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80s star sues Vince McMahon over royalties

Posted: Dec 8th 2011 By: mikeiles

Douglas Somerson has filed a lawsuit against WWE and Vince and Linda McMahon, according to court documents obtained today by Wrestling Globe Newsletter.

Somerson, 60, who wrestled as ?Pretty Boy? Doug Somers is seeking unspecified damages and costs by jury trial claiming he?s owed royalties for WWE?s use of his name, image and persona within various items of merchandise, specifically DVDs on the career of Shawn Michaels and WWE Greatest Cage Matches of All Time DVD.

The suit, filed last week in Fulton County, GA, Superior Court, claimed that WWE and the McMahons engaged in acts and omissions outside the State of Georgia that caused ?tortuous injury? to Somerson from within the State.

?The failure to even attempt to contact Mr. Somerson to obtain the right to use his name and likeness as well as the failure to make any attempt to compensate Mr. Somerson demonstrates bad faith and malice on behalf of the defendants,? the complaint said.

The suit also asserts that Somerson is now in poor health as a result of his professional wrestling career. Incredibly, he is claiming to have suffered more than 400 concussions in addition to broken bones and inoperable injuries to his neck, back, knee, and foot.

?Mr. Somerson works to this very day, despite the massive physical injuries he has sustained. Mr. Somerson has never entered into any agreement with WWE, the McMahons, or any predecessor entity with regard to the right to use his name and/or likeness.?

Somerson began wrestling in Minneapolis towards the late ?60s. He is best remembered for his work in Verne Gagne?s American Wrestling Association in the mid 1980s as part of a tag team with ?Playboy? Buddy Rose, managed by Sherri Martell, both of whom have passed away in recent years.

He is represented by Atlanta-based attorney Edward M. Gilgor.