INDIANAPOLIS -- A federal court in Indianapolis ordered Netflix to pay $385,000 to an Indiana woman it identified as a child of fertility doctor Donald Cline.
The original complaint the woman brought against Netflix, filed in Marion County Superior Court, indicated she was outed as one of Cline's secret children when the streaming giant released a documentary titled "Our Father."
"The woman's photo and name appeared in the documentary," according to the complaint.
The woman's attorneys claimed the documentary's producers promised anonymity to Cline's secret children who did not want to be identified during the film. They also alleged that while several children's photographs and names were blurred, the complainant was not given those same protections.
"Per the complaint, the woman suffered 'severe harm' to her reputation," and experienced distress, embarrassment, and emotional trauma due to the documentary.
Beyond being outed in the film, she was also identified in social media posts promoting it. The complaint was initially filed in May 2022. Court records indicate a jury reached a verdict on Thursday.
Two plaintiffs were originally included in the lawsuit. However, only one plaintiff was awarded compensatory damages by Netflix. The jury sided with Netflix regarding the second woman included in the lawsuit without providing detailed reasons for their decision.
The documentary examined Cline’s case following a FOX59/CBS4 investigation revealing he used his own sperm for insemination at his clinic without patients' knowledge or consent. Despite pleading guilty to obstruction of justice charges in 2017 and paying over $1.3 million through civil suits, Cline received no prison time.
Cline admitted during investigations that he misled investigators about using his own sperm but believed he was helping families unable to conceive naturally.
An interview revealed Cline estimated using his sperm approximately 50 times for insemination procedures. The jury has been discharged after delivering its final judgment regarding this case involving Netflix and one of Cline’s secret children.