SHATTUCK OWEN v. Snowbird Corp.

• Decision Date: 05 December 2000
• Docket Number: No. 981594.,981594.
• Parties: Zianibeth SHATTUCK-OWEN, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. SNOWBIRD CORPORATION, Defendant and Appellee.
• Court: Utah Supreme Court

16 P.3d 555

2000 UT 94

Zianibeth SHATTUCK-OWEN, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. SNOWBIRD CORPORATION, Defendant and Appellee.

No. 981594.

Supreme Court of Utah.

December 5, 2000.

Mary J. Woodhead, Salt Lake City, for plaintiff.

Mary Anne Q. Wood, Sheri A. Mower, Salt Lake City, for defendant.

DURRANT, Justice:

¶ 1 Zianibeth Shattuck-Owen sued her employer, Snowbird Corporation, for invasion of privacy and breach of contract. Snowbird moved for summary judgment on both claims, arguing that the claims were barred by the Workers' Compensation Act and that Shattuck-Owen could not prove all the elements of her claims. The trial court granted the motion. Shattuck-Owen appeals the trial court's decision. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

BACKGROUND

¶ 2 Shattuck-Owen worked as a server in Snowbird's banquet department. On May 24, 1996, she was scheduled to work two consecutive shifts. After completing her first shift, she retired to a lounge area to rest. While there, an unidentified man sexually assaulted her. The assault was recorded by Snowbird surveillance cameras. After the assault, Shattuck-Owen immediately informed her supervisor, who in turn reported the incident to Snowbird management. Management notified the police, who began an investigation.

¶ 3 Snowbird admits showing the surveillance video to nine people in conjunction with the investigation: 1) Richard Caldwell, Investigative Coordinator for Snowbird's Department of Public Safety; 2) Randy Keisker, Assistant Director for Snowbird's Department of Public Safety; 3) Dan Green, Snowbird investigator; 4) Brian Florida, Snowbird's Executive Chef, who viewed the tape to rule out the possibility that the perpetrator was one of his employees; 5) Heather Blume, Snowbird's Food and Beverage Manager, who viewed the tape to rule out her employees; 6) Tom Maxfield, Snowbird's Bell Captain and Valet Supervisor, who viewed the tape to rule out his employees; 7) Janine Wyatt, Snowbird's Conference Service Manager, who probably viewed the tape to rule out her employees; 8) Terry Comstock, Sandy Police Department, who was investigating a rapist in Sandy, Utah; and 9) Linda Ziprich, a victim of the Sandy rapist.

¶ 4 In addition to these nine people, Shattuck-Owen alleges that her supervisor, Brett Hanson, watched the video, as did two or three other "individuals who were walking in and out of the security office while the tape was showing."

¶ 5 In early June, Shattuck-Owen contacted Kerry Roberts, Snowbird's Human Resources Director. Roberts suggested that Shattuck-Owen contact Michelle Myers, a therapist who worked with Snowbird's Employee Assistance Program, to help Shattuck-Owen deal with the trauma caused by the assault. Shattuck-Owen expressed a preference to see a private therapist with whom she already had a comfortable relationship. According to Shattuck-Owen, Roberts told her to first see Michelle Myers, and if Myers felt Shattuck-Owen would be better served by seeing a private therapist, then Roberts "saw no reason why Snowbird would not be willing to help" or "support" her.

¶ 6 Shattuck-Owen did consult with Myers, who recommended that Shattuck-Owen work with her own therapist. Snowbird refused to pay for Shattuck-Owen's therapy. Shattuck-Owen never pursued Workers' Compensation benefits for any injuries stemming from the assault or for the costs of therapy.

¶ 7 In September 1997, Shattuck-Owen filed suit against Snowbird, claiming that it invaded her privacy by carelessly allowing numerous people to view the video of the sexual assault. Shattuck-Owen also claimed that Snowbird had contracted to pay her therapy bills and breached that contract. Snowbird moved for summary judgment, arguing that both claims were barred by the exclusive remedy provision of the Workers' Compensation Act. In addition, Snowbird argued that even if the claims were not barred, they failed as a matter of law. Specifically, Snowbird asserted that Shattuck-Owen could not prove all the elements of her invasion of privacy claim, and that she could not prove breach of contract because no valid contract existed. As to the validity of the alleged contract, Snowbird asserted that Roberts had no authority to enter into a contract for Snowbird, and that the conversation creating the alleged contract lacked sufficiently definite terms.

