Family Of Down Syndrome Sufferer Adam Holland Sues For $18 Million; Nashville Family Claims They Suffered After Photo Of Son Sparked Offensive Meme

A photo of Adam Holland, a Nashville man with down syndrome, has sparked several derogatory memes and an $18 million lawsuit. The Nashville-based family of the down syndrome sufferer is suing three organizations for $6 million each, claiming that the offensive memes have caused mental anguish for their family. The photo of a then-17-year-old Holland was taken in 2004, when he was participating in an arts class for students with mental disabilities at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and proudly showing his artwork.

The lawsuit targets a radio station in Tampa, Florida, a Minnesota resident and the company behind an online "sign generator." Holland's family claim that his photo was repurposed for several offensive memes, including one created by the Tampa radio station that showed the boy holding a sign which read "Retarded News." The radio station eventually removed the photo from their website after several complaints.

The sign generator website, signgenerator.org, featured Holland's photo as part of a "retarded handicap generator." Minnesota resident Russell LaLevee included the photo on his Flickr page with a sexual reference and a false, defamatory statement. He has since removed the photo as of yesterday.

"It was devastating for this family, emotionally," said Larry Crain, the attorney representing the family. "He's a very likable, very presentable young man who I don't think fully appreciates the hurt that's been inflicted on him."

The defamation suit was filed on April 22 in a Tennessee U.S. district court. The family is suing each party for $3 million in punitive damages and $3 million in compensatory damages.

However, many legal experts believe the case will be extremely difficult to win.

"The torts that traditionally protected individuals against harmful use of depictions and photos are largely ineffective today," said Woodrow Hartzog, an assistant professor at Alabama's Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. "They are really difficult to win at trial because it's hard to prove things like damages -- and the First Amendment has really pulled back on the scope of many of these torts."