Gadd’s original stage play was billed slightly differently – as being “based on a true story” – which suggests “certain details were likely false”, the judge wrote.
A Sunday Times article from June quoted TV industry sources as saying Gadd “expressed concerns” with Netflix about presenting it as simply “a true story”.
The fact the company went ahead “suggests a reckless disregard of whether statements in the series were false”, Judge Klausner wrote.
Netflix argued that most viewers would understand the claims made in the show to be “not factual” because it was shot in the style of a drama.
However, the judge disagreed, writing: “While the statements were made in a series that largely has the trappings of a black comedy-drama, the very first episode states unequivocally that ‘this is a true story’, thereby inviting the audience to accept the statements as fact.”
Netflix also said the similarities between the real and fictionalised people were so broad that average viewers would not have been able to identify Ms Harvey as Martha.
“The court disagrees,” the judge wrote. “This is not the typical case where a plaintiff happens to be one of hundreds of people that match a fictional character’s broad characteristics.
“Rather, Martha and Plaintiff [Ms Harvey] have specific similarities that few others could claim to share.”
However, the judge did side with Netflix in some parts of Ms Harvey’s case, dismissing her negligence and gross negligence claims, and her request for punitive damages.
Baby Reindeer has been one of the biggest TV hits of the past year, and recently won six Emmy Awards in the US.
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