Universal class action over deceptive ‘Yesterday’ trailer to proceed

Update:

• A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit from fans of actress Ana De Armas because the class did not show enough evidence they were damaged because the actress did not appear in the film “Yesterday” after appearing in the movie’s trailer.
• The plaintiffs only submitted the resumes of their attorneys, academic papers on how movie trailers shape consumer expectations for movies and a Google Trends screenshot showing De Armas’ popularity grew around the time of the release of “Yesterday.”
• U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson called the class action a “plainly inadequate evidentiary showing.”

‘Yesterday’ movie class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Plaintiffs Conor Woulfe and Peter Micael Rosza filed a false advertising class action lawsuit against Universal Pictures.
• Why: Universal Pictures allegedly promoted the movie “Yesterday” using trailers featuring the famous actress Ana de Armas even though she had been cut from the film.
• Where: The lawsuit was filed in California federal court.

(Jan. 26, 2022)

On Jan. 21, two disgruntled fans of Ana de Armas filed a class action lawsuit against Universal Pictures, alleging they were under the false impression that the actress was in the 2019 film “Yesterday” because she appeared in the trailer. 

After paying about $3.99 to rent the film on Amazon Prime, plaintiffs Conor Woulfe and Peter Michael Rosza learned the actress had been cut from the movie. They claim they would not have paid to rent the movie if they had known de Armas would not appear in it.

They filed the Universal Pictures class action lawsuit on behalf of themselves and a proposed class of other consumers who paid to rent the film because they believed Ana de Armas was cast in it.

“Because consumers were promised a movie with Ana de Armas by the trailer for ‘Yesterday’ but did not receive a movie with any appearance of Ana de Armas at all, such consumers were not provided with any value for their rental or purchase,” the Universal Pictures class action lawsuit alleges.

Woulfe and Rosza argue that Universal Pictures engaged in “false, deceptive and misleading advertising” of the movie.

In the film, Himesh Patel stars as Jack Malik, who wakes up one day to find that he is the only person in the world to remember the Beatles. He subsequently claims credit for their songs and quickly becomes a world-famous star.

De Armas was cast as Roxane, a secondary love interest of Malik in the film. Malik was going to sing her a rendition of the song “Something,” but de Armas’ scenes were ultimately cut from the film.

Class action: Universal used De Armas’s star power to entice viewers

The main actors were largely unknown prior to the release of “Yesterday,” the deceptive marketing class action lawsuit alleges. On the other hand, de Armas is a successful actress who has starred in popular movies such as “Blade Runner 2049,” “Knives Out” and the James Bond film “No Time to Die.”

“Unable to rely on fame of the actors playing Jack Malik or Ellie [Malik’s primary love interest] to maximize ticket and movie sales and rentals, Defendant consequently used Ms. De Armas’s fame, radiance and brilliance to promote the film by including her scenes in the movie trailers advertising ‘Yesterday,’” the Universal Pictures class action lawsuit asserts.

The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief, restitution, disgorgement of profits and other damages.

Do you think the ‘Yesterday’ movie class action lawsuit will be successful? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

The plaintiffs are represented by Cody R. LeJeune of LeJeune Law PC.

The ‘Yesterday’ movie class action lawsuit is Conor Woulfe, et al. v. Universal City Studios LLC d/b/a Universal Pictures, et al., Case No. 2:22-cv-00459, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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