Liz Taylor, Ex-Lover to Battle Over Perfume Idea

A judge refused to dismiss part of a lawsuit filed against Elizabeth Taylor by an ex-lover who claims she swiped his idea for her Passion perfume.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Coleman Swart said Wednesday that the trial in Henry Wynberg’s suit against Taylor and her countersuit will begin Dec. 5.

The actress’ lawyer, Deborah Nesset, said outside court that Taylor will attend part of the trial, which was postponed during her illnesses.

Litigation has already produced volumes of depositions and affidavits about Wynberg’s claim that he had a contract with Taylor for exclusive rights to her name and likeness for promotion and sale of cosmetics.

Wynberg sued in 1986 for 72% of Passion profits.

According to court documents, Wynberg had a personal relationship with Taylor from 1973 to 1975, when she reunited with ex-husband Richard Burton and subsequently married him for a second time.

In August, 1975, Taylor and Wynberg signed the cosmetics agreement in Gstaad, Switzerland, with Burton as a witness, the court papers show.

But Taylor contends that Wynberg’s failure to follow through on the project violated the contract and made it invalid.

In 1986 she signed with Chesebrough-Ponds Inc., a cosmetics company, to market Passion.