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Judge orders beauty queen story off Web site
May 8, 2003
BY ART GOLAB Staff Reporter Advertisement
A Florida judge has ordered
a self-proclaimed expert on picking up women to stop spilling details of his relationship with a former Miss Vermont on his Web site.
The judge issued a temporary injunction against former Chicagoan Tucker Max, in response to a suit filed by two-time Miss Vermont Katy Johnson, which alleged Max was exploiting her name for commercial gain.
Max maintains a Web site where he posts tales of his drunken adventures and supposed sexual exploits. One of them, "The Miss Vermont Story," purports to describe having sex with Johnson on their first date. He also uses the site to promote a book he wrote on pickup lines, as well as other merchandise.
The injunction orders Max to remove all references to Johnson from his site, and from "disclosing any stories, facts or information, notwithstanding its truth, about any intimate or sexual act engaged in by the plaintiff." It also requires Max to post a $10,000 bond to cover Johnson's potential damages.
"I can't really comment on the specifics of the case until I've had a chance to review it," said
Max, who now lives in Austin, Texas. Meanwhile, the "Miss Vermont" story remained up on his site by Wednesday night.
Johnson's attorney, Michael Santucci, described the ruling as a victory that "should send a clear message to all parasitic smut peddlers who live off the good name of others." He also stated that Johnson, who promotes sexual abstinence to young beauty pageant contestants on her own Web site, "emphatically denies" the story on Max's site.
First Amendment expert and University of Minnesota law professor Jane Kirtley said such injunctions are unusual in pure free speech cases, but the fact that Max conducts some business on his site clouds the issue.