HOUSTON (AP) - A Houston woman is suing a former high school classmate who took her name and starred in pornographic movies.
Kristen Syvette Wimberly, 25, is asking that Lara Madden and film distributor Vivid Entertainment Group stop using or publicizing her name, which Madden took as a stage name.
The two met in ninth grade at Kingwood High School. According to the lawsuit, they "were friends but eventually that friendship ended due to conflict."
Madden, 25, began her adult-film career in 2004 and has appeared in about a dozen adult films using the name Syvette Wimberly.
As a result, the lawsuit claims, Madden and the distributor have inflicted "humiliation, embarrassment, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, mental anguish and anxiety."
Caj Boatright, attorney for Kristen Syvette Wimberly, said her client started being contacted by friends and acquaintances asking about her career in pornography.
"The purpose of the lawsuit is to get her to stop using this name," Boatright said. "We're not out looking for millions of dollars."
Kent Schaffer, Madden's attorney, said his client chose the name simply because she liked the sound of it.
"There is no bad blood between them," Schaffer said. "Lara never meant to harm this other girl."
Madden no longer performs in pornographic films, Schaffer said. Vivid Entertainment had no comment because it hadn't been served with the lawsuit, a spokesman said.
The lawsuit, filed June 26 in Harris County District Court, seeks unspecified damages, but Schaffer said Madden will agree to stop using the name if that's all the plaintiff wants.
"They'll never get a penny from her," he said. "She doesn't have any money, for one thing, but even if she did this suit will never hold up in court. I'm not aware of any court that has upheld such a lawsuit. If I use your name to defraud somebody, that's different."
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wow ... so basically anyone can "use" your name - and it's not considered fraud??!?
