Fernandez-Wells v. Beauvais

1999 NMCA 071, 983 P.2d 1006, 127 N.M. 487
CourtNew Mexico Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 28, 1999
Docket19,455
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 1999 NMCA 071 (Fernandez-Wells v. Beauvais) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Mexico Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fernandez-Wells v. Beauvais, 1999 NMCA 071, 983 P.2d 1006, 127 N.M. 487 (N.M. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

OPINION

PICKARD, Chief Judge.

{1} Plaintiff appeals the trial court’s entry of summary judgment against her on her claim of invasion of privacy by giving publicity to private facts and by invasion of solitude. She also appeals the trial court’s denial of her motion to amend the complaint to include a count of breach of confidence or prima facie tort. We affirm.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

{2} Plaintiff and Defendant are practicing attorneys in New Mexico. From 1988 through January 1996, Plaintiff was a staff attorney with the New Mexico Public Utilities Commission (PUC). During her tenure with the PUC, Plaintiff was involved in litigation relating to Capitan-Carrizozo Natural Gas Company (CCNG) and Zia Natural Gas Company (Zia). Upon leaving her position with the PUC, Plaintiff became the Manager of Regulatory Affairs for Zia. Defendant was counsel for CCNG in its litigation before the PUC and at all times material to this case.

{3} After Plaintiff began work for Zia, Defendant, on CCNG’s behalf, filed a complaint with the PUC alleging that Plaintiffs degree of involvement in litigation between Zia and CCNG created a conflict of interest. In October 1996, Defendant lodged a complaint against Plaintiff with the Secretary of State, alleging that Plaintiff had violated the Governmental Conduct Act NMSA 1978, § 10-16-1 (1993). Defendant forwarded a copy of this letter of complaint to the New Mexico State Bar Disciplinary Board. As a result of Defendant’s complaint, Plaintiff received an informal admonition from the Disciplinary Board, and Defendant, as complainant, was informed of this outcome pursuant to Rule 17-304(E) NMRA1999.

{4} On January 15, 1997, Defendant informed the Secretary of State by letter that the Disciplinary Board had made “an affirmative finding of the violation of the Canons of Ethics” against Plaintiff. An employee of the Secretary of State who was acquainted with Plaintiff informed Plaintiff of the office’s receipt of Defendant’s letter. As a result, Plaintiff filed a complaint for invasion of privacy, alleging that the informal admonition against Plaintiff was confidential and that Defendant’s divulgence of it constituted giving publicity to private facts and invasion of solitude. Plaintiff later moved to amend her complaint to include counts of breach of confidence and prima facie tort.

{5} At the conclusion of a scholarly opinion that was most helpful to this Court, the trial court entered an order of summary judgment against Plaintiff on her invasion of privacy claim, and it denied her motion to amend her complaint. Plaintiff appeals both of these decisions.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Grant of Summary Judgment on Plaintiffs Privacy Claim

1. Standard of Review

{6} In reviewing an appeal from a grant of summary judgment, this Court must determine whether a material fact is in dispute. See Silva v. Town of Springer, 1996-NMCA-022, ¶ 5, 121 N.M. 428, 912 P.2d 304. We view the evidence in the light most favorable to requiring a trial on the merits of the ease and most favorable to the party opposing summary judgment. See Hyden v. Law Firm of McCormick, Forbes, Caraway & Tabor, 115 N.M. 159, 163, 848 P.2d 1086, 1090 (Ct.App.1993). If no disputed material fact exists, the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Rule 1-056 NMRA1999.

2. Public Disclosure of Private Facts

{7} New Mexico recognizes the tort of invasion of privacy. See Moore v. Sun Publ’g Corp., 118 N.M. 375, 383, 881 P.2d 735, 743 (Ct.App.1994). One recognized type of invasion of privacy is the publication of private facts. See id. Although we used the words “publication of private facts” in Moore, see id., in this opinion, to avoid confusion with the word of art, “publication,” as that is understood in the context of defamation actions, we shall use the words “giving publicity to private facts,” see Restatement (Second) of Torts § 652D (1977) and cmt. a, or “public disclosure of private facts,” see W. Page Keeton et al., Prosser and Keeton on The Law of Torts § 117, at 856-57 (5th ed.1984) [hereinafter Prosser and Keeton ]. A majority of jurisdictions have, in fact, recognized this branch of invasion of privacy. See Diane L. Zimmerman, Requiem for a Heavyrueight: A Farewell to Warren and Brandeis’s Privacy Tort, 68 Cornell L.Rev 291, 365 (1983). Although New Mexico courts have recognized the cause of action, they have not previously addressed a case involving the tort of public disclosure of private facts.

{8} As articulated by Dean Prosser, the elements of this tort are public disclosure of private facts, disclosure which would be objectionable to a reasonable person, and a lack of legitimate public interest in the information. See Prosser and Keeton, supra, § 117, at 856-57; Restatement (Second) of Torts § 652D. The trial court in this case decided to enter summary judgment as a result of the lack of the first element, public disclosure, without adopting any particular set of elements. We agree with the trial court’s approach, as publicity is an element of public disclosure of private facts not only in the Restatement view but in all of the jurisdictions that have outlined a prima facie case for this tort. See, e.g., Robert C. Ozer, P.C. v. Borquez, 940 P.2d 371, 377 (Colo.1997) (en banc); Miller v. Motorola, Inc., 202 Ill.App.3d 976, 148 Ill.Dec. 303, 560 N.E.2d 900, 902-03 (1990); Lake v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 582 N.W.2d 231, 235 (Minn.1998); St. Anthony’s Med. Ctr. v. H.S.H., 974 S.W.2d 606, 609-10 (Mo.Ct.App.1998); Swerdlick v. Koch, 721 A.2d 849, 858-59 (R.I.1998); McCormick v. England, 328 S.C. 627, 494 S.E.2d 431, 437-38 (Ct.App.1997); Hillman v. Columbia County, 164 Wis.2d 376, 474 N.W.2d 913, 919-20 (Ct.App.1991).

{9} The Restatement (Second) of Torts § 652D comment a, states:

“Publicity” ... means that the matter is made public, by communicating it to the public at large, or to so many persons that the matter must be regarded as substantially certain to become one of public knowledge....
Thus, it is not an invasion of the right of privacy, within the rule stated in this Section, to communicate a fact concerning the plaintiffs private life to a single person or even to a small group of persons.

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Bluebook (online)
1999 NMCA 071, 983 P.2d 1006, 127 N.M. 487, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fernandez-wells-v-beauvais-nmctapp-1999.