¶ 8 Following oral argument, the trial court granted summary judgment to Snowbird. The trial court ruled that Shattuck-Owen's claims were barred by the Workers' Compensation Act and that even if they were not, they failed as a matter of law. The court determined that Shattuck-Owen could not prove a necessary element of her invasion of privacy claim. It also ruled that Roberts did not have authority to contract on behalf of Snowbird. The trial court did not rule on whether the conversation between Shattuck-Owen and Roberts contained sufficiently definite terms to constitute a contract. Shattuck-Owen appeals.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 9 Summary judgment is warranted when "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Utah R.Civ.P. 56(c). We review a grant of summary judgment for correctness, giving no deference to the trial court's legal determinations. See Gerbich v. Numed Inc., 1999 UT 37, ¶ 10, 977 P.2d 1205

; Harline v. Barker, 912 P.2d 433, 438 (Utah 1996). In determining whether summary judgment is appropriate, "`we view the facts and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.'" K & T, Inc. v. Koroulis, 888 P.2d 623, 624 (Utah 1994) (quoting Higgins v. Salt Lake County, 855 P.2d 231, 233 (Utah 1993)).

ANALYSIS

¶ 10 As noted above, the trial court held that Shattuck-Owen could not prove a necessary element of her invasion of privacy claim and that Kerry Roberts did not have the authority to contract on behalf of Snowbird. The trial court also held that both claims were barred by the exclusive remedy provision of the Worker's Compensation Act. We first address the invasion of privacy claim, followed by the contract claim.

I. INVASION OF PRIVACY

¶ 11 Shattuck-Owen alleges that Snowbird invaded her privacy by publicly disclosing embarrassing private facts. Specifically, she claims that Snowbird carelessly allowed numerous people to view the surveillance video of her sexual assault. This court has not previously addressed the standard to be applied to an invasion of privacy claim in this particular context. We adopt the standard set forth in Stien v. Marriott Ownership Resorts, Inc., 944 P.2d 374, 380 (Utah Ct.App.1997). Stien described four distinct variations of invasion of privacy claims. We are here concerned with a claim relating to public disclosure of embarrassing private facts. To prevail on this claim, Shattuck-Owen must establish the following elements:

(1) the disclosure of the private facts must be a public disclosure and not a private one;

(2) the facts disclosed to the public must be private facts, and not public ones;

(3) the matter made public must be one that would be highly offensive and objectionable to a reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities.

Id. at 380 (quoting W. Page Keeton et al., Prosser and Keeton on the Law of Torts § 117, at 856-57 (5th ed.1984) (footnote omitted)).¹ The trial court ruled as a matter of law that "Snowbird's actions in showing the videotape do not constitute a public disclosure." We affirm that ruling.

¶ 12 Public disclosure "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." Restatement (Second) of Torts § 652D cmt. a (1977); see also Jones v. U.S. Child Support Recovery, 961 F.Supp. 1518, 1520 (D.Utah 1997)

. Thus, communicating a private fact "to a small group of persons," for example, does not constitute public disclosure. Restatement (Second) of Torts § 652D cmt. a. Nonetheless, the size of the audience that receives the communication, though an important consideration, is not dispositive of the issue. "Rather, the facts and circumstances of a particular case must be taken into consideration in determining whether the disclosure was sufficiently public so as to support a claim for invasion of privacy." Robert C. Ozer, P.C. v. Borquez, 940 P.2d 371, 378 (Colo.1997); see, e.g., Kinsey v. Macur, 107 Cal.App.3d 265, 165 Cal.Rptr. 608, 611-12 (1980) (finding public disclosure where defendant maliciously sent letters to a geographically, socially, and professionally diverse group of roughly twenty people); Restatement (Second) of Torts § 652D cmt. a (stating that publications in newspapers or magazines, even of small circulation, qualify as public disclosure).

¶ 13 In the instant case, the undisputed evidence shows that ten identified people, all legitimately involved with the investigation into the sexual assault, saw the video. Shattuck-Owen alleges two or three other, as yet unidentified, individuals also saw the video playing in the security office the day of the assault. Even assuming that to be true, Snowbird's display of the video does not constitute public disclosure. Snowbird showed the video to a discrete number of persons for the legitimate purposes of a criminal investigation. That two or three other Snowbird employees may have seen the video does not necessarily render the disclosure "public." Indeed, Shattuck-Owen concedes that it was appropriate for a "few" members of Snowbird's management to watch the video, and she has offered no evidence specifically identifying anyone who saw the video who had no legitimate reason for viewing it. In short, she has wholly failed to proffer any pertinent facts as to why Snowbird's display of the video to only twelve to thirteen individuals should nevertheless be considered a public disclosure. Thus, the trial court correctly ruled that Shattuck-Owen's invasion of privacy claim...