Messenger v. Gruner + Jahr Printing and Publishing

Gruner + Jahr Printing and Publishing (defendant) published a magazine for teenage girls called Young and Modern (YM) that featured a “Love Crisis” column, which discussed matters relating to teenage sex, alcohol abuse, etc. Jamie Messenger (plaintiff), a minor and aspiring model, consented to and posed for a series of photographs to appear in YM; however, YM did not obtain written consent from her parent or legal guardian. YM used the photographs of Messenger in conjunction with a pull-out quote from the column that read “I got trashed and had sex with three guys” and included a letter from the author identified as “Mortified.” Messenger brought suit, alleging that Gruner + Jahr violated New York Civil Rights Law §§ 50 and 51 in using her photographs for trade purposes without obtaining the requisite consent. The trial court found in Messenger’s favor, and Gruner + Jahr appealed, arguing it could not be held liable under §§ 50 and 51 because the use of Messenger’s photographs fell within the newsworthiness exception to §§ 50 and 51. Messenger, in turn, argued that the newsworthiness exception was inapplicable if the juxtaposition of a photograph to an article created a substantially fictionalized implication. Uncertain whether a fictionalization limitation applied to the newsworthiness exception to §§ 50 and 51, the court of appeals certified the question to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.