Manuel Noriega’s lawsuit against ‘Call of Duty’ maker is tossed

Former Panama dictator Manuel Noriega’s lawsuit against Activision Blizzard Inc., alleging the video game publisher wronged him by including his likeness in the blockbuster game “Call of Duty: Black Ops II,” has been thrown out by a Los Angeles County judge.

The video game constitutes speech protected under the 1st Amendment, the ruling by L.A. County Superior Court Judge William H. Fahey says.

Noriega, now 80 years old and imprisoned in Panama on a murder conviction, had argued that he was entitled to compensation from the Santa Monica company because his name and image appear in the game without his consent.

In addition, the depiction of Noriega is not the essence of the “complex and multi-faceted game” Activision made, the ruling says. His character appears in only two of 11 missions, speaks fewer than 30 lines, cannot be controlled by players and was not used in marketing the game, it says.

The ruling also says Noriega provided no evidence his reputation was harmed by the game. “Indeed,” it says, “given the worldwide reporting of his actions in the 1980s and early 1990s, it is hard to imagine that any such evidence exists.”

A U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989 ended Noriega’s military dictatorship and landed him in U.S. prison for about two decades on drug-trafficking charges. For a time, he had been a close ally of the U.S. government.

Noriega’s lawsuit also alleged that Activision engaged in unfair business practices, but the ruling says he “provided no evidence at all” to bolster that claim.

“Call of Duty: Black Ops II” was released in November 2012 and netted more than $1 billion in sales in just two weeks.

Attorney Rudy Giuliani, a former New York mayor, represented the video game company.

The case was dismissed with prejudice, which means it cannot be filed again.

Times staff writers Paresh Dave and Stuart Pfeifer contributed to this report.

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