NY Trial Judge Denies Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss in HBO Lawsuit

Chanti Nieves, described as an “aspiring actress”, filed a violation of privacy suit under New York’s Civil RIghts Law sections 50 and 51 against HBO and Stick Figure Productions, producers of the show “Family Bonds”, based on their use of her image on a New York City street during an episode of the show. She claims that there is no relationship between their use of her likeness and the show’s story line and that the participants in the show make what she considers to be “derogatory” remarks about her. The defendants claim that their use of her image is protected because it is not for “advertising or trade purposes under the statute.” The judge denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss and ordered the parties to appear at a preliminary conference on January 31, 2006.

Judge Debra James noted in her ruling of August 11, 2005 that “[e]ven accepting defendants’ assertion that the television show here was a “documentary,” there are still issues of fact regarding whether the use of plaintiff’s image and accompanying commentary bears a real relationship to a “documentary” about a “bounty-hunting” family. The critical difference between this action and the authorities cited by the defendants is that in those case [sic] the courts determined based on uncontested facts that it was clear as matter [sic] of law that the use of person’s [sic] image related to the subject matter of the published work. On this motion the defendants’ only proffered relationship between the use of plaintiff’s image and the television show is that the plaintiff was standing on a New York street corner while the defendants were filming. Clearly the court will have to make a factual determination based upon the use of the plaintiff’s image and the content of the program in order to determine whether the defendants meet the “real relationship” standard.”

Read the court’s ruling here.

Thanks to Dan Arshack of Arshack & Hajek for alerting me to this extremely interesting case.