Myskina v. Conde Nast Publications, Inc.
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
386 F. Supp. 2d 409 (2005)
Russian tennis player Anastasia Myskina (plaintiff), not fluent in English, agreed to a nude GQ magazine cover photoshoot with photographer Mark Seliger (defendant), allegedly only after Conde Nast (defendant) and Seliger agreed the photos would be used solely for the magazine; she signed a Conde Nast release consenting to use of the photos for editorial purposes generally, with no publication restriction and no merger clause. Myskina claimed Seliger separately promised never to publish additional topless photos taken after the main shoot, but he later licensed and published them elsewhere; Myskina sued for breach of contract, and the defendants moved for summary judgment.
Whether, under contract law, the parol-evidence rule bars the admission of any prior or contemporaneous negotiations or agreements offered to contradict or modify the terms of a written agreement.