NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - Netflix and director Ava DuVernay seem headed to trial on claims their depiction of a Manhattan prosecutor in the series When They See Us was defamatory.
New York federal judge P. Kevin Castel on Sept. 19 denied Netflix and DuVernay's motion for summary judgment, more than two years after rejecting their motion to dismiss the case filed by Linda Fairstein, a longtime head of the Manhattan District Attorney's Sex Crimes Unit.
The case boils down to five scenes in the series, which depicts the prosecution of five Black and Latino youths who were convicted of the rape of Trisha Meili in 1989 but exonerated after someone else confessed to the crime.
Castel took under consideration arguments from DuVernay and Netflix that their Fairstein portrayal was not driven by actual malice.
"There is evidence that, by opting to portray Fairstein as the series villain who was intended to embody the perceived injustices of a broader system, defendants reverse-engineered plot points to attribute actions, responsibilities and viewpoints to Fairstein that were not hers and are unsupported in defendants' substantial body of research materials," Castel wrote.
"The summary judgment record also contains creative notes in which the series writers and Netflix employees suggest heightening the most negative aspects of the Fairstein character to build dramatic tension and advance storytelling goals."
The 2019 series received 11 Emmy Award nominations, but Fairstein says the show’s portrayal of her has caused her post-prosecutor life as a best-selling novelist to crumble – not to mention death threats.
The so-called Central Park Five sued New York City and settled for $41 million. Fairstein supervised the prosecution of the case but was not one of the DA's trial attorneys.
Fairstein alleged defamation took place in 11 scenes, but Castel whittled that amount to five in his order two years ago. The five scenes at issue now:
-Show Fairstein withholding evidence;
-Reference “tapes” that show she coerced confessions;
-Show Fairstein telling officers not to use “kid gloves” when questioning suspects; and
-Directing a racially discriminatory police roundup of young men in Harlem.
Fairstein says prior to the development of the series, she expressed her concerns that she be portrayed accurately to DuVernay and Netflix and provided them with a list of publicly available sources like trial transcripts and deposition testimony.
She says DuVernay and Netflix disregarded her concerns. After the series aired, her publisher dropped her and Glamour Magazine publicly expressed regret for awarding her its 1993 Woman of the Year Award.