Stuttering John Case Tossed

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On Thursday a lawsuit former Howard Stern cast member John Melendez filed against SiriusXM was dismissed without prejudice, by U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty in Manhattan, which means it cannot be brought again.

Melendez said SiriusXM was exploiting his celebrity by airing previous Stern programs on the service without his permission to sell ads and add subscribers. He claimed Sirius violated his publicity rights under California law. Melendez left the Stern show in 2004 to work for Jay Leno.

The judge wrote that Melendez did not show he was injured or the Sat. company was using him to promote its service. “The commercial advantage Sirius gains from playing the HSS Archives and running the advertisements flows from the rebroadcasting of the copyrightable sound recordings themselves, not from Melendez’s identity.”

Crotty dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought again.

Melendez now hosts a video podcast. He’s also threatened to sue the host of “Who Are These Podcasts,” a show that criticizes and makes fun of other podcasts.

 

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