Spahn v. Julian Messner, Inc., 21 N.Y.2d 324 (1968)
A public figure has a cause of action under New York Civil Rights Law § 51 when a biography of them is substantially fictionalized and exploited for commercial purposes.
Summary
Warren Spahn, a famous baseball pitcher, sued Julian Messner, Inc., for publishing an unauthorized and fictionalized biography. The trial court found the book contained numerous falsehoods, distortions, and fanciful passages, exploiting Spahn’s personality for trade purposes. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that while public figures are subject to publicity, they are protected from fictionalized accounts of their lives published for commercial gain. The Court distinguished this case from libel actions involving public officials, finding no constitutional barrier to preventing the commercial exploitation of a fictionalized biography.
Facts
Warren Spahn was a well-known professional baseball player. Julian Messner, Inc., published a biography of Spahn without his authorization. The biography contained numerous embellishments, invented dialogue, and factual inaccuracies about Spahn’s childhood, war record, and personal life. The book was commercially successful.
Procedural History
Spahn sued Julian Messner, Inc., under New York Civil Rights Law § 51, seeking an injunction and damages. The trial court ruled in favor of Spahn, finding the biography was substantially false and for commercial purposes. The Appellate Division affirmed. The New York Court of Appeals granted review and affirmed the lower courts’ decisions.
Issue(s)
Whether the publication of a fictionalized biography of a public figure constitutes a violation of New York Civil Rights Law § 51, which prohibits the use of a person’s name or picture for advertising or trade purposes without written consent.
Holding
Yes, because the defendants’ publication of a fictitious biography of the plaintiff constitutes an unauthorized exploitation of his personality for purposes of trade and that it is proscribed by section 51 of the Civil Rights Law.
Court’s Reasoning
The Court of Appeals reasoned that while public figures are newsworthy and their factual biographies generally fall outside the protection of the Civil Rights Law, the publication of a substantially fictionalized biography for commercial gain is not protected. The Court distinguished this case from New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, which involved libel actions by public officials. The Court emphasized that the First Amendment protections afforded to speech concerning public issues and officials do not extend to the commercial exploitation of a person’s fictionalized life story. The court noted the trial court’s finding of “dramatization, imagined dialogue, manipulated chronologies, and fictionalization of events”. It quoted the trial judge: “the record unequivocally establishes that the book publicizes areas of Warren Spahn’s personal and private life, albeit inaccurate and distorted, and consists of a host, a preponderant percentage, of factual errors, distortions and fanciful passages”. The Court concluded that no public interest is served by protecting the dissemination of a fictitious biography. The Court explicitly stated that the plaintiff “seeks only to restrain the publication of that which purports to be his biography.”