Schuyler v. Curtis

Philip Schuyler (plaintiff) objected to the erection of a statute honoring Schuyler’s deceased aunt, Mrs. Schuyler, for her role in raising funds for the purchase and upkeep of a historic estate. Ernest Curtis (defendant) hired a top-rank sculptor to execute a statue idealizing Mrs. Schuyler as an exemplar of philanthropic virtue. The statue was to be displayed at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, near a statue representing the women’s-rights advocate Susan B. Anthony as exemplifying female social reformers. Thereafter the statue was to be displayed in a women’s-art-league gallery. On behalf of the Schuyler family, Schuyler sued for an injunction barring Curtis from going through with the statue project. Schuyler saw the case as an opportunity to advocate for a legal right to privacy. The suit alleged that: (1) Curtis was unacquainted with Mrs. Schuyler and her opinions, (2) Curtis pursued his plan without consulting the Schuyler family, (3) publicity flyers issued by Curtis embarrassed the family by exaggerating and idealizing Mrs. Schuyler’s philanthropy, (4) Mrs. Schuyler had abhorred publicity of any kind and would have found Curtis’s plan distasteful, and (5) Mrs. Schuyler disapproved of Susan B. Anthony’s social ideas. The trial court granted Schuyler’s requested injunction. Curtis appealed to the New York Court of Appeals.