Davis v. Temple

673 N.E.2d 737, 284 Ill. App. 3d 983, 220 Ill. Dec. 593, 1996 Ill. App. LEXIS 901
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided November 26, 1996·No. 5-95-0566·Published·Cited by 36 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE GOLDENHERSH

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiffs, William E. Davis and Pamela Davis, appeal from the judgment of the circuit court of Jackson County granting a motion to dismiss their complaint. The motion to dismiss was filed by defendants, James Temple, a police officer with the City of Carbondale, and the City of Carbondale.

Plaintiffs brought the present action to recover damages allegedly caused by Officer Temple while he was acting in his capacity as a police officer for the city. Plaintiffs filed a seven-count complaint against defendants. Counts I through V were brought by William. Count I was against Officer Temple and alleged malicious prosecution. Count II was against the city under a theory of respondeat superior and likewise alleged malicious prosecution. Count III was against Officer Temple and count IV was against the city; both alleged false arrest. Count V was against the city and alleged negligent retention of an employee, namely, Officer Temple. Counts VI and VII were brought by Pamela against Officer Temple and the city, respectively. Counts VI and VII alleged invasion of privacy, more specifically, the tort of unreasonable intrusion upon the seclusion of another. On appeal, we must determine as to counts I through V whether William alleged sufficient facts to sustain a cause of action for the alleged torts. As to counts VI and VII, we must first determine whether a cause of action exists in Illinois for unreasonable intrusion upon the seclusion of another, and, if so, whether Pamela sufficiently alleged such a cause of action in counts VI and VII. We affirm with one exception. We expressly recognize a cause of action for unreasonable intrusion upon the seclusion of another. However, we find the facts alleged in counts VI and VII insufficient to state that cause of action.

FACTS

Plaintiffs are husband and wife. At the time of the alleged occurrences, Pamela was employed by Bud’s Warehouse. William was also an employee of Bud’s Warehouse but was discharged from that employment on January 20, 1994. Plaintiffs filed their original action on February 9, 1995. The trial court granted defendants’ motion to dismiss all seven counts but allowed plaintiffs leave to amend. On May 18, 1995, plaintiffs filed their first amended complaint.

Plaintiffs’ first amended complaint alleged that on January 20, 1994, Officer Temple, in the course of his duty as a police officer, was called to Bud’s Warehouse to investigate reported criminal damage to property. Plaintiffs further alleged that from January 20, 1994, until February 9, 1994, Officer Temple engaged "in a course of conduct of hounding and harassing” both William and Pamela "in an attempt to coerce a confession” from William on the criminal damage charge. In count I, William alleged a cause of action against Officer Temple for malicious prosecution, specifically alleging as follows:

"3. That on February 18, 1994, the Defendant James Temple, motivated by malice[,] did cause to be filed a criminal action, namely, Jackson County No. 94 — CM—82, against this Plaintiff, by preparing and submitting to the Jackson County State’s Attorney an Affidavit of Probable Cause, ’ which contained false information. Defendant failed to obtain a Uniform Complaint form signed by the alleged victim, and in fact, prepared and filed said Affidavit of Probable Cause without consulting with or informing the alleged victims of his intent to charge the Plaintiff William E. Davis with Assault. Defendant submitted this Affidavit of Probable Cause’ although he knew that said charges were unjustified and that probable cause for the prosecution of this plaintiff was lacking.” (Emphasis in original.)

Count II made the same allegations against the city under a theory of respondeat superior.

