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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Two homeless men who claim they were plied with alcohol and drugs and then beaten, rammed into walls, tattooed and otherwise abused for the Internet video sensation "Bumfights" filed a $100,000 lawsuit on Wednesday against the producers of the series.
But an attorney for one of the producers said the lawsuit would fail because "bad taste is not actionable" and the homeless men, 47-year-old Rufus Hannah and 53-year-old Donald Brennan, had willingly participated in the films and had been compensated.
The lawsuit by Hannah and Brennan, which was filed in Diego Superior Court, follows the arrest last week of five men for making the tapes, which show street people engaging in bloody fistfights and acts of self-abuse. More than 300,000 of the tapes were reportedly sold on the Internet for $19.99 each.
"This lawsuit is the first step toward the fair treatment of two vulnerable people who were degraded and humiliated and taken advantage of for entertainment," attorney Browne Greene said after a press conference on the courthouse steps.
"What they did here was ply these very vulnerable Army veterans with alcohol and pot to get them to do nearly anything," he said.
Hannah and Brennan, who are identified in the lawsuit as U.S. Army veterans, claim assault and battery, infliction of emotional distress, civil rights violations and appropriation of right of publicity and seek $100,000 in damages.
'BAD TASTE IS NOT ACTIONABLE'
But Michael Pancer, a San Diego attorney who represents defendant Zachary Bubeck in the criminal case, said Hannah and Brennan had no grounds for a lawsuit.
"I don't even understand the theory under which a person voluntarily performs in a video and then sues the persons who made the video," he said. "Neither (man) claims he was forced to do anything or even tricked into doing anything."
He added: "I think this lawsuit is over something which much of the public believes is in bad taste, but bad taste is not actionable. If it was, the Jerry Springer show would be sued on a daily basis."
Greene said his clients had legal grounds to sue because, as alcoholics who were given liquor, they could not consent.
"They have been homeless for a number years and they are very vulnerable people," Greene said. "Putting alcohol in front of them is like putting blood in front of a shark."
"One of them had his leg broken, they've had multiple head injuries, multiple tattoos, one of them had the word 'Bumfights' and a beer bottle tattooed on his forehead," he said. "And this was all done on videotape while they were drunk after they were given alcohol and marijuana."
Greene said his clients would also ask that the "Bumfights" producers turn over any profits they made from the tapes, which they in turn would give to organizations helping the homeless.
He said both of the men were divorced with children and had been homeless for a number of years.
Police say the "Bumfights" producers persuaded street people to fight for the camera in exchange for cash payments, food, liquor and hotel rooms but warned the participants not to tell authorities about the remuneration.
looks like there is not going to be a bumfights 2 then :(