T.O. Sues over Use of Name and Photo

NEW YORK (AP) - Dallas Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens filed a $600,000 lawsuit, contending his name and photo were used in nightclub ads without his permission.

Owens says the Avalon nightclub on Manhattan's West Side improperly used his name, likeness and initials T.O. in 2006 and 2007 to promote its Friday Night Lights events and other parties. He says the club claimed he would be hosting the parties.
Owens' lawyer, Robert Milner, said Monday that as far as he knew Avalon officials had never tried to contact Owens.

The 34-year-old player "diligently" promotes his own name and image, maintains his own Web site and is "well-recognized by the public as a distinctive sports figure" who engages in many activities for profit and charity, his court papers say.

Owens is expected to earn $5 million in salary and a $3 million bonus from the Cowboys for the 2007 season.

He is seeking at least $100,000 in compensatory damages and at least $500,000 in punitive damages, according to court papers filed last week. The papers also ask the court to bar the club from using his name and likeness again without his permission.

A man who answered the telephone at the Avalon on Monday said no one was available to comment on the lawsuit. No telephone number could be found for the nightclub's owner, Flatiron Entertainment LLC, which also is named as a defendant.