Injunctions: undertakings: civil actions: distribution of sexually explicit materials.

Existing law requires a court or judge, on granting an injunction, to require an undertaking on the part of the applicant sufficient to cover certain damages the party enjoined may sustain by reason of the injunction, if the court finally decides that the applicant was not entitled to the injunction. Existing law exempts from the undertaking requirement certain persons seeking an injunction, as specified. Existing law creates a private right of action against a person who intentionally distributes a photograph or recorded image of another, without the other person's consent, if certain conditions are met, including if the person who distributed the material knows that the other person had a reasonable expectation that the material would remain private, and if the material exposes the intimate body parts, as defined, of the other person or shows that person engaged in specified sexual acts. Existing law authorizes a court to grant equitable relief to a plaintiff in a civil proceeding pursuant to these provisions, including a preliminary injunction or a permanent injunction ordering the defendant to cease distribution of material. This bill would exempt from the undertaking requirement an applicant seeking an injunction ordering the defendant to cease distribution of material under these provisions. The bill would instead create the private right of action described above against a person who knew, or reasonably should have known, that the other person had a reasonable expectation that the material would remain private. Existing law provides an exception to liability for the cause of action described above in certain circumstances, including that the distributed material was previously distributed by another person. This bill would instead provide an exception to liability for the cause of action described above if the material was previously distributed by another person, unless the plaintiff served on the defendant, by certified mail, a notice to cease distribution of the material, and the defendant failed to cease distribution within 20 days of receiving the notice.