VIRGINIA BEACH – The producer of the Girls Gone Wild videos must cease the production of a tape that included pictures of two local women, one of whom was featured on the tape’s cover.
The producer, Joseph R. Francis, was ordered by Circuit Judge Frederick B. Lowe on Feb. 25 to stop “producing, creating and/or making copies” of the video “Girls Gone Wild: The Seized Video. ” The order was entered into the court record last Thursday .
The video was shot during a promotion for Girls Gone Wild held Feb. 19, 2003, at Waterside’s Bar Norfolk, according to court papers.
The video is one of a series made across the nation that feature women who show off their breasts during impromptu cameos.
The local women, Aimee Davalle and Debbie Aficial, attended the Norfolk event and were videotaped. Both appeared in the finished product. Davalle was featured on the cover of the video. Neither, however, gave the video’s producer written permission to use their pictures.
That is a requirement of Virginia law, said the lawyer who represented the women, Virginia Beach attorney Kevin E. Martingayle .
The order prohibits Mantra Films Inc. and Francis from using the names and/or pictures of Davalle and Aficial “for purposes of advertising and/or trade.”
Martingayle said Davalle’s picture was also used in television ads and in catalogs.
“We are happy that Judge Lowe enforced the law,” Martingayle said.
Lowe’s order does not prohibit the sale of tapes and DVDs already on retail shelves, Martingayle said.
On the night of the Norfolk event, both women were standing in line at the bar, Martingayle said. Davalle apparently was spotted by Francis and invited to “skip the line.”
She accepted the offer and brought along Aficial and a male friend.
After drinking some alcohol, the women were asked to go to a nearby location to participate in making the video. Although the women participated , “if there is nothing in writing, there is no consent,” Martingayle said.
The producer, Martingayle said, has used similar techniques to make Girls Gone Wild videos all over the country.
Now that the approach has been stopped in Virginia, Martingayle said, “hopefully they have learned a lesson.”
Both women have filed lawsuits seeking damages. The first case is set for trial in June, Martingayle said.