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Hart’s Widow Sues WWE Again
The widow of Owen Hart, the professional wrestler who died of injuries from a stunt gone wrong during a match at
The lawsuit, filed by Martha Hart June 22 in U.S. District Court in Connecticut, accuses the organization and the McMahons of continuing to use Owen Hart’s image in WWE videos and promotional materials without her permission.
“In the 11 years since Owen’s tragic and unavoidable death, I have worked tirelessly to disassociate Owen’s name and likeness from anything related to WWE in order to protect our children from any reminder of the circumstances surrounding their father’s death, and to avoid any misplaced perception that I endorse WWE,” Hart said in a statement.
The Hart family accepted an $18 million wrongful death settlement deal from WWE in 2000.
Meanwhile, WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt called Hart’s latest lawsuit a “political stunt” because Linda McMahon has since stepped down as WWE CEO to run for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut.
McDevitt also said the WWE has the right to use its own copyrighted material featuring the late wrestler including footage used in the “Hart & Soul: The Hart Family Anthology” video released in April.
“Martha Hart does not have some exclusive right to the story of her husband; it’s that simple,” McDevitt said.