I think we’ve all seen a James Bond movie or something similar where a room is “bugged” by the enemy. They are spying through tiny audio or video recorders hidden in a lamp or pen, for example.
Unfortunately, this scenario happens in real life too. In real life, however, the spying is usually not about getting government secrets. It’s typically about recording someone undressing or being naked. It’s a gross and awful invasion of privacy, to have someone hide a camera and record you without your awareness and permission. It’s incredibly violating.
Not only is this gross and morally wrong, but it is also illegal. We’ve seen examples of unlawful surveillance in hotels, fitness center locker rooms, public restrooms, store changing rooms and places of employment among other places.
We have a track record of suing for this successfully. What a successful lawsuit often comes down to is, is there a good defendant? What we mean by that is, if we sue the person who set up the camera and is doing the recording, will we be able to get money from them if a judge rules in our favor?
You could win a lawsuit against a scumbag who does this in a public restroom at a city park, but they may not have the money to pay the judgement.
However, if a hotel janitor does this to hotel guests, the hotel can be held responsible in addition to the janitor. The janitor may not have the money as an individual, but the hotel chain will. Similarly, if your co-worker does this to you, your employer could be liable.
The facts still need to be on your side and you have to prove every element of your case, but if the defendant doesn’t have any money they won’t be held responsible civilly. It still could be a criminal case as these are criminal actions to record someone in this manner.
When there is a good defendant to sue, these cases can be lucrative. Recently, a jury awarded $2.78 million to a live-in nanny. Her employer was a family and the father of the family, plahced a camera in the smoke detector in her bedroom and recorded her. The recordings captured her nude, dressing and undressing, and sleeping. The jury awarded the nanny with $780,000 for emotional distress and $2 million in punitive damages. In this situation, the person behind the crime is a fast-food chicken mogul and was wealthy enough to pay what the jury awarded the nanny. No word yet as to whether or not he got arrested as well.
If your privacy has been invaded by someone illegally recording you, contact us at 312-346-5320 for a free, confidential consultation with a lawyer. These claims are handled on a contingency basis which means there is no fee unless the lawsuit is successful.
