Streisand files $50 million lawsuit over aerial photos

AP ^ | Thursday, May 29, 2003 | BRUCE HARING

[friendly]

Barbra Streisand is suing an aerial photographer and his associates for $50 million, claiming pictures they provide to others of her Malibu home and property violates her right to privacy.

Photographer Kenneth Adelman, 39, of Watsonville; his Web hosting service, Level 42; and Pictopia, a photo agency that disseminates his work, were named in the suit. It was filed May 20 in Los Angeles Superior Court and alleges five counts of privacy intrusion, including violation of the state's anti-paparazzi act.

[friendly]

LOL

[Tijeras_Slim]

Hey! I don't see a clothesline in that photo! I thought BS wanted us all to conserve energy. What gives?

[Mamzelle]

This might actually be an interesting case. It involves personal intellectual property. It has always both annoyed and alarmed me that all manner of entities keep "dossiers" on us as individuals, without expressed permission. Doesn't that info belong, first and only, to us as individuals? We all know women who, shortly after they find they are pregnant, suddenly start receiving diaper advertisements in the mail. Spooky. Some computer, somewhere, has huge files on us.

This info is retrievable as evidence in court, BTW. If you are party in a lawsuit, your opponents can head down to the local merchant (where you have one of those discount cards you keep on your keychain) and subpoena all your buying habits. Sometimes this turns up interesting and embarrassing things...

[friendly]

Yeah and what about the 8 car garage? I am sure it is filled with bicycles.

And where are all the solar panels? I imagine this monstrosity of a hopuse uses astonishing amounts of oil and electricity.

[friendly]

I am sure the Smoking Gun will keep us informed of the court filings.

[Tijeras_Slim]

House? I thought it was a sanitarium.

[DoughtyOne]

Hey good call. I'd mention this but it would probably result in an effort for her to seek compensation for mental cruelty.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Let her sue me. Everything I have wouldn't pay for her pool filter cleaning.

[DoughtyOne]

: )

[xp38]

The Photo she objects to from the website you linked to.

N34 00.65 W118 47.24 Image 3850 Mon Sep 23 13:40:04 2002 Streisand Estate, Malibu

[pointsal]

Maybe she should contact the county assessor....never can tell what's on the tax roll.......

[DoughtyOne]

I'm afraid I didn't understand your point. But then I am tired.

[TC Rider]

And what has all her crying accomplished? Her house pictured all over the internet..

Try link here if picture doesn't show.

[finnman69]

Cmon Barbra, unless your house was built illegally there will be plans of it and the grounds on file with the local building department. You can pay to retrieve those records.

[TC Rider]

Second Try..

[finnman69]

That looks like a Winnebago in her parking lot along with at least 3 other vehicles. How much gas do they use and how much pollution do they create BAR-BRA!

[smith288]

50 million? What on Earth did this person violate that constitutes 50 million? Oh...she is a liberal..nevermind.

[smith288]

Plenty of chimneys to pollute too!

[ArrogantBustard]

Fascinating... Those houses are awfully close to the edge of what looks like a sand cliff. Good thing they don't have hurricanes in Cali. A good storm or two (of the sort we endure in the East) would have them in the drink.

[xp38]

Also from the website....

Since shortly after our web site "went live", Barbra Streisand has been complaining about a photograph on our web site, 3% of which covers her home. In February 2003, we received a threatening letter from her attorney, John Gatti of Alschuler Grossman Stein & Kahan LLP, demanding that we "immediately cease and desist from photographing and displaying and identifying photographs of Ms. Streisand's home on the website www.californiacoastline.org [...]".

We refuse to be intimidated by these tactics, which would undermine our constitutional protection of free speech and which would compromise the integrity of this historical and scientific database. As a result of which, we received a second threatening letter.

Our goal is to create a complete record of the California coastline. This record has been used by a number of government, university, press, and environmental groups (partial list) free of charge. It is not possible to provide the public with a complete record without the photographs of the coast that happen to include Ms. Streisand's estate. We do not believe in giving special treatment to wealthy coastal land owners.

Ms. Streisand, who proports to espouse the First Amendment right of freedom of speech (See "My Thoughts On Freedom of Speech" (scroll down to "My Thoughts"), at www.barbrastreisand.com) apparently feels differently when the publication of a photograph shows her backyard.

Here is a copy of the Complaint that Ms. Streisand filed against us in Superior Court in Los Angeles. All of her claims are frivolous and will be vigorously defended.