Giovannelli v. Walmart Inc.

Plaintiff, who unknowingly had his photograph taken while serving in the military, filed a lawsuit against the defendants under the Illinois Right of Publicity Act after plaintiff discovered that the defendants were using the photograph on a poster sold by the defendants. Although the claim was filed after the expiration of the one-year statute of limitations, plaintiff argued that under the discovery rule the claim arose when he discovered the picture and not when the picture was published. The district court rejected this argument and dismissed the complaint. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, explaining that the Illinois appellate court had declined to apply the discovery rule for a claim under the Act. (SCUDDER and PRYOR, concurring)