Sanders v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., et al.
California Supreme Court
978 P.2d 67, 20 Cal.4th 907, 85 Cal.Rptr.2d 909 (1999)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Stacy Lescht, a reporter for the American Broadcasting Companies (ABC) (defendants), got hired as a telepsychic with the Psychic Marketing Group (PMG) for reporting purposes. While she was employed there, she wore a hidden video camera on her hat and a microphone. The camera and microphone recorded two conversations of a “relatively discrete nature” Lescht had with Mark Sanders (plaintiff), another PMG employee. The conversations took place in open cubicles in the PMG office and could likely be overheard by other PMG employees walking by or in nearby cubicles. Sanders brought a suit for invasion of privacy by intrusion. The jury found in favor of Sanders. The court of appeal reversed, finding that Sanders had no reasonable expectation of privacy in his office conversations because others in the shared office could overhear the conversations. Sanders appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Werdegar, J.)
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