Posted in: Comics, Ike Perlmutter, Marvel Comics | Tagged: Comics, entertainment

Ike Perlmutter Can Now Sue Over Theft Of His DNA

Published Wed, 25 Jan 2017 18:30:28 -0600

Last updated Tue, 14 Mar 2023 05:41:15 -0500

Before Marvel chairman Ike Perlmutter was plucked by Donald Trump out of a handful of billionaires to join his administration, he had been making headlines over a legal case he was embroiled in.

Perlmutter lives the Sloan's Curve enclave of Palm Beach Florida, with his wife. Neighbour, fellow billionaire and relatively new arrival Harold Peerenboom has made moves against Perlmutter's involvement with the running of the neighbourhood tennis club. Peerenboom then accused Perlmutter and his wife of being behind a smear campaign against him, with accusations about being a sex offender and an anti-Semite being spread across family, friends, neighbours, schools and prisons, something the Perlmutters vehemently deny. To this extent, Peerenboom made moves to sample Ike and Laura's DNA to try and find a match with saliva used on the envelopes.

It appears he was unsuccessful in making a match, but he has managed to get Ike to hand over private e-mails from his Marvel address that mention him – as long as they don't involve Laura.

But as for the DNA sampling? It happened when Peerenboom forced Perlmutters to appear at a deposition, only for a private investigator to use the opportunity to take water bottles the Perlmutters had used.

Peerenboom claims to have found a DNA match. Perlmutter states the results were warped.

Well THR reports that this week the Perlmutters have been given the go ahead by a Florida state judge to press claims over the "stealing" of his DNA, even though the validity of the concept of owning your own DNA hasn't been established by the courts.

Since then, Peerenboom has changed lawyers, and ironically now uses Marc Kasowitz as an attorney, one of Donald Trump's favourites. He states there was no DNA theft and police were aware of the operation.

It looks like that will be tested. THR reports the judge's words "Taking the facts pleaded as true, there can be no doubt that the secret collection and misuse of a person's genetic information is reprehensible conduct. Despite this, the Court does not find the allegations as pleaded arise to the extreme levels necessary to sustain an action for IIED. Simply stated, it is difficult to conclude the Perlmutters' accusations rise to the same level of outrage generated by a case such as Liberty Mutual, where a party's actions were literally a matter of life-and-death. Instead, the Court finds this case to be more akin to Williams or LeGrande—a situation involving unsavory facts and, at least as pleaded, intentional or malicious conduct made to embarrass and harass a plaintiff."

They also point out that, despite everyone calling him Marvel's CEO, "Perlmutter filed a sworn statement in court earlier this month upon judicial order that acknowledges he's merely the chairman."

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