Opinion ID: 895986
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: moran and sears

Text: [¶ 9] Hougum contends the trial court erred in dismissing his claim against Moran and Sears for invasion of privacy. Hougum urges this Court to recognize a tort claim for invasion of privacy under the intrusion upon seclusion formulation of the Restatement (Second) of Torts §§ 652A and 652B (1977). [¶ 10] Restatement (Second) of Torts § 652A (1977) outlines four forms for the tort of invasion of privacy: (1) One who invades the right of privacy of another is subject to liability for the resulting harm to the interests of the other. (2) The right of privacy is invaded by (a) unreasonable intrusion upon the seclusion of another, as stated in § 652B; or (b) appropriation of the other's name or likeness, as stated in § 652C; or (c) unreasonable publicity given to the other's private life, as stated in § 652D; or (d) publicity that unreasonably places the other in a false light before the public, as stated in § 652E. [¶ 11] Restatement (Second) of Torts § 652B (1977) describes the elements for an action for unreasonable intrusion upon seclusion: One who intentionally intrudes, physically or otherwise, upon the solitude or seclusion of another or his private affairs or concerns, is subject to liability to the other for invasion of his privacy, if the intrusion would be highly offensive to a reasonable person. [¶ 12] This Court has not decided whether a tort action exists in North Dakota for invasion of privacy. See American Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Jordan, 315 N.W.2d 290, 295-96 (N.D.1982); City of Grand Forks v. Grand Forks Herald, Inc., 307 N.W.2d 572, 578 n. 3 (N.D.1981); Volk v. Auto-Dine Corp., 177 N.W.2d 525, 529 (N.D.1970); See also Nelson v. J.C. Penney Co., Inc., 70 F.3d 962, 967 (8th Cir.1995) rehearing and suggestion for rehearing en banc denied, 75 F.3d 343, 347 (8th Cir.1996). Claims for invasion of privacy are recognized in some form in virtually all jurisdictions. Restatement (Second) of Torts § 652A, Reporter's Note in 1981 Appendix; W. Page Keeton et al., Prosser and Keeton on the Law of Torts § 117 at 851 (5th ed.1984). See also Lake v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 566 N.W.2d 376, 378 (Minn.Ct.App.1997) review granted by Minnesota Supreme Court September 18, 1997 (identifying Minnesota as one of three states refusing to recognize tort of invasion of privacy). [¶ 13] Here, assuming without deciding a claim for intrusion upon seclusion exists in North Dakota, we conclude Hougum failed to raise disputed issues of material fact to support such a claim. [¶ 14] Under the Restatement, a claim for intrusion upon seclusion [1] requires (1) an intentional intrusion by the defendant, (2) into a matter the plaintiff has a right to keep private, (3) which is objectionable to a reasonable person. Restatement (Second) of Torts § 652B; see Prosser and Keeton at § 117, pp. 854-56; 62A Am.Jur.2d Privacy § 48 (1990). Under § 652B, a defendant must intentionally intrude upon the seclusion of another. Lineberry v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 885 F.Supp. 1095, 1098 (M.D.Tenn. 1995); Bailer v. Erie Ins. Exch., 344 Md. 515, 687 A.2d 1375, 1381 (1997); New Summit Assocs. v. Nistle, 73 Md.App. 351, 533 A.2d 1350, 1354 (1987); Harkey v. Abate, 131 Mich.App. 177, 346 N.W.2d 74, 76 (1983); Snakenberg v. Hartford Cas. Ins. Co., 299 S.C. 164, 383 S.E.2d 2, 6 (1989). Generally, there are two primary factors for analyzing a claim for intrusion upon seclusion: (1) the means used for the intrusion, and (2) the defendant's purpose for obtaining the information. Prosser and Keeton at § 117, p. 856. [¶ 15] In tort claims for intrusion upon seclusion in a public restroom, the intrusion generally involves a preconceived or planned intrusion by surveillance equipment, or by surreptitious observations. See Elmore v. Atlantic Zayre, Inc., 178 Ga.App. 25, 341 S.E.2d 905, 906-07 (1986); Harkey, 346 N.W.2d at 75. Cf. New Summit Assocs. v. Nistle, 73 Md.App. 351, 533 A.2d 1350, 1354 (1987) (absent evidence named defendants, or their agents, actually participated in observation through mirror in plaintiff's apartment bathroom, there was no basis for claim for intentional intrusion upon seclusion against those defendants); Lewis v. Dayton Hudson Corp., 128 Mich.App. 165, 166, 339 N.W.2d 857, 858 (1983) (surveillance of plaintiff in department store fitting room); Kjerstad v. Ravellette Publications, Inc., 517 N.W.2d 419, 422 (S.D.1994) (sufficient evidence to submit intrusion upon seclusion claim to jury where there was evidence male employer observed three female employees on different occasions through hole in workplace bathroom wall); Annot., Retailer's surveillance of fitting or dressing rooms as invasion of privacy, 38 A.L.R.4th 954 (1985). [¶ 16] In Harkey, patrons at a roller rink alleged the rink had installed see-through panels in a restroom ceiling which permitted surreptitious