An actress whose well-hidden age has been revealed on an Internet website, is suing the website for personal injury as she claims the information has cost her acting jobs, as reported by the Chicago Sun Times.
The lawsuit is asking for $1 million in punitive damages and approximately $75,000 in compensatory damages - due to lost roles where someone younger, and sometimes older, is asked for. The actress claims that she looks much younger than her chronological age, has always kept her given name off the record and her actual birth date undisclosed.
The suit names Internet Movie Database, known as IMDb, and IMDb's parent company, Amazon.com. It was filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
The actress, who chooses to remain anonymous in the suit, is of Asian descent but uses an Americanized stage name on IMDb. She also currently lists herself as a resident of Texas.
IMDb has listed the actress on their site since 2003.
The actress credits IMDb with landing her several acting jobs up until 2008. At that time she signed up for a subscription service with IMDb Pro. The service was supposed to fill in more details on the actress, such as her contact information.
To purchase the service, the actress had to allow the use of her credit card - that listed her true identity. She has claimed that by gaining access to her credit card information, IMDb was able to ascertain her birth date and add it to her profile without her approval.
The suit states that IMDb, by editing the actress's profile, has let out her well-guarded secret "to the public that Plaintiff is many years older than she looks."
The suit continues by stating, "If one is perceived to be 'over-the-hill,' i.e., approaching 40, it is nearly impossible for an up-and-coming actress, such as the plaintiff, to get work as she is thought to have less of an 'upside'."
Once the woman realized what had occurred - and connected the dots between using her credit card to sign up for the website's subscription service and the site gaining access to her birth date - she asked that her birth date be removed.
It is alleged in the lawsuit that once asked, IMDb refused to remove the ill-gotten gains.
Mary Osako, the spokeswoman for Amazon, said she would not discuss the litigation and IMDb failed to respond to an e-mail query for comment.
IMDb lists the birth dates of several actors and actresses on their website.
John W. Dozier, the attorney representing the actress, said that "based on fear of retaliation from defendants that would result in further damage and economic injury" her identity will remain secret.
It is believed that IMDb knows which client the lawsuit is stemming from.
IMDb has claimed that they ascertained the birth date from the woman's agent. To that allegation Dozier said, "We're comfortable they didn't get it from the source they say they got it from."
IMDb may be immune from liability under the Communications Decency Act - the act is meant to protect providers of interactive computer services from defamatory content published by another supplier.
Dozier said that IMDb should not be immune from liability if they are publishing information that it has garnered from its own research.
If you have been harmed, or had your career waylaid, due to the behavior of a person or persons, contact a personal injury lawyer. Oftentimes change in policy, as well as monetary awards, can be made after filing a lawsuit.