Published Wednesday, Sept. 30, 1998
A date has been set for a former Sharon police officer to get his day in court with Sharon businessman James E. Winner Jr.
Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Wherry set a Jan. 12 date for jury selection in former police Capt. John S. "Jack" Klaric's lawsuit against Winner International and Winner.
In a suit filed in October 1993, Klaric asked that a jury be allowed to hear his claim against Winner's Sharon company that markets The Club line of anti-theft devices.
A former spokesman for the multimillion-selling device, Klaric claims that his role in the company's success is worth more than the several thousand dollars he was paid by Winner, chairman of the company.
Klaric's image was used in newspaper and television advertising for the product. Klaric received about $6,500, use of a gym and several free trips for promoting the device.
The lawsuit claims that Winner wrongfully used Klaric's image and led him to believe he'd be better compensated for his endorsement of The Club. Klaric is seeking financial compensation.
Wherry also ruled that Klaric could not be paid more than fair market value for an amateur actor.
In another lawsuit, settled in February 1993, concerning The Club, Winner International and Winner had to pay Charles R. "Rich" Johnson after a jury found that Winner was unjustly enriched by Johnson's work. The jury found Johnson "furnished" Winner with "ideas, inventions and services in connection with the development, manufacture and sale of The Club." Published reports put the amount at $10.5 million.
