Two recent cases in the news bring to light issues of invasion of privacy due to improper uses of webcams. In one case, a Rutgers University student committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge after his roommate broadcasted his romantic interlude with a member of the same sex. In another case, a Philadelphia school district agreed to pay over $600,000.00 to two students, because of photographs secretly taken on school issued laptops. In this instance, the district admitted that it had obtained thousands of webcam photographs from student laptops in an apparent attempt to "locate missing computers."

In New Jersey, a civil cause of action exists where one's privacy is invaded and results in harm to the other's interest in privacy, mental anguish or special damages. In this regard, however, the "invasion" must result from (a) the intentional intrusion of another's privacy to a degree which would be highly offensive to a reasonable person or (b) a public exposure of another's private affairs to which the general public has not legitimate interest in learning of and which would also be highly offensive to a reasonable person.

The two above-referenced fact scenarios would fit neatly into potential invasion of privacy causes of action in the state of New Jersey. In this Rutgers case, the two students that broadcasted the romantic interlude over the Internet engaged in a public exposure of the other student's private affairs, which resulted in clear mental anguish in the form of suicide. In the Pennsylvania case, there can be no doubt that a school board's ability to obtain photographs from laptops issued to students would be "highly offensive" to a reasonable person, and would ultimately result in harm to the student's interest in privacy. Of course, in either case, evidence of such wrongdoing must be carefully preserved as soon as possible, and attorney consulted to dtermine all potential liability. Further, such privacy invasion may also be the subject of criminal statute violations and criminal investigations.

Two recent settlements between school districts and students highlight society's general intolerance for bullying within schools. As reported in our earlier blog, New Jersey recognizes a cause of action against a school board when that school board fails to prevent, or attempt to prevent, the bullying of one student by others. We indicated in our earlier blog that the basis for such lawsuits in New Jersey is New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination (LAD). The linking of a "bullying" cause of action to New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination allows for a successful claimant to obtain punitive damages and counsel fees, in addition to compensatory damages.

Lenape Valley Regional High School District in Stanhope, New Jersey recently agreed to a settlement of $275,000.00 to a former high school student who is black, alleged that administrators did not properly handle repeated racial harassment by white students against him. In another case involving bullying and harassment, the United States Department of Education reached a voluntary agreement with the Hawaii Public School System over a bullying complaint filed by the parents of a high school student who was repeatedly bullied by other students. The alleged bullying adversely affected her school attendance and grades. While it is not certain to us at this point in time whether the State of Hawaii actually recognizes a cause of action as does New jersey, the high school student's parents filed a complaint with the United States Department of Education alleging that their daughter was being discriminated against. The settlement between the United States Department of Education and Hawaii Public Schools requires various administrators and teachers to undergo sensitivity and harassment training in order to more easily recognize the existence of same.

Given current social trends in technology, including Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites, it would appear that such bullying and harassment cases will increase in number, and may even reach beyond the doors of the school. In this regard, we await the filing of unique causes of action not based upon school harassment but harassment through the other social media. An attorney well versed in ongoing developments in negligence law can determine how to best pursue any similar situated case, so do not hesitate to consult a lawyer as soon as possible if you find yourself or a loved one dealing with bullying.

Two cases recently decided by New Jersey's Appellate Division addressed a statute which was previously thought to provide immunity to 911 operators engaged in the course of their employment. The Appellate Division in Massachi v. City of Newark Police Department and Wilson v. City of Jersey City held that 911 operators and dispatchers could be held liable for injuries sustained or proximately cause by their failure to adhere to established protocols and guidelines. In Massachi, a female student was abducted directly outside the Seton Hall University Campus in South Orange, New Jersey. Two of her friends immediately called 911 to report the abduction. The 911 operator failed to follow the appropriate departmental procedures and guidelines in that although she put the information into the 911 computer system, she failed to note the last known location of the abductor's car, failed to note that the car was in motion, failed to record the vehicle's path of travel and mis-identified the car as a Chevy Blazer as opposed to a Plymouth Blazer. Further, she failed to keep the person reporting the crime on the phone to enable to provide an update to the responding unit.

