'Better Call Saul' creators seek end of Liberty Tax's defamation lawsuit

AMC Global Media

24/01/2023 23:24

By Jonathan Stempel
       NEW YORK, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The creators of "Better
Call Saul" on Tuesday asked a U.S. judge to dismiss Liberty Tax
Service's lawsuit objecting to an episode of the hit crime
drama, saying the case "stretches the reach of trademark and
defamation laws beyond their breaking point."
        Liberty Tax had sued AMC Networks Inc  AMCX.O  and Sony
Pictures Television Inc  6758.T  over the depiction of "Sweet
Liberty Tax Services" in the April 18, 2022 episode "Carrot and
Stick."
    The title character Saul Goodman, a shady lawyer also known
as Jimmy McGill, was shown visiting Sweet Liberty in the New
Mexico desert.
    Sweet Liberty was housed in a trailer featuring a Statute of
Liberty inflatable and American flag motif, and used by former
Goodman clients Craig and Betsy Kettleman to skim tax refunds.
    Liberty Tax said the depiction misled viewers into thinking
Sweet Liberty was one of its more than 2,500 offices.
    But AMC and Sony said the episode was "fully protected" by
the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, and that it was
implausible for viewers to believe Liberty Tax engaged in tax
fraud or had anything to do with the Kettlemans.
    "If plaintiff's allegations are to be believed that the
episode somehow defames plaintiff by portraying it as a criminal
enterprise, no viewer would assume that plaintiff would ever
endorse or approve such a portrayal," the defendants' lawyers
wrote.
    Lawyers for Liberty Tax, which is based in Virginia Beach,
Virginia, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
    The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive and triple damages.
    "Better Call Saul" starred Bob Odenkirk as the title
character, and was a prequel to the series "Breaking Bad." It
finished its six-season run last August.
    The case is JTX Tax LLC v AMC Networks Inc, U.S. District
Court, Southern District of New York, No. 22-06526.
 (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Aurora
Ellis)
 ((jon.stempel@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6317; Reuters
Messaging: jon.stempel.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))