CyberTorts: What the Kids Are Doing

In 2010 I posted predicting the revival of privacy torts through online social media.  Unfortunately for lots of folks who have come to us, and too many others, I was right.

On Friday Courtney and I traveled to Portland so I could speak about CyberTorts at the Western Regional Conference for USLSA, the University Student Legal Services Association.

For those of you who don't know, SLS programs around the country serve university students at low or no cost with the help of supervised interns (third year law students).  It's a fantastic program for students, who are often targeted because it is assumed they lack the knowledge and resources to protect themselves.  It's also a fantastic program for law students, who get the experience of managing real cases and helping real clients long before they ordinarily would in private practice.

My job was to provide some insight and resources for SLS program supervising lawyers, and their interns, to fight back against online bullying, harassment, invasion of privacy, and defamation.  These problems are typical to the college-age populations they serve.  The SLS supervisors from around the country were a fun bunch with a great sense of humor and fierce curiosity.

Seattle to Require Health Code Inspection of All Rental Properties

The Seattle City Council today unanimously adopted a program requiring the registration and inspection of all residential rental properties in Seattle.  Implementation of the program begins in 2014.

The new law requires landlords to complete a checklist certification that units meet City health and safety code.  Units will be inspected every five years.  See more in this article.

Ackley Law Group Represents Two in Nationwide Tattoo Ink Infection Outbreak

Health officials have traced an outbreak of tattoo infections, causing bubbly rashes, not to problems with the needles or equipment sterilization, but to infected ink.  Specifically, the infection is traced to contaminated water used in making the ink.  Read the full CBS News article here.

Ackley Law Group represents two individuals in Washington State with infections caused by tattoo ink.  The culprit bacteria can cause itchy and painful blisters that often require antibiotics with serious side effects, and months of treatment, to clear up.

Both the federal Center for Disease Control and our local Department of Public Health have investigated the outbreak.  

 

Ackley Law Group Assists Man Targeted By Online Embarrassment Extortion Scam

If it seems illegal, it probably is.  This is what 29 year old Alan Chalfant of Tacoma suspected and confirmed after he was targeted for embarrassment and extortion by the site baitmymate.com.  Alan was part of an ordinary dating website plentyoffish.com, where he contacted a girl he thought was pretty.   The girl led him to a Facebook chat page and then abruptly ended all contact.  Later, Alan found out the chat and his real name and information were posted by Baitmymate, listing him as a busted cheater.  The problem?  Alan was not in a relationship.

After contacting the site, the "removal department" indicated that someone had paid them to stage the conversation, lure him into a chat room, and post Alan's information.  The problem?  Alan initiated the conversation with the "woman."  The "removal department" emphasizes the embarrassing exposure caused by their posts, dismisses any legal ramifications of their actions, and even goes so far as to offer him a payment plan on the cost to take down the embarrassing post.  Baitmymate has victimized people all over the country in similar fashion, and appears to be doing so with impunity.

Baitmymate.com is registered through Moniker Privacy Services, a domain registration company that refuses, absent legal compulsion, to reveal the true identity of the web domain registrant.  The IP address associated with the site has been linked to Panama, but may originate elsewhere.

Thanks to a story by Brandi Kruse at KIRO 97.3 FM, the Department of Justice is currently investigating scams such as this.

If you are a victim of an internet-based crime, file a complaint with the IC3 (Internet Crime Complaint Center).

Andrew Ackley on Protecting Your Rental Deposit as a Tenant

I recently spoke with Brandi Kruse of KIRO 97.3 FM here in Seattle about protecting your rental deposit as a tenant in Washington.  Link for the article and news piece is here.

Andrew Ackley Speaking at National Seminar on Social Media in Personal Injury Discovery

Fellow Lawyers:

Here is the link to sign up for the seminar and CLE credit.  In the materials you will get a list and summary of most of the on-point cases from around the country.  Never go searching through Blawgs and offbeat news again for support!

Andrew

Facebook Fights Back For Users' Privacy

Many stories have hit the news recently about employers or other superiors requesting, if not demanding, an employee's or potential employee's Facebook records. In some instances, they require not just entries themselves, but the login information. Here is one example where a teacher's aide was fired for not forking over her password. She is fighting her own legal battle against the school.

Seeing its own interests at stake, Facebook is jumping into the fray. The social networking service would hardly function if users believed any inquiring mind could have access to their personal information. What's more, divulging passwords grants the recipient access not just to that person's account, but the profiles, messages, photos, and every other piece of content on his or her friends' accounts. Those friends would have no reason to suspect that someone other than the person they accepted as a trusted friend is meandering through their private profile. Sharing passwords undercuts the purpose and expectations of privacy settings and the self-regulated privacy of a friend group.

I would describe Facebook's notice on this issue as somewhere between incredulous and scathing, or perhaps both. Tell me what you think.

The Group Therapy Dilemma

Since filing Oraivej v. CSI this winter, several groups from around the country have contacted me about their advocacy for safe and effective group therapy, including alcohol programs, anger management classes, and drug addiction programs.

