Jury Awards $385K in Netflix Documentary Privacy Invasion lawsuit | Jurimatic by Exlitem

Bowling et al vs. Netflix, Inc. et al

Case Background

On June 27, 2022, Plaintiff Sarah Bowling and Lori Kennard filed a personal injury lawsuit in the United States District Court, Indiana Southern, Indianapolis Division (Case number: 1:22cv1281). This case was assigned to Judge Tanya Walton Pratt and referred to Magistrate Judge Mark J. Dinsmore.

Cause

The Plaintiff, an Indiana resident, filed a lawsuit against Netflix, Inc., Netflix Worldwide Entertainment, LLC, and Blumhouse Productions, LLC. She discovered that they had disclosed her private information in the Netflix documentary Our Father. The documentary detailed the disturbing actions of Dr. Donald Cline, a fertility specialist. During the 1970s and 1980s, Dr. Cline inseminated patients with his sperm without their consent. In 2019, the Plaintiff learned through a DNA test that she was one of at least 94 children secretly fathered by Dr. Cline. She had kept this personal information private, sharing it only with a trusted circle of individuals.

When Netflix and Blumhouse began producing Our Father, they contacted many of Dr. Cline’s "Secret Children," including the Plaintiff. They assured her in writing that they would not reveal her identity without her consent. Relying on these promises, the Plaintiff did not authorize the use of her name, image, or likeness. Despite this assurance, the Netflix documentary Our Father publicly identified the Plaintiff by name and included her

Netflix Ordered to Pay $385,000 to Woman Outed as Fertility Doctor's Secret Child

Netflix Ordered to Pay $385,000 to Woman Outed as Fertility Doctor's Secret Child

Bowling et al vs. Netflix, Inc. et al

Case Background

Cause

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