CHICAGO _ It may be back to the drawing board for home improvement TV star Bob Vila in his lawsuit against a northern Illinois man for alleged unauthorized use of Vila's name.
A Chicago federal judge Tuesday dismissed the case against Robert Smith at Vila's request, but Vila has the right to refile the action.
"We preserved our rights, and if it ever happens again, we're going to do it again," said Steven Masur, a New York-based attorney representing Vila.
Vila, whose television shows "This Old House" and "Bob Vila's Home Again" made him a household name, filed the suit in April, claiming Smith fraudulently used Vila's celebrity to promote home expo shows.
The lawsuit claimed that Smith misrepresented to promotional companies that he could secure endorsements from Vila _ selling those rights for at least $5,000. Vila, 70, of Palm Beach, Fla., found out about it in February after Brilliant Event Planning, based in suburban Chicago, already had run several Chicago-area events using his name without his permission, according to the suit.
Brilliant Event Planning, which was not named in the suit, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The allegedly fraudulent promotions dated back to at least September 2015, when a home expo in suburban Chicago used Vila's photo and the tag line, "The Home Expo Bob Vila Promotes" in advertisements. Smith had contacted Vila in July 2015 requesting permission to use Vila's name in sponsored tweets _ permission that was not granted, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was seeking $2 million in damages for each unauthorized use of Vila's name.
The motion to dismiss was filed last week by Vila's attorneys. An initial status hearing on the case had been rescheduled from May to Aug. 16, allowing time for the parties to "discuss settlement," according to the filing.
Smith, who is serving as his own attorney, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
