Looks like the ringers posing as college students business model is done for.
from www.tallahassee.com – Florida A&M President James Ammons smiled broadly as he held up several pages of a legal document Wednesday in Lee Hall on the university’s campus.
Ammons was joined by two attorneys and student government president Gallop Franklin to announce a six-figure settlement reached in a lawsuit against a company that owns a pornographic Web site. On March 16, FAMU officials filed the lawsuit against RK Netmedia Inc., plus eight men and women who acted in a pornographic video.
The video was promoted to have been filmed at FAMU with students acting in explicit sex scenes. FAMU officials investigated and contacted the owner of the Web site, who admitted that the video was not filmed at FAMU.
Plus, FAMU students did not act in the film. That led to the lawsuit which Ammons said was necessary “to further protect the business reputation of FAMU and ensure that its trademarks are not further diluted.”
As a result of the litigation, RK Netmedia agreed to pay $120,000 in scholarships and attorney fees to FAMU over the course of the next year as part of the settlement. The company also agreed to write an apology that will include: “RK Netmedia regrets and apologizes for releasing the video.”
“The resolution of this case represents a firm commitment … to preserve the good name of Florida A&M University,” Ammons said.
FAMU attorney Avery McKnight said the case creates a precedent for other institutions, including those in Florida’s public university system.
Originally, FAMU officials had said it would be a landmark case because of the likely defenses of artistic expression and freedom of speech. However, there were “repeated references” to FAMU in the video.
“I think this was a home run,” FAMU attorney Richard Mitchell of Orlando’s GrayRobinson law firm said about the settlement. “We got everything we asked for.”
Lawrence Walters [pictured], attorney for RK Netmedia, said he is pleased with the resolution. He added his client is “very philanthropic.”
The apology says “RK Netmedia greatly respects the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and is pleased to fully fund two scholarships for two deserving Florida residents.”