PPlease answer each of the following multiple choicequestions and support each answer with a paragraph explaining whyyour answer is correct.
1. Guests of innkeeper Dave would be surprised tolearn that inside the headboards of the beds are embedded recordingdevices. Dave, who has owned the inn for ten years, enjoys sittingat a console in the front office, tuning in to the privateconversations of guests in the rooms. Once his devices picked upthe words of a married man named Pete. Dave heard Pete confess tohis wife, in response to her questioning, that he, Pete, had beenmolested by a priest when he was young. Dave repeated this gossipto mutual acquaintances, causing injury to Pete.
Can Dave be liable to Pete?
No, because the information that Dave repeated wastruthful.
No, because the inn belongs to Dave and Dave has aprivilege to enter the rooms of his property.
Yes, because a reasonable person would find thedisclosure of molestation repugnant.
Yes, because Pete had a reasonable expectation ofprivacy in his room in the inn.
2. The model Mona, standing nearly six feet tall,weighs 150 pounds. Although she appears slender, she has earnedsignificant praise in the media for being "sensible" and"reasonable" in her size, in contrast to other models deemed "toothin.” Journalist Dan uncovered a bit of dirt about the "sensible"Mona: ten years ago, as a teenager, Mona had weighed 105 pounds andwas hospitalized for eating disorders. Mona has learned that sixmonths ago Dan repeated this truthful story about her to a circleof journalists. No media announcements have emerged. Mona has askedyou to advise her about a possible action against Dan alleginginvasion of privacy.
You should advise her that she is:
likely to prevail, because the matter is not oflegitimate public concern.
likely to prevail, because this disclosure is highlyoffensive to a reasonable person.
unlikely to prevail, because she is a publicfigure.
unlikely to prevail, because there has been nopublication to the public at large.
3. The town of Laguna remembers the case of DeviantGeorge, an old man who lived alone at the edge of town. A teenagegirl arrived at the police station and claimed she had escaped fromGeorge's house, where she had been kept in a basement dungeon. Sheshowed the police the house. When they entered, they found sixother girls in the basement. George had kidnapped and sexuallyabused them. On the testimony of the girls, whose names were keptfrom the public, George was convicted and sent to prison, where hedied. The town still talks about the trial. Last week the localnewspaper ran a story about television actress Doris Daid, age 26.According to the news story, Daid had been one of George's victims.The story is true. The newspaper learned the information from civilcourt records; two years ago Daid filed a quiet, low-profile civilsuit against the estate of George, and received a settlement fromhis limited assets. Daid is embarrassed and distressed by thenewspaper story.
Which of the following statements best describesDaid's possible claim against the newspaper?
Daid has a strong claim for invasion of privacy, but aweak one for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Daid has a weak claim for invasion of privacy becausethe information that the newspaper revealed was a matter of publicrecord.
Daid has a strong claim for invasion of privacybecause the news disclosed is not a matter of publicsignificance.
Daid has a weak claim for invasion of privacy, but astrong one for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
4. Donna runs a "business intelligence" consultingbusiness. Her work consists of attempting to learn her clients'competitors' trade secrets and other informational assets kept fromthe public. In May, posing as a charities solicitor, Donna gainedentry to the factory floor of Toys Inc., a manufacturer ofchildren's toys, and surreptitiously took pictures of thetop-secret Christmas line. Donna sold the information to Giant,Inc. which used this information for competitive advantage againstToys, Inc.
In an action by Toys, Inc. against Donna for invasionof privacy, Toys Inc. should:
prevail, because Donna engaged in fraud.
prevail, because Donna's entry to the factory floorwas not privileged.
not prevail, because a corporation cannot bring anaction for invasion of privacy.
not prevail even assuming Donna has fulfilled theelements of invasion of privacy, because Toys cannot prove thatDonna's actions caused its losses.
5. Stephanie is a famous actress. Which of thesebehaviors would give Stephanie her strongest claim for"appropriation of the plaintiff's name or likeness"? Assume thatStephanie has not consented to any of them.
A struggling entrepreneur uses the name and photo ofStephanie on the packaging of his new line of squash rackets.
A start-up entertainment magazine prints a photographof Stephanie storming away from her boyfriend in a restaurant, andcaptions it "Stephanie Flying Low!"
A starving novelist names one of his charactersStephanie. The character, a waitress with ambitions to sell ascreenplay she has written, is manipulative and dishonest.
6. A disgruntled ex-lover of Stephanie's gives a longinterview to T.V. Times, a television show, describing theirdefunct relationship in painful detail. He is not paid by T.V.Times, but he uses his appearance on the show to promote hisself-recorded music.
Senator Box thought nobody was nearby while she andthree friends, guests in her condominium, smoked marijuana usingher elaborate water-cooled pipe. As luck would have it, however,the building's smoke alarm went off and the building was evacuated.A television news crew came to the scene, and Box's friend Ted wasvideotaped clutching the pipe. Ted told all who would listen whosepipe it was and what it was used for. Box suffered damages relatedto professional disgrace.
Her lawsuit against the television station forinvasion of privacy should fail because:
there was no intrusion.
she experienced no injury.
the television station is not the properdefendant.
the gathering and dissemination were notunreasonable.
7. Tina is a famous golfer. Bois, a manufacture ofgolf carts, used Tina’s photograph in an advertisement for theirgolf carts. Although Tina does own a golf cart manufactured byBois, she did not consent to the use of her picture. Tina brings anaction against Bois for invasion of privacy. Tina will
prevail under the theory of false light
prevail under the theory of appropriation of name orlikeness
prevail under the theory of public disclosure ofprivate facts.
not prevail since she owns a golf cart by Bois.
8. The Connection is a local newspaper in a small townwhich publishes local information about births, graduations,marriages and deaths. The Connection published, in a recent issue,“Mary Higgins just gave birth to twin girls.” In fact Mary is notmarried and has not given birth. Mary has suffered ridicule andembarrassment because of the news reported by the Connection. IfMary brings a cause of action against the Connection she will
prevail as the statement was slander.
prevail as the statement was libel.
prevail under libel re quod.
not prevail if the Connection retracted the story.
9. Newman is a host of a national talk show. Newman isvery controversial and specializes in exposing celebrities andpoliticians. Newman decided to exploit his notoriety by marking aseries of CD’s entitled “The Lifestyle of the rich and famous.” TheCD's were comprised of old interviews that he had given and anoverview of his opinion of the person he interviewed. Newman,although he recorded every interview that he had ever done, neverlistened to the recordings. On the CD there was a statement made byNewman after he interviewed the vice president’s wife Allie Gorbie.He stated Allie Gorbie was a lesbian, and loved to be the man inher relationships. In fact the story was a complete fabrication.Newman made the statement after the interview because he was angrysince he was not happy with the interview. Over 10, 000 CD’s havebeen sold. If Allie brings a cause of action she will:
not prevail since Newman did not know of thestatement.
not prevail since the statement was an opinion.
prevail since she is a public figure.
prevail since the statement was published.
10. Lee, who had been a party in a bench trial beforeJudge Bright, was dissatisfied with the outcome of the case. Afterthe trial was concluded, Lee held a press conference and toldReporter Judge Bright is a very unfair judge.” Judge Bright readsthe article in the newspaper the next day. If Judge Bright bringsan action he will
prevail under the theory of defamation.
prevail since the statement was published.
not prevail since the paper published thestatement.
not prevail since the statement was an opinion