The dangers of group therapy revolve around one central issue: the idea of bringing together a group of vulnerable people. They could be emotionally vulnerable, malleable, desperate, or volatile. They could be a danger to other participants or to themselves, or they could be easy prey for others in the group.

While there is a clear potential for chaos in a group therapy setting, many of the dangers of group therapy play out in indirect ways and materialize outside the classroom. Members develop a trust relationship with other vulnerable members, and exploit the relationship in private. This could be in the form of anything from rape to robbery to swindling.

This is not to say that there are not benefits of learning and healing with others, taking comfort in not being alone, and learning from others' mistakes. But, given the potential risks, it's important to have a well-defined standard of care for group therapy providers to provide safe and effective classes. This is what many advocates strive for.

Below are some links to others in the Blogosphere speaking on this issue:

http://nadaytona.org/2011/12/28/alateen-safety-guidelines-g-34/

www.leavingaa.com

www.orange-papers.com

www.stinkin-thinkin.com

www.stop13stepinaa.wordpress.com

"Waze" to Get In An Accident

If there is an award for the most horrifically counterproductive software products, "Waze" has to win for 2012. Waze is a smartphone application that offers GPS mapping and turn-by-turn directions to your destination. The routes are automatically updated based on traffic conditions, including data from other Waze users in your area--if another Waze user gets stuck in a traffic jam, the application updates your route accordingly. Waze also encourages users to manually contribute information to other Waze users, including taking a photograph of whatever road ailment you think other drivers ought to know about. These include the traffic jams and accidents, police officers, construction, and a general "hazards" category. The program also features a "Chit chat" function, presumably for a new era of road rage and commiseration.

We all hate traffic. We all want to get to there sooner, faster, easier, while braking as little as possible. But, we have to ask, do we really want drivers around us:

1. constantly peeking down at their smartphones for real-time or close to real-time updates, just to save fifteen seconds?
2. looking down at their phones and suddenly making last minute turns and lane changes because some other guy with his iPhone reported an unidentified hazard?
3. reaching for their phones and attempting to take a picture of road hazards?
4. relying on anonymous Waze users posting a picture of a clown in the road and claiming it was taken on I-5?

I hope the answer is a resounding No.

Toyota Can't Get it Right

According to The Associated Press, via NPR, federal investigators are looking into fires in 2007 Toyota Camry and Rav4 vehicles. Where is the fire? Naturally, the driver's side door. The probe could affect 830,000 vehicles nationally.

For other driving safety information, check out the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website.

Cruise Line Forum Clause

I'm sure you've heard of the cruise ship that sunk off the coast of Italy after the captain ran the ship aground, and then bailed before passengers and had a chance to get on life rafts. The Carnival Corp. owned Costa Cruises (owner of the Costa Concordia cruise liner) offered each uninjured passenger a full refund and $14,400 in cash.

Those who were injured (or lost their lives) and need more than Costa Cruises' cash offer are running into a ship-sized roadblock. Costa Concordia is based in Miami. Ordinarily, this would mean that an injured passenger could file suit against Costa Cruises in Florida. However, the small print on each Costa Concordia ticket includes a "choice of forum" clause, requiring any lawsuits against the company to be brought in Italy. As you would imagine, the cost and practical hurdles of filing suit in Italy deter many legitimate claims.

Though passengers probably did not consider the possibility of town-size ship running aground during their vacation when signing below the small print, the clauses will probably be upheld based on multiple prior Supreme Court decisions. See this Seattle Times article for more.

Ackley Law Group and Bierlein Law Office File Lawsuit for Anger Management Class Stabbing

Article here.

Don't Facebook-Friend Defense Counsel, Judge Says

The crux of my WSAJ presentation last year about the discoverability of online social media was that Facebook content fits well into existing civil rules regarding the limitations of discovery, without the need for new legal privileges or constitutional arguments. Regardless of whether the judge eventually decides to protect or release profile information, the results are usually reasonable under the circumstances if counsel fully explain the use of the social networking site, and if counsel do not ask for too much protection (a legal privilege), or alternatively, too much unnecessary personal information. A Pennsylvania judge confirms, in one instancy anyway, that this is true.

In Piccolo v. Paterson, the plaintiff sustained permanent facial scars after an auto collision. She had 95 stitches the day of the collision to repair her lip and chin, which were torn away from her face. The defendant admitted liability, but disputed damages.

Defense counsel argued that he should be able to send a "neutral friend request" to Ms. Piccolo so that he could monitor her daily postings. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sums up the rest:

Ms. Piccolo allowed the insurer to come to her home in 2008 and take photographs of her face. She also gave the defense 20 photos of her face from the week following the accident as well as five photos from the months just before the accident. She allowed the defense to take more pictures at the September 2010 deposition.

"Defendant Paterson has not made a prima facie showing of need for access to the non- public pages of [Piccolo's] Facebook account," Mr. Lipman said in his motion.

"She has all the photographs she can reasonably use from every different period before and after the accident and she has not asserted that there is likely to be any text in the non- public postings that is material or will likely lead to the discovery of material evidence."

