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APPEALS COURT SIDES WITH FAMILY OF NANCY BENOIT, RULES HUSTLER MAGAZINE HAD NO RIGHT TO PUBLISH NUDE PHOTOS OF BENOIT

By Mike Johnson on 2009-06-26 13:57:48
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported today that an United States Court of Appeals in Georgia overruled a previous judgment in the lawsuit brought against adult magazine Hustler for publishing nude photos of a young Nancy Benoit in the wake of the Benoit family tragedy.

The photos, taken in 1983, were from a nude photo and video session Nancy Benoit did while looking into adult modeling.  Upon choosing not to pursue that career, she requested the photos and videos be destroyed and was under the impression they were.

The photos appeared in the magazine in the Spring of 2008. Nancy Benoit's parents, The Toffolonis immediately filed a lawsuit, which they lost as the Judge claimed the photos were "newsworthy."  The family filed an appeal, gaining judgment yesterday.

The appeals court sided with Nancy Benoit's family, noting the photos were published without permission and without compensation, violating Nancy Benoit's privacy. 

In the ruling, the court commented, "The photographs by themselves serve no legitimate purpose of disseminating news … and needlessly expose aspects of the plaintiff’s private life to the public.  Indeed, people are nude every day and the news media does not typically find the occurrence worth reporting.”

“When this came out, it was like she had been murdered all over again. It was just horrible,” commented Richard Decker, the family’s lawyer. “These photographs would have never made it to Hustler because they just weren’t raunchy enough without the notoriety.”

Hustler has the right to appeal the most recent judgment.

The Toffolini family recently filed a wrongful death suit against Dr. Phil Astin III, who handled the Benoits' medical care, as well as three different unnamed pharmaceutical companies.

To read the complete ruling from the Appeals Court in PDF format, click here.

To read the complete Atlanta Journal-Constitution article, click here.

To read an Associated Press report on the ruling, click here.

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In the wake of the deaths of Nancy and Daniel Benoit, their family has opened the Nancy and Daniel Benoit Foundation. For more information, please visit http://ndbfoundation.org/.

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