Netflix pays Indiana woman $385,000 after federal judge rules that a documentary about disgraced fertility doctor Donald Klein exposed her as one of his daughters. was ordered.
That woman, Lori Kennard, sued streaming giant in 2022 He is accused of revealing himself as one of Klein's “secret children” in the documentary “Our Father” without his consent.
The film, released the same year, depicts how Klein used his own sperm to impregnate dozens of unsuspecting women and secretly fathered 94 children.
The sick doctor's twisted plan was exposed in 2015 when several of his adult children took DNA tests on 23andMe.
An eight-person jury in Indianapolis ruled in favor of Kennard on Thursday.
Ms. Kennard accused Netflix and Blumhouse Productions of recklessness and negligence in not blurring her name, even though the documentary's producers promised that she would not be identified as one of Mr. Klein's illegitimate children. He criticized the documentary company Real House.
The complaint alleges Kennard suffered “substantial harm” to her reputation as a result of her appearance in the documentary.
It also claimed that it caused her pain, embarrassment and mental trauma, and that her identity was shared in social media posts promoting the release of “Our Father.”
Meanwhile, the jury sided with Netflix against another woman, Sarah Bowling, who sued over the same claims.
The jury's verdict shows that while Kennard kept his relationship with his girlfriend a secret, Bowling did not.
The third woman's claim in the case was dismissed before trial.
“Our Father” featured the case of Klein, who used his own sperm to unknowingly impregnate dozens of patients in the 1970s and 1980s.
According to court documents, Klein said he donated his sperm about 50 times starting in the 1970s to six adults who he believed were his children.
He told his patients that their sperm is donated by medical or dental residents or medical students, and that sperm from a single donor is never used more than three times.
The disgraced fertility doctor was found to have lied to Indiana Attorney General's Office investigators in 2016, claiming he never used his own sperm to inseminate patients. .
Klein pleaded guilty in 2017 to two counts of obstruction of justice for lying to investigators.
However, he received no jail time after receiving a suspended sentence.
The Indiana General Assembly subsequently passed the Fertility Treatment Fraud Act.
Klein surrendered his medical license in 2018 and was barred from seeking reinstatement by the Indiana Board of Medical Licensing.