surveillance of patrons using the restroom. The Michigan Court of Appeals held the patrons had a right to privacy in the public restroom, and the installation of hidden viewing devices constituted an interference with privacy that a reasonable person would find highly offensive. Harkey, 346 N.W.2d at 76. In Harkey, the means of the intrusion demonstrated a preconceived and intentional effort to intrude upon the privacy of another by a method that served no legitimate purpose and was objectionable to a reasonable person. [¶ 17] In Elmore, a store customer complained about homosexual activity in the store's public restroom, and the store's loss prevention manager observed suspicious behavior while inspecting the restroom. Using a location above the restroom, the store's security staff observed individuals in an enclosed stall, and based on those observations, an individual was arrested and pled guilty to sodomy. That individual subsequently sued the store for intrusion upon seclusion. The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for the store. Elmore, 341 S.E.2d at 907. The court said the observed individual had an interest in privacy within the enclosed restroom stall, but recognized that right of privacy was not absolute and was subordinate to other interests. Id. at 906. The court held the store's intrusion upon the individual's seclusion was, as a matter of law, not unreasonable because the intrusion was not for the purpose of personally invading another's privacy, any privacy interest was outweighed by the store's interest in providing crime-free restrooms, and there was sufficient cause for suspicion of criminal activity to justify the intrusion. Id. at 906-07. [¶ 18] In Lewis, 339 N.W.2d at 861, the Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed a summary judgment dismissal of a claim for intrusion upon seclusion where a department store employee observed a customer in a fitting room which had signs informing the customers the room was under surveillance by store personnel. The court recognized the right of privacy was not absolute and was subordinate to rights which spring from some business relations. Id. at 859. The court held the customer's expectation of privacy was diminished by the signs in the fitting room, and the observation by the store's security guard, who was the same sex as the customer, was not objectionable. Id. at 860-61. [¶ 19] In Kjerstad, there was evidence a male employer used a vacant room next to a workplace restroom on several occasions to observe three female employees through a hole in the wall. The court held the evidence was sufficient to submit the invasion of privacy claim to the jury. Kjerstad, 517 N.W.2d at 424. [¶ 20] Those tort cases for intrusion upon seclusion recognize a privacy interest in an area like an enclosed stall in a public restroom, but also acknowledge that privacy interest is not absolute. The viability of those tort cases generally turns on the purpose of the intrusion and whether the method of surveillance constitutes an intentional intrusion which is objectionable to a reasonable person. [¶ 21] Here, there was no evidence Moran or Sears drilled the hole in the partition between the two stalls, and there was evidence Sears had, on several occasions, placed a metal plate over the hole, but unidentified persons had removed the plate. According to Moran, he thought the restroom was empty, and while reaching for toilet paper, he saw movement through the hole, which was located about four to five inches directly above the toilet paper dispenser, and inadvertently observed an unidentified individual masturbating for maybe ten seconds ... [p]ossibly more or less. According to Moran, his line-of-sight angle permitted him to inadvertently observe the individual through the hole without stick[ing his] eye down [to] look through the hole. [¶ 22] Although Hougum characterizes Moran's intrusion as a deliberate visual inspection and an intentional and direct observation, he has cited no evidence in the record to support those conclusory statements and dispute Moran's version of the observation. A party resisting summary judgment must present competent admissible evidence by affidavit or other comparable means to raise a disputed issue of material fact and must, if appropriate, draw the court's attention to relevant evidence in the record by citing the page and line in depositions or other documents containing testimony or evidence raising an issue of material fact. Miller, 1997 ND 231, ¶ 15, 571 N.W.2d 358; Kummer, 516 N.W.2d at 297. [¶ 23] Moran's visual intrusion was limited in time and scope, and it was not recorded, nor seen by others. As a Sears employee, he was not required to ignore the possibility of shoplifting or vandalism in his employer's public restroom, which he believed was unoccupied, and his relatively brief visual intrusion was consistent with his work responsibilities. See Elmore, 341 S.E.2d at 906-07 (recognizing store's interest in