Justice Debra James
Child, a model, moved to set aside a jury verdict and granting judgment in her favor, or for a new trial. She alleged Renda used her name and image for commercial purposes without her consent, violating Civil Rights Law §§50 and 51. Child sought an injunction compelling Renda to remove the photos and her name from his website, noting the images in his e-magazine site were digitally altered so as to defame her. Renda contended Child agreed to his use of the photos, arguing their use was exempt from CRL restrictions as they were newsworthy and of public interest. The court noted while there was evidence of Renda’s “extreme eccentricities,” testimony and exhibits credibly showed that his website contained articles about fashion, thus the use of Child’s image was of public interest and/or newsworthy no matter “how otherwise bizarre.” Therefore, the court concluded there was no reason in law to overturn the jury’s decision, declining to disturb it. The court also found Child failed to show evidence that Renda failed to disclose his press credentials before placing the action on the calendar, ruling there was no evidence of contumacious conduct regarding the discovery phase of the suit by Renda.
