## Facts

- Lindsay Bullard, a Georgia resident, was 14 years old when she exposed her breasts to two unknown men in a Panama City, Florida parking lot.
- Bullard knew she was being videotaped and did not object at the time; there was no discussion about any later use of the recording.
- MRA Holding, LLC later obtained the footage and included it in its “College Girls Gone Wild” video series.
- MRA used a still image of Bullard taken from the footage on the product’s box cover, with her breasts blocked out and the inscription “Get Educated!” placed over the blocked area, creating the appearance she made the statement.
- MRA marketed and sold the product nationwide, including in Georgia, and incorporated Bullard’s image in television and internet advertisements.
- MRA did not obtain Bullard’s permission to use her image in the video, on the packaging, or in advertisements.
- Bullard alleged humiliation and reputational harm; her image had no commercial value before MRA’s use.

## Issues

1. Under Georgia’s choice-of-law rules, whether Georgia or Florida substantive law governs an appropriation-of-likeness claim where filming occurred in Florida but the plaintiff resided and alleged injury in Georgia.
2. Whether Georgia recognizes an appropriation-of-likeness claim on these facts involving commercial exploitation of a person’s image without permission.
3. Whether an appropriation-of-likeness plaintiff must show that her likeness had preexisting commercial value.
4. Whether acquiescence to being videotaped constitutes consent to later commercial use of the image in packaging and advertising.
5. What measure of damages applies to an appropriation-of-likeness claim under Georgia law.

## Decision

- The court answered certified questions from a federal district court addressing Georgia law rather than resolving the full case on the merits.
- Georgia substantive law governed because, under lex loci delicti, the injury was sustained where Bullard lived and would experience reputational and emotional harm from distribution, including in Georgia.
- Georgia law recognized an appropriation-of-likeness claim on these facts based on unauthorized use of a person’s likeness for the defendant’s benefit.
- Preexisting commercial value of the plaintiff’s likeness was not required to maintain the claim.
- Bullard’s lack of objection to being recorded did not amount to consent to later commercial exploitation by MRA.
- Damages were tied to the value of the appropriated use of the plaintiff’s identity rather than general damages framed solely as humiliation or emotional distress.

## Legal Principles

- In multistate torts, Georgia applies lex loci delicti, using the place where the injury is sustained to select the governing substantive law.
- Georgia recognizes appropriation of likeness as a privacy-based tort protecting a proprietary interest in controlling commercial use of one’s identity.
- Liability may exist where a defendant uses another person’s name or likeness without authorization for the defendant’s benefit.
- An appropriation claim is not limited to celebrities; the plaintiff need not prove a preexisting market value in her identity.
- Consent is context-specific; agreement to be recorded does not, without more, authorize later use of the image in commercial products and advertising.
- The proper damages focus on the value of the defendant’s use of the appropriated identity, consistent with the proprietary nature of the right.

## Conclusion

The Supreme Court of Georgia held that Georgia law applied to Bullard’s appropriation-of-likeness claim, that the claim was available on the alleged facts despite no preexisting commercial value in her image, that acquiescence to filming did not constitute consent to later commercial exploitation, and that damages are measured primarily by the value of the unauthorized commercial use.


Bullard v. MRA Holding, LLC, 292 Ga. 748, 740 S.E.2d 622 (Ga. 2013)