In a surprising win for the infamously troubled and litigious, um, actress, Lindsay Lohan’s lawsuit against Take Two Interactive over what she alleges is Grand Theft Auto V ’s unauthorized use of her image and persona has been allowed to proceed.
Originally , Lohan’s complaint involved two transitional images depicting women Lohan claimed resembles her and also a side mission where the player aids a young actress named “Lacey Jonas” in escaping the paparazzi.
Take Two responded to Lohan’s lawsuit in the strongest possible terms: not only arguing that the law Lohan’s team was using was inapplicable to art, but called for sanctions for Lohan and her lawyers over a “legally meritless” claim.
After submitting an amended complaint , Lohan’s grievances included alleged references to her iconic performance in Mean Girls and the West Hollywood hotel where she used to live. Lohan’s team also alleged that the Grand Theft Auto V publisher "used a look-alike model to evoke the persona and image" of Lohan, referring to art they said was meant to imitate a photograph taken of Lohan in 2007.
Previous Lohan lawsuits for the busy bees over at Lindsay’s legal team include suing E-trade for a commercial depicting a “milkaholic” baby named Lindsay and suing Pitbull for, uh, mentioning her in the same breath as the term “locked up.” You know, because of the prison time. (Her lawyer did get a sanction in that last one, by the way, for plagiarizing her court brief. Zoinks!)
According to The Hollywood Reporter , New York Supreme Court judge Joan Kennedy wrote that all inferences must be made in Lohan’s favor - at this stage, anyway. “When deciding whether or not a complaint should be dismissed…. the complaint must be construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and all factual allegations must be accepted as true, limiting the inquiry to whether or not the complaint states, in some recognizable from, any cause of action known to our law,” Judge Kennedy wrote .
The motion to dismiss was denied, including Take Two’s request for sanctions. Take Two must answer Lohan’s amended complaint within 30 days, and both parties must appear for a preliminary conference in May. At least Lohan likes a party, right?
