Netflix fined $385,000 for revealing identity in 'Our Father'

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. An Indiana jury on Thursday ordered Netflix to pay $385,000 to a woman. 'Our Father' released on Netflix in 2022, featured the shocking real-life case of Dr. Donald Klein, a fertility doctor from Indianapolis, and how he became the father of 94 children.

The lawsuit had been brought by three "secret children" who were accused of watching the documentary on Netflix, in which a list of their names was displayed on screen for between one and ten seconds. Now, the streamer has been ordered to pay $385,000 to one of the named women, Lori Kennard. After a four-day trial in federal court in Indianapolis, a jury ruled in favor of Kennard on Thursday evening, according to Variety. The eight-member jury declined to award any damages to another plaintiff, Sarah Bowling. The third woman's claims were dismissed before trial.

"This is a precedent-setting decision," plaintiffs' attorney Robert McGill said Friday. "The jury's verdict reaffirms how Americans are protected against privacy violations by filmmakers." Netflix had contended in the case that the women's names were disclosed only briefly and they had waived their claim of privacy by joining a closed Facebook group for Cline's secret children and posting about the case on social media.

Judge Tanya Walton Pratt ordered that Netflix together with Realhouse had taken reasonable care in ensuring the film was not a problem legally. Its failure to mask the woman's name amounted to an honest mistake. Pratt ordered compensatory damages be availed for the plaintiffs without punitive damages.