Sidis v. F-R Publishing Corp.

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · 1940 · Torts

privacypublic disclosure of private factspublic figurenewsworthinessprivacyright of privacypublic figureformer public figure

Facts

The New Yorker published a biographical sketch and cartoon about William James Sidis, a former child prodigy who had been widely known to the public in 1910 but later sought obscurity. The article truthfully described his early fame, later breakdown, efforts to avoid publicity, current lodgings, personal habits, and unusual interests, and a later issue briefly referred to that article. A newspaper advertisement promoted the August 14 issue by referring to the biography of the Harvard prodigy. Sidis alleged that these publications invaded his privacy and violated New York's statutory privacy protections.

Issue

Whether a magazine's truthful and unfictionalized account of intimate details from the life of a former public figure, together with an advertisement for that article, constitutes an actionable invasion of privacy under the laws invoked by Sidis or a violation of New York Civil Rights Law §§ 50 and 51. The court also considered whether allegations of actual malice altered that result.

Rule

A truthful publication about a person who has achieved or had thrust upon him the status of a public figure is generally not an actionable invasion of privacy when the subject remains a matter of public concern or news interest, at least as to comments on dress, speech, habits, and ordinary aspects of personality, unless the revelation is so intimate and unwarranted as to outrage community notions of decency. Under New York Civil Rights Law §§ 50 and 51, the use of a person's name, portrait, or picture is not 'for advertising purposes' or 'for the purposes of trade' when contained in a newspaper or magazine that confines itself to truthful, unfictionalized dissemination of facts; mere malice does not make otherwise nonactionable truthful publication actionable.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

In Chicago, a weekly magazine publishes a truthful profile of Lena Ortiz, who became nationally famous at age 14 after designing a celebrated bridge model and appearing in newspapers for years. The article describes her current job as a file clerk, her awkward speaking style, her plain clothing, and her hobby of cataloging bus schedules, and notes that she has spent decades trying to avoid attention.

If Lena sues for invasion of privacy under a state common-law theory recognizing some right to be let alone, which is the best argument for the magazine?

Explanation. The majority held that a truthful, unfictionalized account about a former public figure is generally not actionable when the subject's later life remains a matter of public concern or considerable popular news interest. It specifically approved truthful comments on dress, speech, habits, and ordinary aspects of personality, while noting there may be an outer limit for revelations so intimate and unwarranted as to outrage community decency. The opinion did not adopt an absolute privilege for all truthful publications, did not say public-figure status destroys all privacy forever, and did not require reputational injury for privacy.