Miami Judge Allows Journalist's 'Narcos' Lawsuit to Survive
Colombian media personality Virginia Vallejo's copyright infringement suit against the Netflix show "Narcos" is going forward — and it's all thanks to a love scene with a gun.
May 30, 2019 at 05:48 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
Colombian media personality Virginia Vallejo's copyright infringement suit against the Netflix show “Narcos” is going forward — and it's all thanks to a love scene with a gun.
Vallejo sued Netflix and its “Narcos” production partners in Miami federal court last August, claiming the show misappropriated several scenes from her 2007 memoir, “Loving Pablo, Hating Escobar.” In one instance, “The Palace in Flames” episode reenacts a raid on Colombia's Palace of Justice by the guerrilla group M-19.
Vallejo said the scene detailing a meeting between Escobar and the head of M-19 comes from her book. Another disputed scene shows Escobar introducing Valeria Velez, as “the character allegedly based on Plaintiff,” to his wife at a political event. Vallejo said that scene also can be found in her book. Lastly, an “intimate encounter” between Escobar and Velez involving a revolver became public knowledge only after publication of her book, the suit claims.
Vallejo's attorney, Robert Thornburg of Allen, Dyer, Doppelt + Gilchrist in Miami, said his client is unhappy with the way she is portrayed in the series.
“You would think that if you really wanted to tell the true story and broadcast it as based upon true events, you would suggest that they consult with the people available,” he told Miami New Times. “She was available, but they didn't. What they did was take her book and take a free pass. And they think they can keep the free pass.”
Netflix and its partners filed a motion to dismiss last fall. Ruling on that motion, U.S. District Chief Judge K. Michael Moore of the Southern District of Florida rejected most of Vallejo's claims — except for the “intimate encounter.”
“While Plaintiff does not provide the specific details of the scene in Narcos that allegedly infringed on the Memoir, Plaintiff does allege that this scene involves a unique expression — namely, an intimate encounter that involves a revolver. While copyright protection does not extend to ideas it is plausible that Defendants infringed on Plaintiff's expression with respect to this scene,” wrote Moore.
Louis P. Petrich of Leopold, Petrich & Smith in Los Angeles, who represents the defendants, had no comment on the decision. Scott D. Ponce and Rebecca J. Cañamero of Holland & Knight in Miami, who also represent the defendants, did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.
The U.S. government flew Vallejo out of Colombia in 2006 so she could safely testify in several high-profile cases involving figures connected to the cocaine cartels. She presently works for the Spanish-language version of Russia Today.
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