Gilberts Drop Lawsuit Against WWE & ESPN

– The Gilbert family has put an end to their lawsuit filed against WWE and ESPN. PWInsider reports that Doug and Tommy Gilbert were in court on June 1st to request that the lawsuit filed against the two organizations be dismissed without prejudice. The court agreed and dismissed the case on June 3rd.

The lawsuit, as previously reported, claimed that WWE and ESPN had violented the Gilbert’s privacy and publicity rights by using their names and likenesses without permission via matches aired on TV, the internet and images in the WWE Encyclopedia. They claimed that neither Doug nor the late Eddie Gilbert had signed contracts with either company signing over the rights to their names, likeness and matches, nor have they received any compensation.

WWE had faced similar lawsuits in the pass, including from Doug Somers and Ricky Steamboat. Meanwhile, ESPN had faced a lawsuit from former UWF wrestler Stevie Ray. All of those suits had been won by WWE or ESPN.

Because the lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice, it could be refiled in the future.