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A Salacious Tale of Two Sites and a Lawsuit

By Stewart Harris
August 01, 2003

Katy Johnson is a former Miss Vermont who operates a Web site on which she champions moral values such as abstinence from casual sex and alcohol consumption (www.katyjohnson.com). Tucker Max is a former law student who operates a Web site on which he champions competing values, such as frequent indulgence in casual sex and excessive alcohol consumption (www.tuckermax.com). In the summer of 2001, Johnson and Max made brief physical contact in Boca Raton, FL.

This is essentially all that the two parties agree upon. Johnson claims that the physical contact constituted common law battery by Max. Max claims that the contact was not only voluntary, but also voluntarily intimate, and that this allegedly intimate contact was only the starting point of a passionate affair.

Indeed, Max chronicled his version of the alleged relationship, in great and uncomplimentary detail, on his Web site. In response, in early May, Johnson retained counsel and sued Max in the 15th Judicial Circuit Court in Palm Beach County, FL. Johnson v. Max, No. 2003 CA 004867AF. Johnson alleged that Max engaged in the unauthorized use of her name and likeness, in violation of Fla. Stat. ch. 540.08; committed a common law invasion of Johnson's privacy; and committed common law battery.

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