Writing Not Required For Tort Of Invasion Right Of Privacy Based Upon Public Disclosure Of Private Facts.

Plaintiff brought an action against her employer and immediate supervisor for public disclosure of private facts about her mental health. The plaintiff’s allegations include statements about other employees avoiding and shunning her, as well as one employee inquiring whether or not plaintiff might “go postal.” The trial court granted summary judgment against the plaintiff on the ground the right of privacy can be violated only by a writing and not by word of mouth, and because the plaintiff had not produced any document disclosing private facts, she could not pursue her right of privacy cause of action. The appellate court reversed, stating “the ‘rule’ requiring a written publication as an element of a public disclosure of private facts privacy claim in California originated in dictum,” and concluding “that limiting liability for public disclosure of private facts to those recorded in a writing is contrary to the tort’s purpose, which has been since its inception to allow a person to control the kind of information about himself made available to the public – in essence, to define his public persona.” Ignat v. Yum! Brands, Inc.  (Cal. App. Fourth Dist., Div. 3; March 18, 2013) 214 Cal.App.4th 808.