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Widow of wrestler Owen Hart suing WWE

Claims they are violating a contract by continuing to use Hart’s image in wrestling footage

The widow of Owen Hart, a World Wrestling Entertainment performer who died in a 1999 stunt, says she’s suing the WWE and its leaders, including Republican U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon. Martha Hart said McMahon, who stepped down as WWE chief executive to run for Senate, and her husband, Vince, the current chairman, have continued to use Owen Hart’s image to promote the business despite agreeing to stop after his death. Hart planned to file her lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Hartford. Owen Hart died at the WWE Over The Edge pay-per-view on May 23, 1999 when he fell 78 feet due to an equipment malfunction. His family sued the WWE and several other defendants in the death. Martha Hart agreed to an $18 million settlement with the WWE in 2000. In her new lawsuit, she alleges the WWE and the McMahons violated a contract that restricts the use of Owen Hart’s name, likeness and wrestling footage. In a statement, she said, “In the 11 years since Owen’s tragic and avoidable death, I have worked tirelessly to disassociate Owen’s name and likeness from anything related to WWE in order to protect our children from any reminder of the circumstances surrounding their father’s death, and to avoid any misplaced perception that I endorse WWE.”

AP

Wrestling Inc.

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