Court Opinion

ID: 9737313
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 19:21:33.712776+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:23:58.003187
License: Public Domain

SHORT, Judge
(concurring in part, dissenting in part).
I concur in the decision that appellants’ claim undér Minn.Stat. § 176.82 (1998) fails and that Minn.Stat. § 609.749 (1998) does not create a private cause of action for harassment claims. I respectfully dissent as to appellants’ claim under Lake v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 582 N.W.2d 231 (Minn.1998).
The Chevron Oil test dictates that the Lake decision be applied nonretroactively. See Hoff v. Kempton, 317 N.W.2d 361, 363 (Minn.1982) (adopting three-part test announced in Chevron Oil Co. v. Huson, 404 U.S. 97, 106-07, 92 S.Ct. 349, 355, 30 L.Ed.2d 296 (1971)). Until July 1998, Minnesota refused to recognize, either by legislature or court action, a cause of action for invasion of privacy. As the affidavits suggest, citizens, attorneys, and businesses relied on the state’s rejection of such claims. Retroactive application would penalize licensed private investigators who have performed their legally authorized duties, including surveillance. Thus, for reasons of judicial restraint, respect for the principle of stare decisis, and avoidance of unjust and arbitrary adjudications, the holding in Lake should be interpreted prospectively. I would affirm the district court’s decision.