# Can a TV show be sued? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 3, 2017, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-tv-show-be-sued/788065 "2017-06-03T23:55:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![danderson400](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bc79bd/32.png) [@danderson400](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danderson400)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2017, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-tv-show-be-sued/788065/1 "2017-06-03T23:55:28Z")
Like the Shulman case in the early 90s? [http://law.justia.com/cases/california/supreme-court/4th/18/200.html](http://law.justia.com/cases/california/supreme-court/4th/18/200.html) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-tv-show-be-sued/788065/2 "2017-06-04T00:49:52Z")
Sure. Dateline NBC was [sued by General Motors.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dateline_NBC#General_Motors_vs._NBC) And then [sued over an entirely different matter.](http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2008/06/nbc-resolves-la.html) [The Jenny Jones Show](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jenny_Jones_Show#Controversy) lost a lawsuit, but the verdict was overturned on appeal. Dance Moms [was sued by one of the moms](http://www.realitytea.com/2015/10/30/abby-lee-miller-settles-lawsuit-former-dance-moms-star-kelly-hyland/). Some of those lawsuits were settled, and in others the plaintiffs lost, but none of them were thrown out because a TV show\* couldn’t\* be sued. Of course, you don’t actually sue the show itself. You sue the production company, the star, the producers, the network or some legal entity. ---
**Author:** ![danderson400](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bc79bd/32.png) [@danderson400](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danderson400)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-tv-show-be-sued/788065/3 "2017-06-04T02:02:06Z")
Yep. The Shulman one was where she sued because the footage followed the victim from accident scene, on board the helicopter(Mercy Air) and to the ER. Also the flight nurse was wearing a microphone, which allowed viewers to hear what she was saying to the victim. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-tv-show-be-sued/788065/4 "2017-06-04T02:20:33Z")
This is a factual question, (with actual factual answers provided). Moving to General Questions. ---
**Author:** ![danderson400](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bc79bd/32.png) [@danderson400](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danderson400)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-tv-show-be-sued/788065/5 "2017-06-04T22:31:27Z")
If Shulman had a expectation of privacy in the helicopter, then why was a cameraman there filming her? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-tv-show-be-sued/788065/6 "2017-06-04T22:44:28Z")
Wasn’t it a hidden cam? ---
**Author:** ![danderson400](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bc79bd/32.png) [@danderson400](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danderson400)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-tv-show-be-sued/788065/7 "2017-06-04T23:23:46Z")
No. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2017, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-tv-show-be-sued/788065/8 "2017-06-04T23:30:26Z")
Technically, you’d be suing the TV production company that produced the show. You wouldn’t summon an episode of _Airwolf_ to the witness stand. ---
**Author:** ![Mithras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mithras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithras)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-tv-show-be-sued/788065/9 "2017-06-05T01:27:02Z")
> [@danderson400](#): > > If Shulman had a expectation of privacy in the helicopter, then why was a cameraman there filming her? That was the argument in the lawsuit, that the cameraman should not have been there because she had an expectation of privacy. And her having recently sustained serious injuries in an accident, it didn’t matter that the camera wasn’t hidden. She was in shock and unaware that she was being recorded. What was the ultimate result of the lawsuit? The State Supreme Court said the company could be held liable for violating her privacy and that the case could proceed. Were they found liable? Did they settle? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-tv-show-be-sued/788065/10 "2017-06-05T20:27:18Z")
[NY Med](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NY_Med#Patient_privacy_lawsuit) was sued over a patient privacy matter. The show had a policy of getting signatures from the staff and patients. But if someone didn’t sign and they needed to use the footage, they would blur their face. They did the latter with a person who died in the ER. The family recognized him anyway and sued. The show won the early rounds but once the HIPAA violation got traction in courts, ABC settled. Now if only someone had sued for having Dr. Oz appear on it. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-tv-show-be-sued/788065/11 "2017-06-05T22:28:32Z")
> [@Mithras](#): > > That was the argument in the lawsuit, that the cameraman should not have been there because she had an expectation of privacy. And her having recently sustained serious injuries in an accident, it didn’t matter that the camera wasn’t hidden. She was in shock and unaware that she was being recorded. > > What was the ultimate result of the lawsuit? The State Supreme Court said the company could be held liable for violating her privacy and that the case could proceed. Were they found liable? Did they settle? The State Supreme Court decision got into First Amendment issues, and the parties appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but settled before it went to trial.