New York Court of Appeals
Jamie Messenger, an Infant Under the Age of Eighteen, by Her Mother and “Next Friend,” Donna Messenger…
February 17, 200094 N.Y.2d 436
Summary
The New York Court of Appeals answered the certified question negatively, holding that a plaintiff cannot recover under Civil Rights Law §§ 50 and 51 when a photograph is used to illustrate a newsworthy article that has a real relationship to the article and is not an advertisement in disguise, even if the juxtaposition creates a substantially fictionalized impression. The Court relied on Finger, Arrington and Murray, distinguishing older fictionalization cases, and affirmed the lower court's judgment. Justice Bellacosa dissented, arguing that a fictionalization exception should permit recovery.