Tim Evans,Tony Cook|Indianapolis Star
Show Caption
Former Fox & Friends host Clayton Morris is suing an Ohio man for $7 million for using his name and likeness in online videos critical of real estate deals Morris facilitated in Indianapolis and selling shirts that say, “I Bought This t-shirt Because They Don’t Make CLAYTON MORRIS toilet paper.”
The lawsuit filed in federal court in Ohio alleges James Wise has traded on Morris' name and likeness "and invaded his privacy to do so.” Specifically, it accuses Wise of copyright and trademark infringement, misappropriation of Morris’ name, likeness, and voice, violations of Morris’ right of privacy, unfair competition and illegal wiretapping.
Wise creates and hosts online real estate and investment videos that he shares through a YouTube channel with about 25,000 subscribers.
In documents filed in the case, attorneys for Morris claim Wise has damaged the reputation Morris built in 18 years as a journalist, including stints hosting Fox & Friends and Good Day Philadelphia, and in subsequent work sharing his experience as a real estate investor "in order to educate and inspire others to succeed in management of their own portfolios."
Morris already has lost more than $2.3 million, the lawsuit alleges, from “speaking engagements, media partnership deals, and business relationships and also lost internet traffic and advertising revenue (to Wise) that otherwise would have gone to Mr. Morris.”
Morris is seeking an additional $450,000 — calculated at $1,000 a day through the end of 2020 — for emotional distress.
An attorney for Wise, the CEO of Cleveland-based HoltonWise Property Group, filed a motion in December asking the judge to dismiss the lawsuit.
'I understand what families go through': IMPD's new chief understands the pain of violence. His father-in-law was murdered.
“It is, frankly, astonishing that (Morris) is attempting to use this litigation to shift blame to Defendants for his own bad reputation when he is the subject of the highly publicized lawsuits and criminal actions brought on by his own conduct,” the attorney wrote. “Defendants are not to blame for the negative publicity, which preceded any contact between (Wise) and (Morris).”
The lawsuit was filed after Wise created and posted a three-hour "documentary"detailing investor complaints about Morris. He also created and posted a shorter video as part of a “Landlords from Hell” series. It is titled “Is Clayton Morris A Fraud.”
Morris, who left Fox & Friends in 2017 to focus on his online real estate investment business, is the target of several state and federal lawsuitsin Indiana. They were filed over the sale of investment properties to out-of-state buyers who claim they were defrauded in the deals originated through Morris and his business, Morris Invest.
Former Indianapolis real estate broker Bert Whalen, who was Morris’ business partner from about 2014 to 2018, was indicted in November in federal court for allegedly defrauding investors directed to him by Morris. He has pleaded not guilty.
Morris and Whalen have both blamed the other for the problems investors experienced in the Indianapolis real estate deals.
Morris has not been charged in the criminal probe that led to Whalen's indictment, which federal investigators said is ongoing. But in lawsuits many of the disgruntled buyers claim they believed they were purchasing the Indianapolis homes from Morris, not Whalen. Several purchase agreements included in lawsuits, as well as others provided to IndyStar, show Morris signed them as the “seller.”
Morris, who had been living in New Jersey, moved his family to Portugal last year amid growing public scrutiny and criticism of his real estate dealings. His wife and business partner, Natali Morris, announced the move on her blog in July, insisting they were not running from the mounting investor complaints and lawsuits.
"I am not one of those who rejects America," she wrote. "We had a good life there. But my husband and I have had a hard few years in our business and this collective soul challenge forced us to question everything."
She said her husband has taken accusations and media coverage particularly hard.
"Watching him endure this has felt like what I would imagine it is like to watch him endure chemotherapy," she said. "I wish I could take it from him. I wish I could fix it. I wish it were me instead. I carry a pain with me knowing that he is in pain and it is with me always. His health began to suffer. He began to withdraw emotionally and it was hard on our family. We both knew that we had to make a change if we wanted to survive."
An attorney for Morris issued a statement when the lawsuit was filed that said, in part: "Enough is enough. Mr. Morris will no longer sit idly by as people profit by using his name, reputation, and intellectual property. He plans to take aggressive action against anyone stepping on his rights to spread misinformation."
In an email to IndyStar, Wise called the Morris lawsuit “nothing but smoke & mirrors from Clayton's legal team to try and silence the voice of those investors who claim to have been misled and ultimately lost a ton of money investing with him.”
“HoltonWise is currently counter suing him for all of our legal fees in relation to this frivolous lawsuit,” Wise wrote. “We are very confident that we'll win but given the long line of others who have filed suit against him and the fact that he's already moved out of the United States we aren't holding our breath that we'll ever see a penny from Clayton Morris.”
Contact Tim Evans at 317-444-6204 or tim.evans@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @starwatchtim.
Contact IndyStar reporter Tony Cook at 317-444-6081 ortony.cook@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter:@IndyStarTony.