In count III, William alleged a cause of action against Officer Temple for false arrest, specifically alleging as follows:

"3. That on January 20, 1994, the Defendant James Temple, in the course of his duty as a Carbondale Police officer, was called to Bud’s Warehouse in Carbondale, Illinois, to investigate a reported criminal damage to property.
4. That from January 20, 1994, until February 9, 1994, the Defendant James Templet ] did engage in a course of conduct of hounding and harassing the Plaintiff, William Davis, in an attempt to coerce a confession to the aforesaid criminal damage to property charge.
5. That on February 9, 1994, the harassment by the Defendant James Temple reached such an extent that the Plaintiff filed a complaint with both the Carbondale Police Department and the Jackson County State’s Attorney’s office, alleging police misconduct.
6. That on February 10, 1994, the Defendant, James Témple, in retaliation for Plaintiffs filing of the police misconduct complaint, did prepare and submit to the Jackson County State’s Attorney an Affidavit of Probable Cause, ’ which contained false information. Defendant failed to obtain a Uniform Complaint form signed by the alleged victim, and in fact, prepared and filed said Affidavit of Probable Cause without consulting with or informing the alleged victims of his intent to charge the Plaintiff William E. Davis with Assault. Defendant submitted this Affidavit of Probable Cause’ and did cause a warrant to issue for the arrest of the Plaintiff upon the charge of Assault.
7. That Defendant James Temple filed the 'Affidavit of Probable Cause’ without any probable cause, and did so out of malice, and that the arrest of the Plaintiff was wholly without cause.
8. That as a result of the actions of the Defendant James Temple, Plaintiff was caused to be arrested, fingerprinted and booked, and was detained against his will for a period of time.
9. That upon trial of said charges, the Court entered a directed verdict in favor of this Plaintiff! ] and thereby acquitted this Plaintiff, [and] that judgment was entered in favor of Plaintiff and is now final.
10. That Defendant James Temple caused said criminal charges to be lodged against Plaintiff and caused Plaintiff to be arrested with the intent to bring this Plaintiff into disrepute and to cause, if possible, great shame and humiliation to Plaintiff, in which objective the Defendant was successful; and that in addition to the actual financial losses caused by such conduct, including the expenses incident to the defense of such case, the Plaintiff was subjected to great stress and anxiety which adversely affected his health, peace of mind and physical condition.” (Emphasis in original.)

In count IV, William made the same allegations against the city, again under a theory of respondeat superior.

In count V, William alleged a cause of action against the city for negligent retention of Officer Temple as a police officer. William alleged that previous complaints were made against Officer Temple but the city failed to take appropriate measures to correct the conduct of Officer Temple.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Davis v. Temple, 673 N.E.2d 737, 284 Ill. App. 3d 983, 220 Ill. Dec. 593, 1996 Ill. App. LEXIS 901 (Ill. Ct. App. 1996).

673 N.E.2d 737 (Davis v. Temple) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Bovee v. Bovee
2021 IL App (5th) 200193-U (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2021)
Hill v. City of Harvey
N.D. Illinois, 2018
Merrilees v. Merrilees
2013 IL App (1st) 121897 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2013)
Lawlor v. North American Corporation of Illinois
2012 IL 112530 (Illinois Supreme Court, 2013)
McGreal v. AT & T Corp.
892 F. Supp. 2d 996 (N.D. Illinois, 2012)
Horgan v. Simmons
704 F. Supp. 2d 814 (N.D. Illinois, 2010)
Burns v. Masterbrand Cabinets, Inc.
874 N.E.2d 72 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2007)
ZBORALSKI v. Monahan
446 F. Supp. 2d 879 (N.D. Illinois, 2006)
Schiller v. Mitchell
Appellate Court of Illinois, 2005
O'Neill v. Gallant Insurance Co.
Appellate Court of Illinois, 2002
O'Neill v. Gallant Insurance
769 N.E.2d 100 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2002)
Lozman v. Putnam
767 N.E.2d 805 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2002)
Schmidt v. Ameritech Illinois
768 N.E.2d 303 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2002)
Albert J. Muick v. Glenayre Electronics
280 F.3d 741 (Seventh Circuit, 2002)
In re Estate of Crockett
Appellate Court of Illinois, 2000
Acuff v. IBP, Inc.
77 F. Supp. 2d 914 (C.D. Illinois, 1999)
Wood v. Wabash County
Appellate Court of Illinois, 1999
Morris B. Chapman & Associates, Ltd. v. Kitzman
Appellate Court of Illinois, 1999
Benitez v. KFC National Management Co.
Appellate Court of Illinois, 1999