The beancounters at Rockstar Games can rest easy, the Court of Appeals in New York has firmly shot down Lindsay Lohan’s lawsuit against the publisher.
If you recall, the actress originally sued Rockstar in 2014 over her belief that a character from Grand Theft Auto V named Lacey Jonas was based on her “portrait and voice.” The character was regularly depicted in the game’s advertising as a blonde woman in a red bikini, and she also appeared in an optional in-game mission. After lengthy legal proceedings, Lohan’s lawsuit was dismissed in 2016, but she vowed to appeal.
Yesterday, that appeal came up short as New York’s Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling in the earlier case. Judge Fahey wrote that even if Lacey Jonas had been inspired by Lohan’s “portrait,” Rockstar cannot be held liable because she’s a fictional character that’s never identified as Lohan in the game:
We conclude that the amended complaint was properly dismissed because the artistic renderings are indistinct, satirical representations of the style, look, and persona of a modern, beach-going young woman that are not reasonably identifiable as plaintiff.
In addition to shooting down her lawsuit, the Court of Appeals also ordered Lohan to pay Rockstar’s court costs.
