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We were advised Friday afternoon that we might want to check out a certain lawsuit filed in the U.S. district court for the northern district of Alabama. At the end of the day Friday, we got our hands on the relevant complaint. And it turns out that stylish Time style reporter Warren St. John has been sued.

Why? Because he and his publisher, Crown, put on the cover of the Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer paperback a photo of a 1972 Dodge Champion RV known as "The Toad." St. John's Rammer Jammer is an exploration of the cultlike devotion displayed by fans of Crimson Tide football, and The Toad is the vehicle in which one of those dedicated fans, Ron St. John — who we don't think is related to Warren, except inasmuch as we assume they're all related down there — follows the Crimson Tide. And apparently Warren broke Ron's Alabamian heart by publishing the photo. As Ron's suit explains:

15. Defendant(s) intentionally or recklessly caused Plaintiff to suffer emotional distress by using the likeness of Plaintiff's RV, "The Toad," to increase the sales of Defendant Warren St. John's book regarding fan mania. Said Defendant Warren St. John researched such fanaticism by buying an RV, dubbing it "The Hawg," which said identity is used in his book, and followed a group of Crimson Tide RV tailgaters that included Plaintiff. Defendant(s), in order to increase sales of said book for its paperback release, modified the title to reflect a "road trip into fan mania" and used Plaintiff's RV on the cover without credit given to Plaintiff that it was his RV "The Toad." ...

18. Defendant(s)' actions toward Plaintiff were so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and are atrocious and utterly intolerable in civilized society.

Of course, we'd argue that living in a 30-year-old RV while following a football team around the country is more or less intolerable in civilized society. But we suppose that's a separate point. A big chunk of the suit's most fun part is after the jump.

15. Defendant(s) intentionally or recklessly caused Plaintiff to suffer emotional distress by using the likeness of Plaintiff's RV, "The Toad," to increase the sales of Defendant Warren St. John's book regarding fan mania. Said Defendant Warren St. John researched such fanaticism by buying an RV, dubbing it "The Hawg," which said identity is used in his book, and followed a group of Crimson Tide RV tailgaters that included Plaintiff. Defendant(s), in order to increase sales of said book for its paperback release, modified the title to reflect a "road trip into fan mania" and used Plaintiff's RV on the cover without credit given to Plaintiff that it was his RV "The Toad."

16. Since the release of said paperback edition using the image of his RV on the cover, Plaintiff avers that he has been overwhelmed with curiosity by Crimson Tide Fans inquiring if his RV is "The Hawg" as they read about in Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer: A Road Trip into Fan Mania.

17. Plaintiff avers that he has owned said his [sic] RV since __________. Said RV has always been identified by its green appearance and its nickname "The Toad" prior to Defendant Warren St. John's book.
18. Defendant(s)' actions toward Plaintiff were so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and are atrocious and utterly intolerable in civilized society.

19. The emotional distress that Defendant(s) caused Plaintiff to suffer was so severe that no reasonable person could be expected to endure it....

28. Plaintiff as a proximate consequence of said invasion of Plaintiff's privacy was caused to suffer the following injuries and damages, to-wit: Plaintiff's RV "The Toad" is no longer a signature that uniquely identifies Plaintiff with Crimson Tide Fans and financial gain to Defendant(s) from unlawful exploitation of Plaintiff's likeness.