Cooley Law Grad Sues Photography Studio For Before and After Shots Of His School Picture

Recent Cooley Law School grad Aminur Khan did not take long in locating a client: himself. Khan is suing a Michigan photography studio, Call Photography, for using his photo without permission to advertise its ability to retouch blemishes — showing Khan in before and after photos where his skin blemishes were removed.

The company sent around Khan’s before and after picture to students at the law school to show how it could touch up pictures. Khan says that he was humiliated and suffered emotional distress. The complaint below includes invasion of privacy, negligence, and infliction of emotional distress. The strongest claim is the privacy count based on the appropriation of Plaintiff’s likeness of commercial advantage. That seems pretty straightforward in this case.

The emotional distress claim is based on the allegation that the before and after picture “quickly became the subject of conversation throughout Cooley Law School and plaintiff’s colleagues.” The defense could contest how distressful such a picture is, but the company laid itself open to such a charge.

Call photographed Kahn in February 2011 and then used his picture in November in an email to his “entire graduating class” and four other graduating classes.

Here is the complaint: Khan Complaint

Courthouse News as first seen on ABA Journal.