Court asked to stop calendar distribution

The operators of the Bay Street Tourist Complex and Hotel yesterday filed an application asking a court to stop the circulation of a calendar for 2006 which showed a naked woman with the complex as a backdrop.

Bay Street Holdings Ltd and Bay Street Hotel Complex Ltd filed an application in the First Hall of the Civil Court requesting the issue of a warrant of prohibitory injunction against Sunflower Promotions Ltd to stop the distribution of the calendar which contained photographs of naked women.

The two companies, which operate the Bay Street Tourist Complex and the Bay Street Hotel in St George's Bay, claimed that they would sustain irremediable damage were the calendar to be sold or distributed in any manner.

Both companies had, since the opening of the complex in 2000, promoted the complex as one aimed at family entertainment. They had established the goodwill of the complex and it was now known to all as a family and entertainment centre. Many of the operators within the complex paid a goodwill fee in order to be able to operate their businesses there.

The operators were also benefiting from the goodwill generated by the companies.

However, the companies claimed that Sunflower Promotions Ltd had, in collaboration with Ezey Concepts UK Ltd of London, produced and published the calendar which contained photographs of a number of naked women.

The February 2006 entry contained a photo of a naked woman against a background which clearly showed the Bay Street Tourist Complex.

The caption below the photo referred to the Bay Street Hotel. But the two companies declared they had never authorised either the photo or the caption.

Bay Street Holdings Ltd and Bay Street Hotel Complex Ltd claimed in their application that the illegal and abusive actions on the part of respondent company were causing irremediable damage to the goodwill of the complex and of the hotel. They also said that once the complex's good name was damaged no amount of material damages payable by respondent could repair the situation.

The court was therefore asked to stop the distribution of the calendar.