The tort of intrusion “encompasses unconsented-to physical intrusion into the home, hospital room or other place the privacy of which is legally recognized, as well as unwarranted sensory intrusions such as eavesdropping, wiretapping, and visual or photographic spying.” (Shulman v. Group W Productions, Inc. (1998) 18 Cal.4th 200, 230, internal citation omitted). The intrusion must also be highly offensive to a reasonable person. Id. at 231. For example, placing a private video camera inside someone else’s bathroom or house without their consent would be an invasion of privacy. A famous case involving invasion of privacy involved the Marriott Hotel in Nashville when Erin Andrews sued the hotel and the person who set up a way to peep on Ms. Andrews as she stayed in the hotel. The Jury awarded $55 Million dollars for the invasion of privacy case. The person who removed peepholes and filmed Ms. Andrews was also sentenced to jail. Both the hotel operator and the person who did the spying had liability in the civil lawsuit. I won’t go into all the particulars, but it is clear that people do have a right to privacy in private places like hotel rooms, apartments or their homes.
Please note that depending on the time you read this note, this case law might have changed and it will not be updated. To get up to date legal advice, an attorney should be consulted based on your specific facts and the current case law, which changes over time.
