American Apparel's t-shirts and clothing better continue selling like hotcakes... because the legal bills at this retailer/manufacturer must be astronomical.

Now, filmmaker and iconic NY curmudgeon Woody Allen has filed a $10 million lawsuit against American Apparel , claiming that the company used his image in unauthorized billboard and online advertisements.

Allen filed suit in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Monday regarding billboards that APP put up in May 2007 in Los Angeles and New York. The ads featured an image of Allen from one of his films -- dressed as a rabbi. The ads contain text in Yiddish which means, "The Holy Rebbe."

Allen, who has had plenty of legal woes himself back in the 1990s, is now seeking compensatory and exemplary damages as well as attorneys' fees on account of "American Apparel's blatant misappropriation and commercial use of Allen's image."

Allen allegedly didn't give consent to his image being used, and was not compensated for it. Click to see the lawsuit, courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.

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