Lindsay Lohan scores surprising victory in Grand Theft Auto lawsuit

In a surprising turn of events, a New York State Supreme Court judge has allowed actress Lindsay Lohan to move forward in her lawsuit against the maker of the wildly popular video game franchise Grand Theft Auto.

Lohan is suing Take-Two and its subsidiary Rockstar Games over Grand Theft Auto V. She alleges that a character in the game, Lacey Jonas, is a direct imitation of her, and thus violates her rights under New York Civil Rights Law.

According to a THR article, Lohan’s complaint references the game’s allusions to her role in the film Mean Girls as well as a West Hollywood hotel where she used to call home. Lohan also alleges that the game “used a look-alike model to evoke the persona and image” of her (see the photo above).

When news first broke about the lawsuit, just about everybody wrote it off as a money grab that would go nowhere. But on Friday, New York Supreme Court judge Joan Kennedy wrote that she “Must make all inferences in Lohan’s favor at this stage, can’t rely upon defendants’ documents aiming to show the images in question don’t show Lohan,” and ruled that the actress’ statements in her pleading “had sufficiently alleged causes of action to merit a denial of the dismissal motion.”

For those not familiar with the popularity of GTA V, you might be shocked to hear these crazy stats: “Extensively marketed and widely anticipated, the game broke industry sales records and became the fastest-selling entertainment product in history, earning $800 million in its first day and $1 billion in its first three days. It has shipped over 60 million copies and is one of the best-selling video games of all time.”