Published February 25, 2002
Andre Agassi filed a federal lawsuit Friday in Las Vegas against N.Y.-based Rolex Watch U.S.A. and Rolex Industries, as well as Swiss-based Rolex Holdings, according to Carri Geer Thevenot of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, who wrote that the lawsuit accuses Rolex of “misappropriating [Agassi’s] identity.” The lawsuit “seeks at least $2 million in damages.” It also seeks an “award of the revenues received by Rolex as a result of the unauthorized commercial use of his name, likeness or identity.” Agassi is repped by Las Vegas attorneys David Chesnoff and Robert Murdock and L.A. attorney John Lavely Jr. Geer Thevenot noted that the lawsuit accuses Rolex of “unfairly and unlawfully capitalizing on Agassi’s celebrity status, tennisaccomplishments and popular personality with at least two television commercials.” One commercial was broadcast in the summer of ’00 and the other was aired in the summer of ’01. The second commercial “depicted a Wimbledon match” between Agassi and Patrick Rafter. Rolex is a Wimbledon sponsor (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 2/23).