A tram car moves along the boardwalk in Wildwood, New Jersey, in this 2011 photo.
They may not know her name, but anyone who ever visited the Wildwood boardwalk is familiar with Floss Stingel's voice.
Stingel, a lifelong Wildwood resident, recorded the iconic "watch the tram car, please" warning in 1971 as a favor to her boyfriend. She received no compensation. (Wildwood boyfriends: coercing Wildwood girlfriends into questionable decisions for over 50 years.)
On Tuesday, accompanied by her attorney Emeka Igwe, Stingel announced she is suing the city of Wildwood and other defendants for "misappropriation of likeness and unjust enrichment."
Here's Stingel in an appearance on Fox 29:
Floss Stingel, known as the voice of “Watch the Tram Car, Please” on the Wildwood Boardwalk for more than 50 years, has filed a lawsuit against Wildwood Tram Car Operators for “Misappropriation of likeness & unjust enrichment.” 1/2 pic.twitter.com/pdUJrCISJG
"If you do the math, over the course of 50 years, you're talking about over 80 billion times the voice has been utilized by the defendants," said Igwe. "We're just asking for what's fair. We all know that if you use someone's image or likeness they should be compensated for it. That's basic American law." He added that copyright protections were not in place at the time the recording was made.
Stingel says she made the decision to sue after stores started selling tram car toys that utilize her voice. "They're making money on the toys, and I don't get anything out of that."
The lawsuit demands that the defendants refrain from further use of Stingel's voice without obtaining proper authorization. The dollar amount Stingel is seeking was not publicly disclosed.
