"The Wolf of Wall Street" Filmmakers Sued for Defamation

"The Wolf of Wall Street" Filmmakers Sued for Defamation

The creators of “The Wolf of Wall Street” are currently dealing with the disappointment of being shut out at the Academy Awards, but it appears as though they may have some bigger problems on their hands.

When movies are based on a true story, characters will closely mirror people who actually lived the experiences depicted on the big screen. In some cases, people are painted in a good light – but that isn’t always the case.

The Plaintiff

Attorney and investment banker, Andrew Greene, said the character in “The Wolf of Wall Street” – Nicky “Rugrat” Koskoff – was modeled after him and he isn’t happy about how he was represented. In fact, it is being reported that Greene recently filed a $25 million defamation lawsuit against the movies creators and Paramount Pictures. Greene was unhappy with the fact that his character is depicted doing drugs, among other questionable activities, and wants to be reimbursed for this damage to his personal image.

Unfortunately for Greene, proving defamation isn’t exactly easy in a court of law. First, it must be shown that the defaming act was published. This shouldn’t be a problem, as long as Greene is able to show strong evidence that Nicky Koskoff was based off his life. However, the next steps are where it can get tricky. Greene has to show that the depiction of him was without a doubt not true.

If he is able to get past that step, Greene must then show his depiction in the movie was made with the intent of causing some form of harm, and that damages actually occurred. It is very unlikely that director Martin Scorsese depicted Green with the intent of causing harm, so there is very little chance that he will be successful with his lawsuit.