The monkey who took the selfie -- this one -- loses in the Ninth Circuit today.
More accurately, PETA -- which sued as the monkey's "best friend" -- loses. As well as is on the receiving end of some harsh language from the panel. For example, Judge Bea drops the following text and accompanying footnote in the majority opinion:
"First, “[i]n order to establish next-friend standing, the
putative next friend must show: (1) that the petitioner is
unable to litigate his own cause due to mental incapacity, lack
of access to court, or other similar disability; and (2) the next
friend has some significant relationship with, and is truly
dedicated to the best interests of, the petitioner.” Coalition of
Clergy v. Bush, 310 F.3d 1153, 1159–60 (9th Cir. 2002)
(quoting Massie ex rel. Kroll v. Woodford, 244 F.3d 1192,
1194 (9th Cir. 2001)). Here, we are concerned with the
second requirement. PETA does not claim to have a
relationship with Naruto that is any more significant than its
relationship with any other animal. Thus, PETA fails to meet
the “significant relationship” requirement and cannot sue as
Naruto’s next friend. [Footnote]
[Footnote] - We feel compelled to note that PETA’s deficiencies in this regard
go far beyond its failure to plead a significant relationship with Naruto.
Indeed, if any such relationship exists, PETA appears to have failed to live
up to the title of “friend.” After seeing the proverbial writing on the wall
at oral argument, PETA and Appellees filed a motion asking this court to
dismiss Naruto’s appeal and to vacate the district court’s adverse
judgment, representing that PETA’s claims against Slater had been settled.
It remains unclear what claims PETA purported to be “settling,” since the
court was under the impression this lawsuit was about Naruto’s claims, and per PETA’s motion, Naruto was “not a party to the settlement,” nor
were Naruto’s claims settled therein. Nevertheless, PETA apparently
obtained something fromthe settlement with Slater, although not anything
that would necessarily go to Naruto: As “part of the arrangement,” Slater
agreed to pay a quarter of his earnings from the monkey selfie book “to
charities that protect the habitat of Naruto and other crested macaques in
Indonesia.” See Settlement Reached: ‘Monkey Selfie’ Case Broke New
GroundForAnimal Rights, PETA, https://www.peta.org/blog/settlementreached-monkey-
selfie-case-broke-new-ground-animal-rights/ (last
visited Apr. 5, 2018). But now, in the wake of PETA’s proposed
dismissal, Naruto is left without an advocate, his supposed “friend” having
abandoned Naruto’s substantive claims in what appears to be an effort to
prevent the publication of a decision adverse to PETA’s institutional
interests. Were he capable of recognizing this abandonment, we wonder
whether Naruto might initiate an action for breach of confidential
relationship against his (former) next friend, PETA, for its failure to
pursue his interests before its own. Puzzlingly, while representing to the
world that “animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for
entertainment, or abuse in any other way,” see PETA, https://peta.org (last
visited Apr. 5, 2018), PETA seems to employ Naruto as an unwitting
pawn in its ideological goals. Yet this is precisely what is to be avoided
by requiring next friends to have a significant relationship with, rather
than an institutional interest in, the incompetent party—a point made by
Chief Justice Rehnquist in Lenhard v. Wolff, 443 U.S. 1306, 1312 (1979)."
I doubt that PETA will invite Judge Bea to dinner anytime soon. Or vice-versa.
