Hilary Duff awarded $1.25 million in damages over endorsement dispute
Hilary Duff has been awarded $1.25 million in damages over an endorsement dispute.
The actress has been awarded $1.25 million (£986,000) after a three-year battle with feminine hygiene company Naturalena.
In 2021, Duff accused the brand of failing to pay her endorsement fees after using her image and likeness to promote its products.
According to legal documents obtained by The Blast, the wellness brand's founder and CEO, Adrian M. Forsyth, signed an admission in favour of the actress, voluntarily accepting the liability and agreeing to the amount of damages.
Forsyth also agreed to pay the actress' legal fees, post-judgment interest and costs of enforcing the judgment.
According to the agreement, the Lizzie McGuire star, through her loan-out company SugarMouse, granted Naturalena exclusive rights to use her name, photograph, voice, signature and likeness to promote a range of its products, including baby products and feminine hygiene products.
The How I Met Your Father star later accused the brand of continuing to use her image and likeness after failing to pay her endorsement fees.
Duff, who revealed she was working with the brand in November 2019, claimed that Naturalena used an "unforeseeable circumstances" clause in the contract to avoid paying her fees. According to the documents, the brand claimed that the Covid-19 pandemic had caused the company to suffer.
However, the star disputed the claim, stating that "various press reports indicate that Naturalena experienced an increase in demand for its products during the COVID-19 pandemic."