This might typically be posted over on PogoWasRight.org, but because it concerns mental health issues, I decided to post it here.
Eugene Volokh writes:
When should such promises be enforced via an injunction — or when should they lead at least to an injunction against further promotion of a book once it’s already published? A very interesting case just decided on Thursday, Caren EE. v. Alan EE. (N.Y. App. Div. Jan. 22, 2015), deals with the second half of this question. First, the background:
Plaintiff (hereinafter the wife) and defendant (hereinafter the husband) are the parents of an adult son who is diagnosed with autism and has received media attention for his achievements as a visual artist. When the parties divorced in 2002, they entered into an opting-out agreement and an oral stipulation, and consented to the entry of a judgment of divorce that incorporated several agreed-upon provisions pertaining to mutual management of the son’s affairs. In particular, the parties agreed in paragraph 36 that “[a]ny books or movies dealing with [the son] or his artwork” were to be contracted by the parties’ mutual agreement.
In 2012, the wife published a book about a certain medical disorder that, in her opinion, is present in the son and is often present but undiagnosed in other autistic children. The book is based in part on the wife’s research, and in part on her personal experiences as the son’s mother. It includes multiple references to the son, who is identified by a pseudonym. The wife did not obtain the husband’s consent before contracting for the book’s publication.
Read more about the case on WaPo The Volokh Conspiracy. There are all kinds of issues here – free speech, contracts, and the adult child’s right to privacy.