Two years after the release of Netflix’s documentary Our Father, the streaming service has been ordered to pay compensatory damages to a woman whose identity was revealed without permission.
Our Father, which dropped on Netflix in 2022, followed the startling real-life case of Dr. Donald Cline, an Indianapolis-based fertility doctor who used his own sperm to impregnate dozens of patients, resulting in at least 94 children.
Produced by Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions, the show proved to be a hit. Critics and subscribers praised the “chilling story” for placing the victims at the center of the exploration.
However, Netflix was soon hit with a lawsuit by three of the “secret children” featured in the documentary, which featured a list of their names (among others) displayed on screen for between one to ten seconds. Now, the streamer is being ordered to pay $385,000 to Lori Kennard, one of the women named.
Netflix sued for Our Father true crime documentary
The lawsuit came to a conclusion on December 5, 2024, after Netflix was initially sued back in 2022 when the documentary was first released.
The trial lasted four days in Indianapolis, after which the jury ruled in favor of Kennard. However, another woman who sued Netflix, Sarah Bowling, was not granted any damages, since it was found that she had already disclosed details of her paternity.
The third woman’s claims were dismissed before trial.
As part of their case, the three women sued the platform for “public disclosure of private facts,” stating they had suffered distress after their true paternity was revealed in the documentary.
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The plaintiffs’ attorneys also claimed the producers of Our Father had promised not to disclose their identities without their permission, which they later failed to do.
Two weeks after the documentary was released, Netflix blurred the names of those shown. But by this point, over 18 million viewers had watched the film.
Netflix refuted the claims, however, arguing that the names in question appeared briefly and that the women had already made themselves known by joining a closed Facebook group for the “secret children,” in which they posted about the case online.
Judge Tanya Walton Pratt ruled that Netflix and RealHouse had taken reasonable steps to ensure the film did not contain legal issues.
As such, compensatory damages were granted rather than punitive, the latter of which is typically used for “malicious conduct.”
The day after the verdict, the attorney for the women, Robert MacGill, said, “This is a precedential result. The jury verdict confirms how Americans are protected against invasions of privacy by filmmakers.”
For more, take a look at all the new true crime and documentaries to watch this month. You can also take a look at the best movies and best TV shows of 2024, for this year’s roundups.
