MsMBV
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Member since 5/05 28602 total posts
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Me
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Re: Does anyone know if it's legal to...
All I could find were case where it was ILLEGAL. The only caveat is that there was no warning posted that in whatever area, that you were being videotaped. That might be the legal out....
*6 August 2003, Wilton Manors, Florida: Man Sues Over Bathroom Cameras: Lawsuit Claims Cameras Violated His Rights.
WILTON MANORS, Fla. -- A man is suing the city of Wilton Manors because he said police were watching him when he used the bathroom. The lawsuit claims restroom cameras at Colohatchee Park violated the unidentified man's rights. Police had arrested the man and charged him with public exposure based on evidence collected from the camera, but later dropped the charge. The man's lawyer, Gary Kollin, said he thought the city installed the cameras because they were concerned about sexual contact in the park.
"They invaded his privacy and they invaded the privacy of other people who were unaware of it by placing a video camera into a public restroom," Kollin said. A sign outside of the park said authorities use surveillance cameras. The city and the Police Department said they could not comment on a pending lawsuit.
*10 September 2003, Beaufort, South Carolina: Suit: Camera violates privacy, by Noah Haglund.
A wall-mounted camera used to videotape the men's bathroom of a mid-island bar has invaded the privacy of bar patrons, according to a lawsuit filed in the Beaufort County Courthouse last week. The lawsuit, filed Sept. 1, accuses the owner of Vic's Tavern, Charles S. Cole Jr., of violating the privacy of two Beaufort County men -- Pawey Suchocki and Vince Bryant -- who used the bathroom earlier this year. The tavern, located at 430 William Hilton Parkway, posted no clear warning that a camera was being used in the bathroom, said the plaintiffs' attorney, Coleman Hookaylo Jr.
"My understanding is that the owner of Vic's Tavern, for whatever reason, decided he had to have surveillance of the men's bathroom," Hookaylo said. "By doing so, he violated the rights and expectations of everyone who entered that bathroom." The men are seeking $200,000 each for invasion of privacy and $200,000 each for infliction of emotional distress.
A surveillance tape recorded Suchocki, of Hilton Head Island, ripping the camera from the wall late at night on May 26 or early in the morning on May 27, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office incident report. Hookaylo later returned the camera to the Sheriff's Office, saying that his client had seized it because he was "incensed," according to a letter sent by the attorney to the Sheriff's Office.
The tavern has a closed circuit system with four cameras, one of which was in the men's bathroom, the report said. Footage from the bathroom showed the sink and urinal, where people can be seen from behind while using it, the report said. The toilet cannot be seen when the stall door is closed, the report said. FBI agent Mike Hagen and assistant Solicitor Duffie Stone advised the Sheriff's Office that the taping did not pose any criminal offense, according to the report.
On Tuesday, neither Cole nor his attorney, Tom Finn, would comment on why the camera was installed. Cole called the lawsuit "frivolous" and "absurd." In the Sheriff's Office report, Cole said the camera was installed to catch vandals.
Rebuttal to previous case vs. Vic's Tavern:
*18 October 2003, South Carolina: Bar defends use of men's room camera, written by E.J. Schultz.
A security camera installed in the men's bathroom at Vic's Tavern was put there to protect against vandalism and did not violate anyone's privacy, says the owner of the Hilton Head Island bar in a response to a lawsuit filed by two bar patrons. The patrons, Pawey Suchocki and Vince Bryant, are seeking $200,000 each for invasion of privacy and $200,000 each for infliction of emotional stress.
A surveillance tape recorded Suchocki, of Hilton Head, ripping the camera from the wall in late May, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office incident report. The bar owner, Charles S. Cole Jr., claims the camera did not violate the plaintiffs' privacy because it "was in plain view, as evidenced by the fact that Mr. Suchocki stole it," according to the response, filed earlier this month by attorney Tom Finn. The response also states that the camera "was not in a position to record patrons actually using the facilities."
Vic's installed security cameras throughout the restaurant to protect against vandalism, which, according to the lawsuit response, started in spring 2001. The bar owner moved a camera into the men's room this past May because that is where most of the vandalism was occurring, the response states. For example, according to the response, a sink and air freshener were repeatedly ripped off the wall and vandals used knives to carve into the walls of the stall. Vic's is asking the court to dismiss the complaint. The bar also is seeking to be reimbursed for the $500 damage it says was done to the men's room camera as a result of it being ripped from the wall.
Message edited 9/21/2006 1:50:39 PM.
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greenfreak
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Member since 9/06 11483 total posts
Name:
greenfreak
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Re: Does anyone know if it's legal to...
THANKS for that info! I'll look it over.
To answer your questions, the woman who is responsible for making sure the TP and paper towels are in ready supply would be viewing the tapes, only if necessary. She would also be in the bathroom once every 30 minutes, so they could narrow it down and look at anyone who was in the problem stall.
Yeah, women could just turn the camera if they could reach it. But if it's backed into a corner, it would film them turning it, so you would know who it was.
Everyone is at the end of their wits. I don't even want to hear about the bathroom stories around here anymore, they make me sick to my stomach. You just would not believe what some of these women have done, and left behind.
There are currently 20 signs about this behavior in the bathroom. It's only a 3 stall bathroom, so you can imagine - there are signs on every surface. But signs don't do anything.
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