LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Netflix is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit by a family that says an image likely taken of their unique and isolated Hollywood Hills home in 2022 for an ad promoting the series "Buying Beverly Hills" has left them worried about their safety and caused harassment by sightseers and real estate agents.
Aharon Dihno, 60, his twin 4-year-old sons and Dihno's partner are the plaintiffs in the Los Angeles Superior Court suit, alleging intrusion upon seclusion, violation of the state's false advertising and privacy laws and both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
But in court papers filed Tuesday with Judge Barbara Scheper, Netflix lawyers maintain the entire complaint should be tossed both on its merits and as a violation of the company's right to free speech.
"This case is plaintiffs' attempt to convert Netflix's routine use of a publicly available, licensed stock photo into a ten-claim litigation with a $128+ million payday," Netflix attorneys argue in one of the two dismissal motions, in which they call all of the Dihno family's allegations "meritless" and marred by "legal flaws" and "factual holes."
The Dihno family acknowledges that a third party, not Netflix, shot the photo and that it was then made available for licensing on the Shutterstock photo provider service, according to the streaming service's attorneys' court papers.
Even if Netflix were held responsible for shooting the image, the Dihnos do not have a "reasonable expectation of privacy in the view of the outside of their house," according to the Netflix attorneys' court papers.
The second motion is filed under the state's anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) law, which is intended to prevent people from using courts, and potential threats of a lawsuit, to intimidate those who are exercising their First Amendment rights.
According to the Dihno lawsuit, last September, Netflix published an ad promoting "Buying Beverly Hills," a reality television show depicting the daily operations of The Agency, a real estate firm that sells high-end property. The show focuses specifically on The Agency's Beverly Hills office. The Agency is a co-defendant in the suit.
The ad included an image of the Dihno family's home, which is located on a ridgeline above the height of any nearby street or home and is not visible from any vantage point in the immediate vicinity, meaning the photo could only have been obtained with a drone, the suit filed March 21 states.
The ad depicts the home's interior layout, entrances, exits and a deck accessible from the front entry way, and was published on Netflix's home page, the suit states. Netflix has 231 million subscribers alone and the image also was republished elsewhere on the Internet, the suit states.
After the ad was shown, Dihno and his household "suffered a constant onslaught of visitors interested in seeing the property," causing the plaintiffs to fear for their safety and lose any sense of privacy, the suit states. The plaintiffs also have had harassing phone calls from real estate brokers interested in selling the property, according to the suit.
The plaintiffs believe families and homes associated with reality television programs are targets for criminals who want to burglarize homes seen on these series because entrances, exits and floor layouts are seen by them, the suit states. In March 2022, a neighbor of the plaintiffs was tied up in his own home and robbed at gunpoint by people who followed him to his house, and another nearby family was battered and robbed of $1 million in property by intruders, the suit states.
Dihno's personal business, which he operates out of his home, has been negatively impacted and the plaintiffs have suffered both emotional distress and reputation damage, according to the suit.
A hearing on Netflix's dismissal motions is scheduled for July 13.
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