Court Opinion

ID: 9606886
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 02:53:55.984033+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:02:36.199633
License: Public Domain

*272Quillian, Judge,
dissenting.
The facts of this case, succinctly stated, are as follows.
Plaintiff brought suit in Muscogee Superior Court for invasion of privacy. The complaint alleged: that the defendants invaded his privacy by the preparation and dispatch of a certain letter by defendant Hamner, as agent of the defendant Columbus Bank & Trust Company, to the U. S. Embassy in San Jose, Costa Rica, inquiring into the private affairs of plaintiff to which defendants had no right nor valid interest. It was then alleged that this letter was received and acted upon by those associated with the Embassy; that "as a result of said letter and inquiries by defendants, plaintiff was subjected to embarrassing questions from his business associates and superiors and his job was and is jeopardized”; that as a result plaintiff suffered great embarrassment, fright and mental anguish and fear of harm. The complaint further alleged "that the activities described herein on the part of the defendants constituted an invasion of plaintiff’s privacy which was unlawful, intentional, malicious, in bad faith and without good cause or reason and which disturbed and injured the peace, happiness and feelings of plaintiff”; that "at all times mentioned herein plaintiff was not a customer of the defendant Bank, owed no money to either defendant and had no business with either defendant.” Plaintiff alleged general damages in the amount of Ten Thousand Dollars and One Hundred Thousand Dollars punitive damages, and prayed for judgment jointly and severally therefor.
The defendants in separate answers denied the material allegations of the complaint and by motion set forth six grounds to dismiss the complaint. The defendants then sought a judgment on the pleadings. After a hearing on the motion to dismiss, the trial judge dismissed the plaintiff’s complaint with prejudice as to each defendant. Appeal was taken from these judgments.
The majority opinion states that the question here is "should we extend the right of privacy to create a cause of action on the basis of a single inquiry letter addressed to an American Embassy in a foreign nation requesting *273business information concerning a United States citizen located in that country?”
I do not construe the issue so narrowly. Instead the question to me is whether the "averments in the complaint disclose with certainty that the plaintiff would not be entitled to relief under any state of facts which could be proved in support of his claim.” Harper v. DeFreitas, 117 Ga. App. 236, 238 (160 SE2d 260). The majority appears to require the plaintiff to set forth a "cause of action” in the complaint.
First of all there is a question as to which substantive law controls, that of Georgia or that of Costa Rica. The parties, through their argument, both seem to concede that Costa Rican law is the one that should be applied. Since the alleged tortious acts occurred in Costa Rica, I too see no basis to apply Georgia law. However, in view of the majority’s addressing itself to that point, let us consider the salient features of our state law.
1. If Georgia law were applied, the complaint and pleadings filed failed to disclose that the plaintiff could not recover. The complaint alleged "plaintiff was not a customer of the defendant Bank, owed no money to either defendant and had no business with either defendant.” Hence, there was nothing to establish as a matter of law that the plaintiff waived his right to privacy. Compare: Pinkerton &c. Agency v. Stevens, 108 Ga. App. 159 (132 SE2d 119); Gouldman-Taber Pontiac, Inc. v. Zerbst, 213 Ga. 682 (100 SE2d 881).
The right to privacy is defined as "... the right of an individual to be let alone, or to live a life of seclusion, or to be free from unwarranted publicity, or to live without unwarranted interference by the public about matters with which the public is not necessarily concerned, or to be protected from any wrongful intrusion into an individual’s private life which would outrage or cause mental suffering, shame, or humiliation to a person of ordinary sensibilities.” 77 CJS 396, Right of Privacy, § 1. See Pavesich v. New England Life Ins. Co., 122 Ga. 190 (50 SE 68); Goodyear Tire &c. Co. v. Vandergriff, 52 Ga. App. 662, 665 (184 SE 452); McDaniel v. Atlanta Coca Cola Bottling Co., 60 Ga. App. 92, 99 (2 SE2d 810); Pinkerton &c. Agency v. Stevens, 108 Ga. App. 159, 166, supra. Since *274the defendants requested information about the plaintiff they may not escape responsibility for the manner in which it was obtained or the harm thereby caused by delegating to another the job of obtaining such information. Ellenberg v. Pinkerton’s Inc., 125 Ga. App. 648 (188 SE2d 911). Whether or not the questions were innocuous per se is not dispositive since we do not know what transpired in seeking and obtaining answers thereto. Most clearly there is nothing in the complaint to show that the defendants had any reason whatsoever to make inquiries regarding the plaintiff.
Therefore even if Georgia law were applied, the plaintiff would not be precluded from recovery.
2. Positing that substantive Costa Rican law controls, we reach the crucial issue concerningfhe duty of the plaintiff to plead and prove the law of a foreign jurisdiction.
Here the plaintiff did not set forth Costa Rican law under which he contended he could recover. However, in my view, that is in no way fatal to his case.
Section 43 of the Civil Practice Act (Code Ann. § 81 A-143; Ga. L. 1966, pp. 609, 654; 1968, pp. 1104, 1108) requires that a party must give notice of a foreign law in the pleadings or other reasonable written notice. There is no basis for dismissing a complaint because a foreign law is not pleaded. Atlanta Newspapers v. Shaw, 123 Ga. App. 848, 851 (182 SE2d 683). See Old Hickory Products Co. v. Hickory Specialties, Inc., 366 FSupp. 913, 917. The issue is premature prior to an evidentiary stage.
If the foreign law is controlling, there is nothing to show that the plaintiff would be precluded from recovering. Testing the complaint under the applicable rules of the Civil Practice Act, we can not make assumptions as to what Costa Rican law might provide. Notice pleading now holds sway and the issues here are not ripe for final judicial determination. Unless the court is certain that the plaintiff could not recover under any state of facts that might be adduced in support of the claim, a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim should be denied.
It is clear that a dismissal of the complaint was erroneous and premature and for that reason I *275respectfully dissent from the judgment of my colleagues.
I am authorized to state that Presiding Judge Pannell and Judge Evans concur in this dissent.