NY analyst sues over Borat film

Borat's efforts to glean cultural learnings from the US have upset a New York financial analyst, who is suing 20th Century Fox over a scene in which he was chased down the street by the spoof Kazakh journalist.

Jeffrey Lemerond, a former healthcare analyst at the Carlyle Group , who now works for SAB a hedge fund in New York, has filed a lawsuit claiming he suffered "public ridicule, degradation and humiliation" in the hit movie, which starred the British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.

During the film, Baron Cohen's Borat character attempts to hug and kiss an apparently random selection people on the streets of New York. The lawsuit says: "Plaintiff is seen fleeing in apparent terror, screaming for Mr Cohen to 'go away'."

The federal suit is filed under a pseudonym, John Doe. However, the American media has identified the plaintiff as Mr Lemerond.

Lawyers for Mr Lemerond say he gave no permission for his inclusion in the film — and that it was not newsworthy, therefore breaking New York's privacy laws.

Baron Cohen's film, which has taken more than $260m (£130m) in box office receipts, has prompted frenetic legal action. Two Romanian villagers sued last year, complaining they were shown as "simpletons". In December, a judge threw out a suit from two South Carolina students, who claimed the producers plied them with alcohol and induced them to make sexist remarks.

Fox has consistently maintained that such lawsuits have no merit.

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