06/03/03
By The Associated Press
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A judge has ordered a Chicago man to stop telling stories, regardless of their truth, about his alleged relationship with a former Vermont beauty queen.
The temporary order forbids Tucker Max, 27, from "disclosing any stories, facts or information, notwithstanding its truth, about any intimate or sexual act" involving Katy Johnson, a two-time Miss Vermont.
Johnson, 24, who has promoted sexual abstinence since she was a teenager, denies the stories. She sued Max last month, arguing that he was using her name and photograph on his Web site, www.tuckermax.com, to promote his "career as an authority on 'picking up' women."
Max's attorney, John C. Carey, called the order "inconsistent with the freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution." He said it was "even more unusual" because the order was issued before Max knew of the lawsuit.
"Tucker Max has the right to tell his autobiographical account of their relationship," Carey said in an e-mail to the Associated Press. He said they would ask for the order to be dismissed.
The order bars Max from using any photos or references to Katy Johnson's first or last names, or her title, "Miss Vermont," on his Web site or in any books or periodicals. It also excludes him from providing a link to Johnson's Web site, www.katyjohnson.com. Judge Diana Lewis granted the injunction on May 6, a day after the lawsuit was filed in circuit court.
John Seigenthaler, founder of the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University, said because Johnson has arguably made herself a public figure by becoming a beauty queen, the burden of proving a privacy violation is greater. He questioned whether the order would stand.
"At the very least you would think before you muzzle and gag a critic of a public figure, you should give that critic an opportunity to be heard in court and weigh what that critic testified," Seigenthaler said.
Federal courts have found that the same First Amendment guarantees that protect newspapers and television should be extended to the Internet, he said.
"What's the difference of saying it in a hall or saying it in a chat room?" he asked.
Max no longer mentions Johnson on his Web site. But he does provide a link to "this ridiculous lawsuit against me" that takes viewers to a list of news stories about the case. The judge's order stops short of prohibiting Max from making any statements about the suit.
Johnson's attorney, Michael Santucci, declined comment yesterday. He has asked for the lawsuit to be sealed to protect his client's privacy. But in a news release he issued last month, Santucci said the "victory should send a clear message to all parasitic smut peddlers who live off of the good names of others."
The release also promotes Johnson's upcoming appearance in MADE, an MTV show where Johnson coaches a tomboy to become a beauty queen. Her Web site promotes her book on beauty pageants and her career as a spokeswoman for self esteem, truth, abstinence and other values.
Johnson, who lives in Delray Beach, was crowned Miss Vermont in 1999 and Miss Vermont USA in 2001. She entered those pageants when she was attending college in Vermont.
Her suit alleges that Johnson suffered a "harmful and offensive bodily contact" with Max in August 2001 in front of Max's Grille, a Boca Raton restaurant owned by Max's family.
Through his agent, Max denied the allegations.
"That charge holds no ground. He has never nor would he ever even remotely consider applying any sort of force to a woman, whether it be physical or emotional," said the agent, Ross Hendin.
Max's Web site previously discussed an alleged sexual relationship he had with Johnson, whom he claimed to have met at a Boca Raton gym and had dinner with at the restaurant. His Web site currently includes an application for women who want to date him and promotes his book, The Definitive Book of Pick-Up Lines. In a disclaimer, he says the site is "intended to be humorous."