Court tosses widow’s Back to the Future lawsuit

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A U.S. federal court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by the widow of automaker John DeLorean over royalties stemming from the Back to the Future movies.

Sally DeLorean claimed a Texas company using the DeLorean name had illegally accepted royalties from Universal Pictures for the promotional use of images of the iconic car. But a judge ruled Friday that a 2015 settlement agreement in a separate lawsuit over trademarks prohibited her from suing for the royalties.

The car was featured in the movie franchise starring Michael J. Fox.

In her lawsuit filed in April, Sally DeLorean, who lives in New Jersey, claimed the Texas-based DeLorean Motor Co. had illegally profited from a 1989 agreement between her late husband and Universal. That agreement gave John DeLorean and his heirs five per cent of net receipts for any merchandising and promotions that featured the car and logo “as a key component.”

The Texas company isn’t affiliated with the one John DeLorean started, but under the 2015 settlement agreement was allowed to use the DeLorean name and trademarks.

Sally DeLorean claimed in the current lawsuit that the Texas company had illegally represented to Universal that it had the right to the royalties and had already received “a substantial payment” from Universal. She argued in the lawsuit that the 2015 settlement didn’t transfer contractual rights to the company.

In his opinion, U.S. District Judge Jose Linares wrote that the 2015 settlement agreement covers the Universal agreement even though it doesn’t mention it explicitly.

“As both agreements apply to the use of the word ‘DeLorean’ and the DMC logo, and relate to the DeLorean automobile’s image, the Court concludes that the subject matter of the agreements overlap,” he wrote.