The judge agreed, adding, "'the materiality and importance of the evidence ... is outweighed by the annoyance, embarrassment, oppression and burden to which it exposes' Ms. Piccolo."

In this instance, counsel averted the fatal flaw of arguing for too much, i.e. a privilege:

Mr. Lipman said Ms. Piccolo concedes that her Facebook account "is probably not protected by any evidentiary privilege that has been recognized in Pennsylvania." But he cited Rule of Civil Procedure 4011(b), which precludes discovery that would cause unreasonable annoyance, embarrassment, oppression or burden.

Being reasonable prevails!

The Ultimate Job Security: SPD and Sheriff's Deputies

Everything else being equal, in what other profession are you not fired for yelling racial slurs at people on the job or for repeated, well-documented acts of unnecessary violence?

SPD Refuses to Fire Cop Who Yelled Racial Slurs at Innocent Man

King County Sheriff Admits More Scrutiny Needed in Use of Force Cases

Linda Byron Investigates Red Flags the KC Sheriff's Office Ignored

KC Sheriff, SPD to implement training to reduce physical conflict

Seattle Times article

Some highlights:

"Sanford said officers need to be taught how to slow down situations and reduce the flow of adrenaline. Rahr acknowledged previous training has focused on quick physical compliance without considering less dangerous methods."

"People need to be able to "tell their side of the story," and officers need to explain what they are doing, and even more why they are taking certain steps."

The idea that an arrest or police stop involves two way interaction, and that officers need to observe, not just give orders, is exactly what I was addressing in my older post, "Citizen's Handbook on Police."

The executive director of the police training commission also offers this puzzling explanation:

"Hawe said a key element of the program is to develop interpersonal-communication skills among recruits in an era when texting and social media have hindered verbal abilities."

Is Facebook really the cause of a person's actions in fight or flight situations? Have we evolved that quickly? Such an inane excuse. The former quotations offer a better, more earnest explanation. Prior training failed to emphasize that citizens have a perspective too, and are not programmed to respond in exactly the right way.

No Facebook For Debt Collectors

A judge in Florida has prohibited a debt collection agency from using Facebook or other social media to contact a debtor or her family and friends over a $362 unpaid car loan. The debtor's lawyers successfully argued that posting on her Facebook page invaded her privacy and violated Florida's consumer protection laws against collection agency harassment.

According to this News Tribune article, social media is becoming increasingly popular among debt collectors, not just to get the debtor's attention, but to shame him:

"In one Chicago case, a man was friended on Facebook by a young woman in a bikini. The account turned out to be a debt collector's, something the man realized only when the 'friend' posted a message on his wall: 'Pay your debts, you deadbeat.'"

$3 Million Settlement for Shooting Unarmed Bystander in the Face

In 2003, Chicago police officer Alvin Weems was late for work. He was not in uniform and did not have his utility bag or belt as he was walking through a Chicago transit station. Nevertheless, he attempted to stop a fight. The incident ended with him shooting an innocent bystander, 23 year old Michael Pleasance, in the face, killing him. Not realizing CTA video caught the shooting, Officer Weems lied in his report about Mr. Pleasance's involvement in the fight.

A $12.5 million dollar verdict was overturned by the Illinois Court of Appeals based on the repeated and supposedly prejudicial use of the term "willful and wanton" to describe the officer's conduct, according to Fox News Chicago. This is puzzling given that excessive force cases typically involve intentional conduct or willful and wanton disregard for safety. In any event, subsequent to the Appeals decision, Chicago has agreed to settle the suit, brought by the victim's family, for $3 million.

The entire incident was caught on video [graphic]:

Who Watches the Watchmen--Seattle Police

The Seattle Times recently reported that, in response to a Public Disclosure Act request, the Seattle Police Department withheld correspondence from Seattle City Councilman Tim Burgess to Chief of Police John Diaz. Mr. Burgess emailed Chief Diaz urging him to allow an outside agency to investigate the John T. Williams slaying. Of course, that never happened. Instead, the internal SPD investigation was peer reviewed.

The Seattle Times now reports that SPD received "high marks" for its internal review of the John T. Williams shooting, from peer reviewer, the San Diego Police Department. Another peer review investigation is still pending.

The review was not all glowing, however. The Times explains, "the four-page review faulted the department for doing too many telephone interviews that produced confusing information, and for initially putting out "factually inaccurate" information about the shooting, forcing a retraction of its statement that Williams advanced on Birk before the shooting."

Factually inaccurate information about whether Williams was a threat to the officer when the officer shot him multiple times? This is the central issue of the entire investigation. The SPD either knowingly misrepresented the facts of the case to the public or failed to investigate evidence in its own possession. If a lawyer did this, he would be punished for ethics violations. When a police department does it, it gets "high marks" on peer review.

Every specialized profession has some kind of internal and/or peer review system, some more effective than others. Only the profession of policing, however, entails the authority to take away life and liberty. Peer review of an internal review is not enough, especially when it looks like this.

Harris v. King County full press conference

The full press conference can be viewed here.