A Manhattan judge said he will allow a model to pursue her $450,000 lawsuit against a major stock-photo company over the use of her image in widespread advertising promoting the rights of HIV-positive people.
Avril Nolan, the perfectly-healthy 26-year-old model — who also works in public relations — said that Getty needed her written permission to distribute the photo and she had not given it.
Getty had argued that the photo, which was used in a public service announcement paid for by a state human rights agency, was protected under the First Amendment, so the suit should be tossed.
Nolan’s exercise instructor notified her after seeing her in the quarter-page color ad in the free AM New York newspaper last April.
Judge Anil Singh ruled that Nolan’s suit can go forward because the unauthorized use of her image creates a “false impression” about her.
The Brooklyn woman sued last September saying the campaign caused her emotional distress because it led colleagues and friends to believe she had the dreaded disease.
Getty reps did not return messages.