In addition to the above, two off-duty Essex County Sheriff's Officers also witnessed the abduction and also called 911. The 911 operator that they spoke with ran the license plate of the abductor's vehicle and printed out the name and address of the vehicle's owner. Unfortunately, he failed to issue a general alert to all police units in neighboring municipalities and also failed to contact the police in the municipality where the abductor resided. It was the plaintiff's decedent's claim that the girl who was abducted was ultimately murdered due to the fact that the police units could not properly respond as a result of the 911 dispatcher's failure to comply with guidelines.

Importantly, a New Jersey statute (N.J.S.A. 52:17C-10) provides various immunities to phone carriers and dispatchers concerning the failure of the 911 system. The Appellate Division under the two cases before it, specifically held that the above-referenced statute does not afford immunity to the 911 emergency communication center or its employees where they negligently render 911 services including dispatching police to an incorrect location, failing to keep the caller on the line to update the police of the location of the perpetrator and for failing to broadcast an alert to surround municipalities. Accordingly, although there is immunity for the failure of the system to work, there will be no immunity for 911 operators or dispatchers where they fail to follow protocol.

In the event you or a family member believes you have suffered injuries as a result of improper actions of a 911 operator, it is imperative that you seek the advice of a qualified personal injury attorney.

Cases of bullying in schools by other students have been all over the news in recent weeks. Unfortunately, these news events have ranged from severe injuries suffered by students at the hands of other students to suicides committed as a result of the emotional stress suffered from constant unchecked bullying. This blog will briefly deal with the potential legal remedies a bullied student may have through personal injury law.

First, it is clear that the victim of physical or emotional injuries, which are the direct result of an assault by another student, clearly has a cause of action against the person who committed the assault. Other individuals may be included as responsible parties if it can be proven that they somehow contributed to the actions of the party committing the assault. For instance, if they encouraged or assisted in the assault in any way such as luring the victim to a particular location or advising the assaulter of the location of the victim, while knowing that the assault was imminent. The success of these types of claims, however, is often dependent upon the availability of applicable insurance coverage or assets owned by the assaulter.
Where the injuries are emotional in nature, arising solely out of verbal abuse or by entries on a social networking website, the answer is not so clear. If the words stated or posted online are untrue and cause damage to the student's reputation, a cause of action in defamation may exist. However, very restrictive rules apply in New Jersey in this regard, and these cases are very fact sensitive concerning both the causes of action and damages. If it can be proven that the words posted online or stated in public, even if true, were meant to cause distress or mental anguish, a cause of action for the negligent or intentional infliction of emotional distress may exist. Once again, issues of insurance coverage and availability of assets will determine the feasibility of these types of claims.

The final question is whether a school may be sued for such an injury. It is clear that a school will not be held responsible for physical or emotional injuries caused by bullying where it had no prior notice of the bullying and had no reason to know of same. Even where it can be shown that the school had notice of the bullying, New Jersey Courts have been hesitant to incur liability upon a school board unless it can be shown that the bullying was pervasive. Clearly, there is a common law duty for the schools to protect the children that come under their care on a day-to-day basis. In this regard, there is no doubt that common law principles of general negligence will provide a cause of action against a school board where it can be shown that the bullying was severe and pervasive, the school had actual knowledge of the pervasive and severe nature of same, and a student suffered harm as a result of such bullying. Importantly, however, any such claims of negligence against a school board will be subject to the limitations of New Jersey's Tort Claims Act.

In 2007 the Supreme Court of New Jersey went one step further in the case of L.W. v. Toms River Regional Board of Education, 189 N.J. 381 (2007) and held that students could potentially have cause of action against a school board for the school board's failure to stop severe and pervasive bullying under New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination statute. Basically, the court held that if the bullying was the result of a protected class status under the Law Against Discrimination (such as race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, etc.) and the school failed to prevent further bullying after it has knowledge of same, it could be liable to the student under the Law Against Discrimination. Importantly, what this basically means to a student with a potential cause of action is that their case would not be subject to the limitations of the Tort Claims Act; and they would potentially be entitled to counsel fees and punitive damages against the school board.
Inevitably, these cases are always fact sensitive and only and experienced attorney would be able to properly determine whether such causes of action exist.