crime-free restroom); Lewis, 339 N.W.2d at 859 (right of privacy is not absolute). This is not a case involving the use of hidden surveillance devices to record private matters in a restroom, nor does it involve a planned or continued pattern of observation of private matters in a restroom. See Harkey, 346 N.W.2d at 76; Kjerstad, 517 N.W.2d at 421-22. [¶ 24] Under the circumstances presented in this record, we decline to elevate the actions by Moran and Sears in this public restroom to an intentional intrusion upon Hougum's interest in seclusion by a method which is objectionable to a reasonable person. Issues about intent and the reasonable person standard are ordinarily questions of fact, see Hecker v. Stark Cty. Soc. Serv. Bd., 527 N.W.2d 226, 229 (N.D.1994), Kirton v. Williams Elec. Coop., Inc., 265 N.W.2d 702, 706 (N.D.1978), but they become questions of law if reasonable persons can draw only one conclusion from the evidence. See Hanson, 1997 ND 230, ¶ 11, 571 N.W.2d 363. We hold, as a matter of law, reasonable persons could only conclude the manner and purpose of the intrusion by Moran and Sears was not an intentional intrusion upon seclusion by a method which was objectionable to a reasonable person. We therefore conclude summary judgment was proper on Hougum's invasion of privacy claim.
[¶ 25] Hougum argues the trial court erred in granting summary judgment on his claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress against Moran and Sears. [2] [¶ 26] In Muchow v. Lindblad, 435 N.W.2d 918, 923-25 (N.D.1989), we recognized a tort cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress under Restatement (Second) of Torts § 46 (1965), which requires proof of (1) extreme and outrageous conduct that is (2) intentional or reckless and causes (3) severe emotional distress. Under Muchow and § 46, a defendant's conduct must be intentional or reckless and must be extreme and outrageous. The extreme and outrageous threshold is narrowly limited to conduct that exceeds all possible bounds of decency and which would arouse resentment against the actor and lead to an exclamation of `outrageous' by an average member of the community. Muchow, 435 N.W.2d at 924. The court must initially decide whether a defendant's conduct reasonably may be regarded as extreme and outrageous. Id.; Security Nat'l Bank of Edgeley v. Wald, 536 N.W.2d 924, 927 (N.D. 1995). [¶ 27] We have already concluded Hougum failed to raise a disputed factual issue about whether the conduct of Moran and Sears was intentional. Viewed in the light most favorable to Hougum, we also conclude reasonable persons could not find the conduct of Moran and Sears constituted extreme and outrageous conduct. We conclude summary judgment was proper on Hougum's intentional infliction of emotional distress claim.
[¶ 28] Hougum contends the trial court erred in granting summary judgment on his claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress against Moran and Sears. [3] [¶ 29] A plaintiff claiming negligent infliction of emotional distress must show bodily harm. Muchow, 435 N.W.2d at 921 (citing Restatement (Second) of Torts § 436A, Comment c (1965)). In Muchow, 435 N.W.2d at 921, we explained: [B]odily harm essential to sustain a claim for relief for negligent infliction of emotional distress is defined in Restatement 2d Torts § 15 (1965) as `any physical impairment of the condition of another's body, or physical pain or illness.' Bodily harm may be caused not only by impact or trauma, but also by emotional stress.... Comment c. of the Restatement 2d Torts § 436A (1965) further explains the nature of the requisite `bodily harm': `The rule stated in this Section applies to all forms of emotional disturbance, including temporary fright, nervous shock, nausea, grief, rage, and humiliation. The fact that these are accompanied by transitory, non-recurring physical phenomena, harmless in themselves, such as dizziness, vomiting, and the like, does not make the actor liable where such phenomena are in themselves inconsequential and do not amount to any substantial bodily harm. On the other hand, long continued nausea or headaches may amount to physical illness, which is bodily harm; and even long continued mental disturbance, as for example in the case of repeated hysterical attacks, or mental aberration, may be classified by the courts as illness, notwithstanding their mental character. This becomes a medical or psychiatric problem, rather than one of law.' [¶ 30] We do not believe the evidence cited by Hougum raises a reasonable inference of bodily harm necessary for a claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress. Hougum has cited no evidence to show his alleged shock, embarrassment, and depression was anything other than transitory phenomena. We hold, as a matter of law, Hougum has failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact he suffered bodily harm. We affirm the summary judgment dismissing Hougum's claims against Moran and Sears.