A decision from the Massachussetts Superior Court in an invasion-of-privacy case involving a controversial memoir could set a precedent favorable to publishers and authors.
The ruling, in a case against Girl, Interrupted author Susanna Kaysen and Random House, found that details revealed in a memoir fall under First Amendment protection—even if they harm characters in the book—so long as they meet a relatively loose standard of furthering the public interest. It also found that a publisher's decision to release the book could in many cases be ipso facto proof of a public interest.
Kaysen had been sued by ex-boyfriend Joseph Bonome for her 2001 book The Camera My Mother Gave Me. The book, an autobiography about the author's struggle with vaginal pain, accused an unnamed boyfriend of insensitivity and offensive sexual behavior that had "culminate[d] with the suggestion that he raped her," in the words of the presiding judge.
Bonome, the unnamed paramour, sued for invasion of privacy, saying that though he remained anonymous in the book his reputation suffered after friends and business associates recognized him. But the court dismissed the case and found that legitimate public interest—the standard used for what might exempt information from invasion-of-privacy laws—existed in this case, in part because Bonome's actions pertained to Kaysen's condition and was thus an essential part of the plot. "However arguably odious, the defendant did not exercise the right of disclosure in a manner offensive to the balance of those [free speech vs. invasion of privacy] interests." It also said that Kaysen's stature as more than merely a disinterested party gave her extra First Amendment protection.
Random House lawyers say the decision could establish a precedent that goes beyond this case, protecting other revealing memoirs from privacy lawsuits. The publisher also took heart from the ruling's mention of an earlier decision about the importance of using publishers' judgment as part of the criteria in determining public interest. "I think it will tell publishers that there's an additional argument when you're dealing with the memoir genere," said Random counsel Jon Fine.
