Revenge Porn Damages

New York’s revenge porn statute details what damages are available to a plaintiff in a nonconsensual pornography lawsuit. Suffolk County, New York City, and Nassau County’s revenge porn statutes also provide for damages if a person shares naked photographs. The category of damages is compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney fees, and injunctive relief.

Emotional Trauma Damages in a Revenge Porn Lawsuit

A person can recover money for emotional trauma without any other physical injury. While it is helpful to have a psychiatrist testify, emotional damages can be proven without medical proof. A person needs to testify to their experiences surrounding the nonconsensual disclosure of their images and how it impacted their life.

If a person treats with a professional, then they are able to recover past medical expenses and future medical expenses. For example, if you had a $100.00 copay per session, then the defendant would need to reimburse you for the copay if you won at trial.

If a professional has diagnosed you with PTSD or any other diagnosis that requires future treatment, then the court can require the culprit to pay the costs of your future treatment.

Other Compensatory Damages

Other damages are available in revenge porn cases, such as lost wages and lost earning capacity. If you had to take off time from work because of the defendant’s actions, then you can receive the amount of wages that you lost. If you lost your job or performed poorly on a test as a direct result of the sharing of the images or videos, then a claim can be made for lost earning capacity.

Revenge Porn and Punitive Damages

The law allows for punitive damages against a culprit. Punitive damages are warranted where the defendant's conduct evidences a high degree of moral culpability, or where the conduct is so flagrant as to transcend mere carelessness, or where the conduct constitutes willful or wanton negligence or recklessness. Clearly sharing someone’s sex tape or naked photographs without their permission equals a high degree of moral culpability and punitive damages should be awarded in revenge porn cases.

Attorney Fees and Revenge Porn

Reasonable attorney fees and costs are available under the statute. This is important because unless the law allows for a party to recover attorney fees, they must pay their own attorney even if they win the case. Under the revenge porn law, a defendant can be responsible for paying your lawyer, expert witnesses, and the costs of the action, including the filing fee and any motion fees.

Injunctive Relief to Prevent the Sharing of Images

What is injunctive relief? In a revenge porn case, a party can obtain an injunctive to stop the culprit from sharing their naked photographs. An injunction can be temporary or permanent (forever).

Revenge Porn Order of Protection

If a party brings an action in Family Court, they can also obtain an order of protection. The order of protection not only prevents an abuser from sharing images, but also can prevent them from having any contact with their ex.