This is a press release, not a news story, so I can legally post the whole thing!
Press Release
SOURCE: Mantra Entertainment
'Girls Gone Wild' Producer Wins Lawsuit
Judge officially dismisses case stating, '... when you expose your body on Bourbon Street or in a club and you know there is an individual with a video, certainly you must expect that this is going to be shown all over the place.'
LOS ANGELES, June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The producers of the "Girls Gone Wild" videotapes announced today that they have won a court battle in Louisiana. The court recognized that women publicly displaying their breasts allow for the following: no expectation of privacy, consent to being filmed, and that the producers may freely sell the videos. After more than ten months of litigation, the dismissal became final this week when the plaintiffs did not file an appeal of the decision.
The lawsuit, filed in July 2001 by three women suing as Jane Does, alleged that that the "Girls Gone Wild" producers invaded their privacy by illegally filming them exposing their breasts at Mardi Gras in February 1999 and using their images without permission. In addition, the women also claimed that the videotapes were being sold without their consent and payment to them. The three women were seeking unspecified monetary damages and a share of all profits from "Girls Gone Wild" video sales, along with an injunction to prevent further sales and distribution of the videos.
The "Girls Gone Wild" producers, and other defendants named in the action, requested a dismissal from the Court. Following a New Orleans hearing, Judge C. Hunter King agreed that the action should be dismissed. Judge King made the following comments about the case:
-- Commenting on the women's knowledge that they were being filmed during
Mardi Gras he said, "It is safe to gather that at the time in which
they were in the French Quarter and there were cameras taken out,
whether or not it was in the club or on Bourbon Street, that those
photographs or tapes, videos would have been reproduced, whether or
not it went nationally or locally or household to household."
-- Commenting on the women's knowledge and consent to be filmed,
Judge King said, "An individual, minor or not, that goes down into the
French Quarter must be aware of what takes place during Mardi Gras.
This is a well-publicized event that I think anyone local, and even
those outside Louisiana, would know what to expect. It seems to me
that there was consent. It appears that they were consenting to this
type of behavior. They were consenting to the video and/or
photographs that were taking place. It seems they were pretty
willing. Certainly, as relates to a cause of action, they did not
expect this to be a private matter. Because when you do it [expose
your body] on Bourbon Street or in a club and you know there is an
individual with a video, certainly you must expect that this is going
to be shown all over the place."
-- Commenting on the dismissal of the lawsuit Judge King said, "It is a
little mind boggling to think that an individual over the age of,
let's say 15, who goes on Bourbon Street and certainly sees this,
prior to participating in it, doesn't realize that this [videos] will
be all over the country at some point, because people from all over
the world come to Mardi Gras and go in the French Quarters."
In a similar lawsuit, pending in Tallahassee, Florida, a woman, Becky Lynn Gritzke, is suing the producers of "Girls Gone Wild." Gritzke bared her breasts at a Mardi Gras celebration and is now claiming that the producers invaded her privacy and used her image without permission while she was intoxicated. She also claims that her image from the video was used on the "Girls Gone Wild" cover and in television advertisements without her permission. Like the women in the Louisiana action, Gritzke seeks a monetary payment for being included in the videos sold by the "Girls Gone Wild" producers.
Ronald E. Guttman, counsel to the "Girls Gone Wild" producers stated, "The Constitutional and statutory protections which allow for the filming of events on public streets is a bar to Gritzke's claims. I believe that Judge King's analysis in the Louisiana action is indicative of how Gritzke's case ultimately will be decided."
Mantra Entertainment is the leading producer and distributor of live-action, reality-based programming in the U.S. Mantra was formed in 1997 when Joe Francis, a former studio producer, recognized the opportunity to develop reality-based, direct-to-consumer video titles that did not fit the traditional mold of studio-distributed product. Over the past five years, the company has established its reputation by creating such key franchises as Banned From Television and "Girls Gone Wild."
SOURCE: Mantra Entertainment
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020604/latu007_1.html