By Bryanna Fissori
Legal Analyst
With a notable passion for controversy, it was only a matter of time before Adrien “The Problem” Broner (28-1-0) found himself on the wrong end of a lawsuit.
The suit was filed on May 3, just two days before Broner’s win over Carlos Molina. Though the fight’s decision may not have been controversial, Broner’s comments about his opponent earned him a suspension from the WBC and a mandatory public apology.
The cause of actions filed against Broner include breach of contract; breach of implied covenant of good fail and fair dealings in contract; breach of good faith and fair dealing in tort; negligence; public disclosure of private facts; appropriation/right to privacy; intentional infliction of emotional distress; and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
To earn all of these accusations, Broner released a sex tape to the public involving himself and two women. One of the women, 23 year-old Andrea Reyes is opting for legal action against the boxer.
The suit was filed in Clark County, Nevada and according to the lawsuit, Reyes works as a waitress at a small restaurant in Las Vegas. She met Broner last year through a mutual acquaintance. She claims that after about three months of a romantic relationship, Broner asked her to let him record the video in question. Reyes claims that she agreed to do so under the pretense that the video would remain private.
Six states have some form of law against “revenge porn,” which generally encompasses the release of explicit images to the public without consent of the person in the photo or video. Arizona is the most recent to acquire specific law for the situation, which is now considered a felony in the state, with harsher punishment depending on how clearly the non-consenting party can be seen and identified. Unfortunately for Reyes, Nevada is not one of those jurisdictions. This certainly doesn’t mean the case won’t stand. There are a number of precedent celebrity porn cases that have surfaced over the years. Many of them have ended in settlement and a deal for distribution rights.
The lawsuit claims Broner “negligently disclosed” the footage to “third parties and/or permitted the disclosure and distribution” of them “in order to realize profits and/or gain notoriety and fame or to otherwise promote and advance [his] commercial interests.”
Reyes states that the release of the tape “caused irreparable injury … and has forever defined the manner in which [the woman] will be viewed by individuals with whom she comes in contact.”
To make matters worse, the case claims that the women didn’t know about video becoming public until her father told her about it.
Reyes is asking for $10,000 for general damages, a minimum of $10,000 for special damages, and a minimum of $10,000 for punitive damages, as well as the payment of the plaintiff’s attorney fees and costs.
The tape was just one of many of Broner’s controversial antics that the claim asserts he has performed to increase his fame and notoriety rather than relying on his skills. Some of the examples listed in the filling include a video of Broner performing oral sex on a stripper in a club, inflammatory statements on social media and flushing $20 bills down a toilet that he was sitting on.
Broner may want to switch to Charmin or Quilted Northern to make room to settle with Reyes over this case, which should be in excess of $30, 000, though that shouldn’t be too much trouble given the $500,000 purse he just earned in the Molina bout.
