Invasion of privacy
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- For other uses, see Invasion of privacy (disambiguation).
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| Tort law I |
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| Part of the common law series |
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| Slander and libel · Invasion of privacy |
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Invasion of privacy is a legal term essentially defined as a violation of the right to be left alone. The right to privacy is the right to control property against search and seizure, and to control information about oneself. However, public figures have less privacy, and this is an evolving area of law as it relates to the media.
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[edit] Development of the doctrine
The development of the doctrine regarding this tort was largely spurred by an 1890 Harvard Law Review article written by Samuel D. Warren and Louis D. Brandeis on The Right of Privacy. Modern tort law gives four categories of invasion of privacy:
- Intrusion of solitude - physical or electronic intrusion into one's private quarters.
- Public disclosure of private facts -- the dissemination of truthful private information which a reasonable person would find objectionable
- False light - the publication of facts which place a person in a false light, even though the facts themselves may not be defamatory.
- Appropriation -- the unauthorized use of a person's name or likeness to obtain some benefit
[edit] Intrusion of solitude
Intrusion of solitude occurs where one person exposes another to unwarranted publicity. In a famous case from 1944, author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was sued by Zelma Cason, who was portrayed as a character in Rawlings' acclaimed memoir, Cross Creek. The Florida Supreme Court held that a cause of action for invasion of privacy was supported by the facts of the case, but in a later proceeding found that there were no actual damages.
[edit] Public disclosure
Public disclosure of private facts arises where one person reveals information which, although truthful, is not of public concern, and the release of which would offend a reasonable person [2].
[edit] False light
One who gives publicity to a matter concerning another that places the other before the public in a false light is subject to liability for invasion of privacy, if:
- The false light would be highly offensive to a reasonable person; and
- The actor acted with malice -- had knowledge of or acted with reckless disregard as to the falsity of the publicized matter and the false light in which the other would be placed.
See Section 652D of the Restatement (Second) of Torts.
The tort of false light involves a "major misrepresentation" of a person's "character, history, activities or belief." See Gannett Co., Inc. v. Anderson, 2006 WL 2986459 at 3 (Fla. 1st DCA Oct. 20, 2006.)
- Example
For example, in Peoples Bank & Trust Co. v. Globe Int'l, Inc., a tabloid newspaper printed the picture of a 96-year-old Arkansas woman next to the headline “SPECIAL DELIVERY: World's oldest newspaper carrier, 101, quits because she's pregnant! I guess walking all those miles kept me young”. 786 F. Supp. 791, 792 (D. Ark. 1992). The woman (not in fact pregnant), Nellie Mitchell, who had run a small newsstand on the town square since 1963, prevailed at trial under a theory of false light invasion of privacy, and was awarded damages of $1.5M. The tabloid appealed, generally disputing the offensiveness and falsity of the photograph, and arguing that Mitchell had not actually been injured, and claiming that Mitchell had failed to prove that any employee of the tabloid knew or had reason to know that its readers would conclude that the story about the pregnant carrier related to the photograph printed alongside. The court of appeals rejected all the tabloid’s arguments, holding that “[i]t may be. . .that Mrs. Mitchell does not show a great deal of obvious injury, but. . . Nellie Mitchell's experience could be likened to that of a person who had been dragged slowly through a pile of untreated sewage. . . [and] few would doubt that substantial damage had been inflicted by the one doing the dragging.”
- Criticism
The false light invasion of privacy cause of action has a source of hot debate among judges and legal scholars. See Gannett at 1. Some courts have held that this invasion of privacy action duplicates the cause of action for defamation, while allowing the plaintiff to avoid the strict requirements that are designed to ensure freedom of expression. Gannett at 4.
[edit] Appropriation
Although this is a common-law tort, most states have enacted statutes that prohibit the use of a person’s name or image if used without consent for the commercial benefit of another person.
[edit] Privacy and the Fourth Amendment
Invasion of privacy is a commonly used cause of action in a legal pleading. The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States ensures that "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." The amendment, however, only protects against searches and seizures conducted by the government. Invasions of privacy by persons who are not state actors must be dealt with under private tort law.
[edit] Notes
- ↑ Cason v. Baskin, 20 So. 2d 243 (Fla. 1944) (note: Baskin was Rawlings' married name)
