Marcinkus v. NAL Publishing Inc.

OPINION OF THE COURT

Ethel B. Danzig, J.

Does a work of fiction, which concededly uses the real name and office of plaintiff (as well as others), purportedly to give the novel "a sense of historical accuracy”, run afoul of New York’s right to privacy statute?

Plaintiff, an Archbishop in the Roman Catholic Church, moves for an injunction restraining defendants, the book’s publisher and distributor, from using plaintiff’s name for any purpose in connection with a novel entitled In the Name of the Father, and requiring defendants to recall and destroy all copies of the novel within their control…