ST. LOUIS – from www.stltoday.com – A woman whose lawsuit against the makers of the “Girls Gone Wild” video series was rejected in a trial in July will now get a second chance.

Jurors had turned down her claim that the producers of the video damaged her reputation by showing her tank top being pulled down by another person in a Laclede’s Landing bar.

This week, Circuit Judge John J. Riley granted a new trial, saying that the jury’s finding was against the weight of the evidence.

“It is clear from viewing the video that plaintiff was an unwilling participant in the exposure of her breasts, and she can be seen visibly mouthing ‘no’ and she immediately covered herself up after her top was pulled down,” he wrote.

“It is apparent that plaintiff did not consent to her bare breasts being filmed and used by defendants.”

The woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, was 20 when she went to the former Rum Jungle Bar, where the incident happened in 2004. The woman sued in 2008, after a friend of her husband’s told her that she was in one of the videos. She is a married mother of two, living in the St. Charles area.

Her lawyers sought about $5 million in damages, including $1.5 million they claimed the producers made on the “Girls Gone Wild Sorority Orgy” installment of a series in which women are encouraged to expose themselves at parties.

The defense claimed in the first trial that she silently agreed to be in the video by attending the party. A jury foreman told a reporter later that an 11-member majority decided that Doe had, in effect, consented. The case required agreement by at least nine of the 12 jurors.

The defendants are Mantra Films Inc. and MRA Holding LLC. Their attorney, David Dalton, said Thursday, “I’m kind of shocked and surprised.” He noted, “It was a pretty cleanly tried case, and the plaintiff got to present all the information they wanted. I was disappointed. I thought the jury did a great job in listening to all the evidence and making their verdict.”

Stephen Evans, the plaintiff’s attorney, said he and his client had been shocked by the jury’s verdict but were happy to learn of the judge’s ruling Monday. “She’s very pleased and very happy to have the opportunity for another jury to decide on the case,” Evans said.

from www.riverfronttimes.com – Back in July, a St. Louis jury found that a woman dancing in a club in 2004 had consented to having her bare breasts filmed for a DVD.

She didn’t sign a consent form and audibly objected to having her body exposed, but the jury somehow decided that the mere act of being there showed that she was totally game for having her breasts in the film.

Now, the woman, known only as Jane Doe, is getting a new trial, as ordered by St. Louis Circuit Judge John J. Riley.

The backstory: in 2004, Doe and some friends met for drinks and dancing at the now-defunct Rum Jungle in Laclede’s Landing. The Girls Gone Wild crew was in the house, and they say there were signs posted in and on the club alerting patrons that they could be filmed. Doe was dancing near a camera when another woman pulled her top down, exposing her breasts. Doe visibly and audibly objected, and immediately covered herself back up.

Years later, a friend of her husband’s recognized her face when the scene was spliced into a porn scene in Girls Gone Wild: Sorority Orgy 2. Doe sued GGW, and the jury found that merely by being there, she gave implied consent.

At the time, the jury foreman, Patrick O’Brien, told the Post-Dispatch, “Through her actions, she gave implied consent. She was really playing to the camera. She knew what she was doing.”

Yeah, like clearly saying no when she was exposed against her will. That sure doesn’t sound like consent to us.

On Monday, Judge Riley ordered a new trial in the case. In his ruling, he writes, “It is clear from viewing the video that plaintiff was an unwilling participant in the exposure of her breasts and she can be seen visibly mouthing ‘no’. In the raw footage, she can be heard objecting audibly.”

So now Doe gets a new trial and the frat boys at Girls Gone Wild get another chance to try to use the tired old “she was asking for it” defense.

Here’s hoping some sense prevails this time around. And here’s wondering if the woman who pulled down Doe’s top will ever face sexual assault charges for, you know, sexually assaulting her.