High court won’t review model’s “false impression” complaint

From the Fall 2000 issue of The News Media & The Law, page 18.

In October, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to review a mid-February decision from New York’s highest court which held that when a person’s likeness is used to illustrate a newsworthy article, there is no violation of the state civil rights and privacy laws “even if the use of the likeness creates a false impression.” (See NM&L, Spring 2000)

The case concerned a 14-year-old aspiring model whose sued YM magazine after her photograph was used to illustrate a letter from an unidentified girl seeking advice after drinking alcohol and having sex with three men.