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Streisand files $50 million lawsuit over aerial photos - claims it violates her right to privacy BRUCE
HARING, Thursday, May 29, 2003 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Photographer Kenneth Adelman, 39, of Watsonville; his Web hosting service, Level 42; and Pictopia, a photo agency that disseminates his work, were named in the suit. It was filed May 20 in Los Angeles Superior Court and alleges five counts of privacy intrusion, including violation of the state's anti-paparazzi act. The suit asks that the defendants stop disseminating the photographs, which use "enhanced technology" and deprive Streisand "of the economic value of the use of the images of her property and residence." Adelman's California Coastal Records Project Web site, californiacoastline.org, provides an aerial photography survey of the California coast for scientific and other researchers. His nonprofit organization has already captured 12,000 images of most of the coast, save for a portion near Vandenberg Air Force base near Lompoc and Santa Maria. Streisand's suit alleges that detailed photographs of her property and residence she said were taken by Adelman and sold by Pictopia identify routes to enter her property and provide details on the residence's features that can't be seen from a public vantage point. The suit cites past experiences with "stalkers, threats to her safety, and undesirable personalities" who Streisand says are now provided a "road map into her residence" by the Web site's pictures. Adelman, a retired Silicon Valley entrepreneur and millionaire, said he was "stunned" by the lawsuit, claiming his intent was to provide a baseline for conservationists and other land-use researchers interested in a detailed record of the coastline. "I think there's a free speech issue here," he said. "The photographs were taken in a public place where she doesn't have a reasonable expectation of privacy." Adelman self-funds his project. He and his wife, Gabrielle, use their personal helicopter and the latest computer and photographic equipment to take the photos. They say any revenues derived from purchases of the photographs are donated to a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the California coast. Numerous state and local agencies have used the photos in their reports and scientific research, Adelman said, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the United States Geological Service. |