"Borat" draws another lawsuit in New York

By Daniel Trotta

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The hit movie and lawsuit magnet "Borat" has drawn yet another court action, this time from a man filmed running away from the fictional Kazakh television reporter on the streets of New York City.

Last year’s "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" was driven by comedian Sacha Baron Cohen’s improvised encounters with ordinary Americans who become his unsuspecting comic foils.

A man anonymously identified as John Doe sued 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp., in federal court in Manhattan last week over the scene in which he is seen "fleeing in apparent terror, screaming for Mr. Cohen to ’go away,’" court documents say.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and says the filmmakers used the plaintiff’s likeness without his consent, causing emotional damage that he continues to suffer.

The comedy has grossed $260 million (130 million pounds) plus more than $60 million in DVD sales, it says.

A spokesman for 20th Century Fox called the lawsuit "completely without merit," saying free-speech law protects films and literary works that are "matters of interest to the public."

"Borat" has been sued at least three times already and has generated complaints from people who say .....continued below

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In February a judge threw out a lawsuit brought in Los Angeles Superior Court by two college fraternity members shown guzzling alcohol and making racist remarks. They claimed the scenes tarnished their reputations.

Last November, two residents of a Romanian village sued 20th Century Fox for $30 million, claiming the film wrongly depicted them as rapists, abortionists, prostitutes and thieves. The scenes depicting Borat in Kazakhstan were filmed in Romania.

A South Carolina man also sued over a bathroom scene that was deleted from the movie.