http://www.click2houston.com/news/13645412/detail.html
HOUSTON -- A Houston-area woman filed a lawsuit against a porn star, claiming she stole her name, KPRC Local 2 reported Sunday.
Lara Madden, 25, is an actress in the pornography industry. She is a former Houstonian who has appeared in about a dozen X-rated movies under the stage name "Syvette Wimberly."
That's the problem.The real Syvette Wimberly was one of Madden's classmates at Kingwood High School. The women knew each other in the ninth grade.
Wimberly does not believe it's a coincidence that her old classmate is now using her name.
"I imagine she knew the name and maybe thought it sounded catchy and was unique," Wimberly said.
Wimberly is suing Madden for invasion of privacy and emotional distress.
"Really on a weekly, if not daily basis, my client has had to deal with odd phone calls, former classmates that didn't know her that well sending her e-mails about whether she's now in the adult film industry and just a general lack of safety for her," attorney Caj D. Boatwright said.
Wimberly is also suing Vivid Entertainment, the porn distributor that produced Madden's videos.
She's asking for monetary damages and an injunction to stop Madden from using her name.
KPRC Local 2 legal analyst Brian Wice said that's an appeal likely to win sympathy from a jury if the case goes to trial.
"It's not like they pulled the name "Jane Doe" or "Barbara Smith" out of thin air. They pulled a name that's fairly peculiar to one woman in Harris County, Texas, and that's the kind of coincidence or lack of coincidence that's going to get somebody's attention in this building behind us," Wice said.
Wimberly declined to talk on camera. Her attorney said she's already received more publicity than she wanted in the first place.
Calls to Madden and Vivid Entertainment for comment were not returned.
HOUSTON -- A Houston-area woman filed a lawsuit against a porn star, claiming she stole her name, KPRC Local 2 reported Sunday.
Lara Madden, 25, is an actress in the pornography industry. She is a former Houstonian who has appeared in about a dozen X-rated movies under the stage name "Syvette Wimberly."
That's the problem.The real Syvette Wimberly was one of Madden's classmates at Kingwood High School. The women knew each other in the ninth grade.
Wimberly does not believe it's a coincidence that her old classmate is now using her name.
"I imagine she knew the name and maybe thought it sounded catchy and was unique," Wimberly said.
Wimberly is suing Madden for invasion of privacy and emotional distress.
"Really on a weekly, if not daily basis, my client has had to deal with odd phone calls, former classmates that didn't know her that well sending her e-mails about whether she's now in the adult film industry and just a general lack of safety for her," attorney Caj D. Boatwright said.
Wimberly is also suing Vivid Entertainment, the porn distributor that produced Madden's videos.
She's asking for monetary damages and an injunction to stop Madden from using her name.
KPRC Local 2 legal analyst Brian Wice said that's an appeal likely to win sympathy from a jury if the case goes to trial.
"It's not like they pulled the name "Jane Doe" or "Barbara Smith" out of thin air. They pulled a name that's fairly peculiar to one woman in Harris County, Texas, and that's the kind of coincidence or lack of coincidence that's going to get somebody's attention in this building behind us," Wice said.
Wimberly declined to talk on camera. Her attorney said she's already received more publicity than she wanted in the first place.
Calls to Madden and Vivid Entertainment for comment were not returned.
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