torts 2 lecture 15 Introduction to Privacy ~ Intrusion upon Seclusion

Question 1

right to privacy

Answer 1

Warren and Brandeis
Harvard Law Review 1890, p.1034
Why now?
Instantaneous photographs
“instant” camera not invented until 1948
Newspapers

Question 2

privacy

Answer 2

1. Intrusion upon the plaintiff’s seclusion or solitude, or into his private affairs
2. Public disclosure of embarrassing private facts about the plaintiff
   Falsity not required
3. Publicity which places the plaintiff in a false light in the public eye.
   Requires proof of falsity
4. Appropriation, for the defendant’s advantage, of the plaintiff’s name or likeness.

Question 3

Intrusion Upon Seclusion

Answer 3

Restatement of the Law (Second) of Torts, p. 1041
“One who intentionally intrudes,
Physically or otherwise,
Upon the solitude or seclusion of another or his private affairs or concerns,
Is subject to liability to the other for
Invasion of his privacy,
If the intrusion would be highly offensive to a reasonable person.

Question 4

Intrusion Upon Seclusion

Answer 4

First Question
Does court recognize the tort?
What law applied?
Second question
Will any surveillance support a cause of action?

Question 5

Intrusion Upon Seclusion

Answer 5

What must be shown?
Overzealous surveillance
And
Unreasonably intrusive surveillance

Unauthorized wiretapping
Eavesdropping
Shadowing

Question 6

“The First Amendment is not a license to trespass”

Answer 6

Dietemann v. Time, Inc. (9th Cir. 1971), note 2, p. 1058
The clay, mineral, and herb cure
From the man’s home
Conversations transmitted to a parked car
Secret pictures were taken
Four weeks later, plaintiff was arrested for practicing medicine without a license.

Question 7

The Workplace

Answer 7

Do employees have an expectation of privacy at work?
A person “who lacks a reasonable expectation of complete privacy in a conversation because it could be seen and overheard by coworkers (but not the general public)
may nevertheless have a claim for invasion of privacy by intrusion based on a television reporter’s covert videotaping of that conversation.”

Question 8

Damages caused by obtaining and by publishing information

Answer 8

A distinction
What is the claim?
Intrusion upon seclusion
Where there is intrusion, the intruder should generally be liable no matter what he sees/hears.
Does not matter if it is true or false, of public interest or not, fact or opinion.
Publication of private embarrassing facts
Question is whether the information is private or of public concern, not how it was obtained. (stay tuned. . .)