Privacy Claims

Question 1

The Four Types of Privacy Claim are:

Answer 1

1) Appropriation; 2) Intrusion; 3) False Light Portrayal; 4) Disclosure (of private matters)

Question 2

Appropriation occurs when

Answer 2

defendant uses plaintiff’s name or image for commercial purposes. There is an exception for newsworthy uses of a name or image, however.

Question 3

Intrusion occurs when

Answer 3

there is an invasion of the plaintiff’s physical seclusion, in a manner highly offensive to an average individual. However, plaintiff must actually be in a location with a legitimate expectation of privacy.

Question 4

False Light Portrayal occurs when

Answer 4

there is widespread dissemination of a major falsehood about plaintiff, that is highly offensive to an average person. “The Tort of False Gossip.”

Question 5

False Light Portrayal overlaps with, but is broader than,

Answer 5

the tort of Defamation. Many of the highly offensive “falsehoods” are highly offensive statements. Difference is in the damages. Defamation gives economic damages. False Light gives emotional and social damages

Question 6

Disclosure occurs when there is

Answer 6

widespread dissemination of confidential information regarding the plaintiff, which is highly offensive to the average person.

Question 7

Exceptions to the tort of Disclosure:

Answer 7

1) Newsworthiness (e.g. Mitt Romney’s Tax Returns;
2) Information that is not truly private will not be considered a viable tort if disclosed (e.g. co-worker sees a peer at a gay rights rally -> not private, but rather “quasi private”)