The California Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part a decision of the court of appeal and remanded. The court held that the single-publication rule applied to a cause of action for the unauthorized commercial use of a likeness where it was alleged that the likeness was the subject of a mass publication, but the rule did not immunize the publisher from liability where the likeness was the subject of multiple successive publications.
In 1986, professional model Russell Christoff posed for a photo shoot arranged by Nestlé Canada. Christoff was paid $250 for his time and received a contract governing the use of his image. The contract provided that, if Nestlé Canada used the picture on a label it was designing for a brick of coffee, Christoff would be paid an additional $2,000.
