National Legal Issues
Federal Airport Security Personnel, Take Note
Candid Camera, the original reality show, received a dose of reality in a lawsuit stemming from a stunt gone bad. In Zelnick v. Paxson Communications, Cal. Super. Ct., County of Los Angeles, No. BC274299 (Nov. 4, 2003), the plaintiff sued the network, Candid Camera, and the Mojave County Airport Authority for battery, negligence, false imprisonment, misrepresentation, and infliction of emotional distress.
Signs You May Need a New Lawyer:
- He tells you his last good case was Budweiser.
- Prosecutors high-five when he comes into court.
- He picks the jury by “eenie-meenie-minie mo.”
- A prison guard is giving you a full body search as you read this.
Peter Funt had posed as an airport security official at the Bullhead City, Arizona airport, and, as part of a gag on the show, he instructed the plaintiff to lie face-down on a conveyor belt and ride through an authenticlooking, yet phony, x-ray scanner. Several times. During one of these trips, the plaintiff's thigh got pinched by a roller in the machine and developed a deep bruise. On another trip through the machine, a pen in the plaintiff's pocket punctured his leg. After the Mr. Funt revealed the joke, the plaintiff failed to see the humor in the situation. U ltimately, the show aired with the other five victims but without the plaintiff's skit.
The plaintiff sought a jury trial, at which the tape of his several cruises through the machine was the key evidence. The jury returned a verdict finding the defendants liable for negligence, false imprisonment, and intentional misrepresentation but denying the claims for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. T he jury awarded the plaintiff $300,000 in punitive damages for his trouble.
Mr. Funt and Candid Camera are seeking a new trial and will appeal if necessary. The defendants took heart in that the jury obviously did not find the plaintiff's physical injuries relevant. The plaintiff took heart in that he received $300,000.