A Scottish woman accused of stalking 鈥淏aby Reindeer鈥 creator and star Richard Gadd can proceed with her defamation lawsuit against Netflix, after a federal judge in California refused to dismiss all of the claims.
In a ruling published on Friday, Judge R. Gary Klausner wrote that 鈥淏aby Reindeer鈥 鈥渁ppears to present itself as fact鈥 rather than as a representation of Gadd鈥檚 opinion by stating at the beginning of the show that 鈥渢his is a true story.鈥
Judge Klausner also wrote that while Fiona Harvey鈥檚 鈥減urported actions are reprehensible,鈥 the differences in how the show depicted these 鈥渃ould produce a different effect on the mind of a viewer,鈥 and thus the defendants鈥 argument that the statements about Harvey were 鈥渟ubstantially true鈥 fails at this stage.
A spokesperson for Netflix told CNN that it has no additional comment beyond its original statement on the suit when it said: 鈥淲e intend to defend this matter vigorously and to stand by Richard Gadd鈥檚 right to tell his story.鈥 CNN has also contacted Gadd for comment.
In the Emmy-award winning Netflix miniseries, Gadd recounts, what is billed as a 鈥渢rue story鈥 of being stalked by a woman who bombards him with more than 40,000 emails and hundreds of hours of voice messages.
The show topped most-watched lists worldwide after its debut in April, generating headlines and speculation about the characters and who inspired them. Harvey, who was quickly tracked down by online sleuths who labeled her the 鈥渞eal Martha Scott,鈥 filed a complaint in the District Court for the Central District of California in June, seeking a jury trial and damages totaling US$170 million.
Gadd previously told U.K. newspaper The Guardian the story is 鈥渧ery emotionally true 鈥 But we wanted it to exist in the sphere of art, as well as protect the people it鈥檚 based on.鈥
His repeated requests, however, for viewers to cease trying to find out the real-life identities of the figures in his story went unheard.
In the lawsuit, Harvey alleges 鈥渟everal key differences鈥 between herself and the character Martha, who stalked Gadd鈥檚 character Donny Dunn. Specifically, Harvey says viewers concluded that she was also 鈥渁 twice convicted criminal that spent five years in prison for stalking,鈥 had 鈥渟talked a police officer,鈥 鈥渟exually assaulted Gadd in an alley,鈥 鈥渧iolently attacked Gadd 鈥 gouged his eyes with her thumbs,鈥 and 鈥渟talked Gadd by waiting outside his home every day for up to 16 hours a day.鈥
In his order, Judge Klaussner addresses Netflix鈥檚 argument that these examples were 鈥渟ubstantially true,鈥 a commonly used defense against defamation which contends that the overall gist of a claim is true. The streaming company argued that although Harvey is not a twice-convicted criminal, 鈥渟he could have been convicted and sentenced to five years in prison,鈥 and that she got 鈥溾檋andsy鈥 with (Gadd), pinching him and touching various parts of his body including his 鈥渂um鈥 without consent.鈥
Klausner disagreed with Netflix鈥檚 argument, writing that 鈥渢here is a major difference between stalking and being convicted of stalking in a court of law. Likewise, there are major differences between inappropriate touching and sexual assault, as well as between shoving and gouging another鈥檚 eyes.鈥
Klausner also held Harvey may be able to show 鈥渁ctual malice鈥 if Netflix knowingly depicted fictionalized events as fact. As potential evidence for this, he referenced The Sunday Times鈥 reporting, citing sources in the TV industry, that Gadd allegedly had concerns representing 鈥淏aby Reindeer鈥 as completely true, and that the stage play from which the show was adapted billed itself as 鈥渂eing based on a true story.鈥
While the judge allowed the defamation and intentional infliction of emotion distress claims to proceed, he did dismiss Harvey鈥檚 negligence, gross negligence and right of publicity claims, as well as her request for punitive damages.
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