Bar Review

Privacy

Privacy

Privacy is basically four small torts:

1. Appropriation
   • The defendant uses the plaintiff's name or image for a commercial purpose.
   • There is a news exception.
   • Doesn't have to be a celebrity
2. Intrusion
   • Invasion of the plaintiff's seclusion in a way that would be highly offensive to the ordinary person
     • E.g., wiretapping, eavesdropping, peeping, intercepting emails, planting cameras, etc.
   • You have to be in a place you have a reasonable expectation of privacy. I.e., your home
3. False light
   • The widespread dissemination of a material falsehood about the plaintiff that would be highly offensive to the ordinary person
   • The same statement can be both defamation and false light. Defamation is to recover for the economic damages; false light is to recover for emotional damages.
   • Don't have to be intentional
4. Disclosure
   • Widespread dissemination of confidential information about the plaintiff that would be offensive to the reasonable person
   • Sending a lot of people your medial records or tax information
   • Again there is a newsworthiness exception
   • Not confidential if you've shared them, even if you wanted to keep it secret from some group

Defenses

1. Consent is a defense to all four
2. The defamation absolute and qualified privileges are defenses to false light and disclosure