It’s not every day that the sober justices of the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals include photos in their written opinions – let alone one of a woman in a banana suit.

But a decision handed down Monday shows Catherine Conrad in a giant banana costume festooned with a bright blue bow, arms outstretched and smiling.

Conrad, of Madison, Wis., is known as the “Banana Lady” who for years has practiced her fruit-themed antics at children’s birthday parties, company outings, singing telegrams and other events. On her web site, www.bananalady.com, she claims to have a national following.

Last year, Conrad sued the organizers of a credit union trade association event who had hired her to perform a “singing telegram.” She alleged that audience members had posted copyrighted images of her performance – and her beloved banana suit -- on the internet in violation of her contract.

The 7th Circuit agreed with a federal judge in Wisconsin that Conrad’s suit had no merit. But the court’s three-judge panel didn’t stop there. Its eight-page opinion went on to blast the Banana Lady for her “abuse of the legal process,” citing at least 17 frivolous lawsuits she’s filed in state and federal court since 2009.

“She once sued event organizers who mailed persons attending the event a postcard that had a picture of her in her banana costume,” wrote Judge Richard Posner, who authored the opinion. “On another occasion she sued persons who videotaped her performance but declined to post the video on their website after she demanded a $40,000 license fee.”

Conrad has also sued her former lawyers and once went to court against her web hosting company for “taking down her web site after she failed to pay the bill,” according to the opinion. Conrad owes more than $55,000 in legal costs and fees in another lawsuit.

The appellate court also said it had serious doubts about Conrad’s copyright claim on her banana costume, citing a Google search that turned up similar outfits.

“…Banana costumes quite similar to hers are, we are surprised to discover, a common consumer product,” Posner wrote.

jmeisner@tribune.com



