$5.8 Million to Girl|Who Was Not Wild

ST. LOUIS (CN) - A state judge awarded $5.8 million to a woman who was an unwilling participant in a "Girls Gone Wild" video.

Tamara Favazza was 20 years old during the 2004 incident in a St. Louis club. Favazza claimed that someone else lifted her top to expose her breasts against her will and that the footage was included in the "Girls Gone Wild Sorority Orgy" series.

She said the woman who pulled up her top was an independent contract for "Girls Gone Wild." Favazza said she learned about the video 3 months she married, from one of her husband's friends.

The award, by St. Louis City Judge John Garvey, came after a retrial.

A jury found for "Girls Gone Wild" in 2010, but City Judge John Riley granted a new trial, finding that the verdict went against the weight of the evidence, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Riley wrote that it was clear that Favazza was an unwilling participant and mouthed "no" as her top was yanked up.

At the original trial, attorneys for the defendants - Mantra Films and MRA Holding - argued that signs posted around the bar told patrons how the video was going to be used. Favazza said she never saw the signs.

Garvey issued his judgment in March the defense failed to appear, the Post-Dispatch reported. The award includes $1.5 million in punitive damages and accounts for past and future sales of the DVD.

Defense attorney David Dalton said his clients plan to appeal, Missouri Lawyers Weekly reported.

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