Six members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club have lost a lawsuit against the producer of the television program America’s Most Wanted.
Judge Ralph W. Nimmons Jr. of Jacksonville, Florida, granted a motion for summary judgment in favor of Twentieth Century Fox. D. H. Miller, Dennis Pellegrini, Mike Gershon, David Moore, Robert Smith and Angelo Klementos had alleged claims of libel, unauthorized publication of name or likeness, invasion of privacy and negligence.
The case concerned two America’s Most Wanted reports about Harry Bowman, president of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club. Bowman had been indicted on charges of murder, kidnapping and arson. He also had been added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Ten Most Wanted List.
To illustrate the reports, Twentieth Century Fox used videotape from Bike Week, an annual gathering of motorcycle riders in Daytona Beach. The six plaintiffs are members of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club and were seen during about 15 seconds of the first America’s Most Wanted report and during about 12 seconds of a later report. While this footage was shown, the narrator of the report made statements about the Outlaw Motorcycle Club. Taken together, the plaintiffs alleged, the pictures and the narration implicated them as part of a criminal enterprise, as people who engage in violent crime, and as people involved in harboring a fugitive (i.e., Bowman).
Rejecting the libel claim, Judge Nimmons cited the well-established rule that a libel claim must be based upon statements that were "of and concerning" the plaintiffs. The America’s Most Wanted reports, Judge Nimmons found, did not specifically refer to the plaintiffs and, therefore, could not support a libel claim.
Judge Nimmons also dismissed claims that America’s Most Wanted illegally appropriated the plaintiffs' likenesses. Florida's misappropriation statute, Section 540.08 of the Florida Statutes, bars a misappropriation claim based upon a bona fide news broadcast or telecast having a current and legitimate public interest if the plaintiffs' name or likeness is not used for advertising purposes. Because the America’s Most Wanted reports communicated news about capturing a fugitive, Judge Nimmons found that the reports served a legitimate public interest and therefore fit squarely within the statutory protection of Section 540.08.
Judge Nimmons also rejected the plaintiffs' claim for invasion of privacy, noting that the video of them was recorded while they were standing in a public place. There "is no liability for giving further publicity to what the plaintiff himself leaves open to the public eye," Judge Nimmons explained.
Finally, with respect to the negligence claim, Judge Nimmons held that, even assuming that Twentieth Century Fox had a duty of care to the plaintiffs, that duty was not breached in this case.
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