Ventura v. Titan Sports, Inc.

Jesse Ventura (plaintiff), a public figure, entered an oral contract in late 1984 to "broadcast wrestling" as a commentator for Titan Sports, Inc. (Titan) (defendant), with no mention of videotape licenses or royalties, and separately entered an express written wrestling contract in 1985 that did address releasing videotaped wrestling performances. In 1987, Ventura hired Bloom to negotiate his commentating contract; Bloom asked Titan representative Glover whether Ventura could receive royalties for videotape dissemination of his commentating, and Glover repeatedly stated Titan's policy was not to pay royalties to non-featured commentators — a representation made annually at each yearly renegotiation over three consecutive years, even as Titan consistently and secretly paid royalties to other non-featured performers in violation of its stated policy. Ventura sued in 1991 seeking quantum meruit damages for royalties he could have received from dissemination of his videotaped commentating performances; the trial court awarded damages, and Titan appealed.