre Dame.
If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers
Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR