BECKY LYNN GRITZKE, Plaintiff, v. M.R.A. HOLDING, LLC, Defendant., 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28085

Summary

The student alleged that the producer defendant published her photograph in Florida for commercial and advertising purposes and that the producer did so without her permission. The producer's contention that the Florida statute was inapplicable because the video was made in Louisiana was rejected. Fla. Stat. ch. 540.08 applied to any publication or other public use of a name or likeness in Florida, not just creation of the offending material in Florida. The student's tort claims of misappropriation of a person's likeness and portraying a person in a false light were recognized causes of action in Florida. The court rejected the producer's argument that Louisiana law and not Florida law governed those claims. It was not the making of the tape but its publication and marketing that allegedly were tortious and caused damage. The producer's argument that the student lacked standing to bring a Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, Fla. Stat. ch. 501.201 et seq., claim was squarely ...