D.W. Hunter, the great grandson of Anna Short Harrington, the woman who
became "Aunt Jemima," has filed a class action lawsuit against PepsiCo
Inc., its subsidiary Quaker Oats Co., Pinnacle Foods and its onetime
suitor, Hillshire Brands Co., on behalf of all of her great
grandchildren.
He is seeking $2 billion, plus punitive damages to be determined at trial.
Hunter
alleges that the companies conspired to deny that Harrington had been an
employee of Quaker Oats, all the while exploiting her image and recipes
for profit, while refusing to pay an "equitable fair share of
royalties" to her heirs for more than 60 years.
The claims come on the heels of the defendants allegedly receiving a
certified death certificate for Harrington that listed Quaker Oats as
her employer.
Hunter
further alleges that the companies have lied while claiming they could
find no employment records for Harrington, or images of her, and yet
they had her image deposited inside the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office, according to the document.
Harrington took on the role of the pre-existing character of Aunt Jemima
in 1935. In 1937, the company first registered the trademark for the
brand. She was allegedly selected because of her own pancake recipe,
which the company recreated for the mass market.
According to the suit, Quaker Oats sought out Harrington's youngest
daughter Olivia Hunter in 1989, ultimately using her likeness to update
the look of Aunt Jemima. It is this image that is used today on Aunt
Jemima-branded products, the suit suggests.
The suit
further alleges a racial element to the exploitation of Harrington and
the other women who portrayed Aunt Jemima, going so far as to accuse the
company of theft in procuring 64 original formulas and 22 menus from
Harrington.
It further
alleges that Harrington was dissuaded from using a lawyer, exploiting
her lack of education and age, so that the company could not pay her a
percentage of sales from her recipes.
Chicago-based Quaker continued to use Harrington's image for years, and
licensed it out to other companies for ancillary merchandise like mugs
and clothing, the suit alleges.
The lawsuit cites Screen Actors Guild residuals and standard policies in
the entertainment industry regarding revenue statements, which neither
Harrington nor her heirs ever received. It wasn't until they uncovered
in 2013 that Quaker Oats had trademarked Harrington's likeness and
picture in 1937 that the family determined that they were owed
royalties.
The lawsuit
alleges that Pinnacle Foods has sold hundreds of millions of dollars
worth of Aunt Jemima products. Pinnacle sells Aunt Jemima-branded frozen
pancakes, waffles and French toast. Chicago-based Hillshire dropped its
bid to buy New Jersey-based Pinnacle earlier this year.
In a statement, Quaker said that while it could not discuss the details
of pending litigation, it does not believe there is any merit to this
lawsuit.
“People associate The Aunt Jemima Brand with warmth, hospitality and
comfort, and we stand by this heritage as well as the ways in which we
do business,” the company said.
Pinnacle Foods declined to comment.
The suit was filed on Aug. 5 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Do you believe they will actually receive ANY compensation and if YES how much???
