Topic: Legal Memorandum
You are a young lawyer at a California law firm that specializes in litigation. Lindsay, a partner at the firm, calls you into his office and asks you to help him analyze potential claims of the firm’s new client, Andy.
Andy, a 17 year old first semester freshman male at a large private university in California, had always felt that he was a female trapped in a male body. He read a great deal about transgender identity and sexual reassignment surgery. Andy did not like his roommate, Fred, who made nasty remarks about Andy’s reading material, constantly made jokes about homosexuals, using derogatory terms, and made offensive remarks about women.
As part of trying to determine his identity, Andy decided to experiment with wearing women’s clothing. One Thursday, Andy purchased some items of women’s clothing. He returned from shopping to his dorm room. As he was closing the door behind him, he dropped the shopping bag, and some of the clothing spilled out. Fred, who was at the desk, saw the items, rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath. About 20 minutes later, Andy heard Fred on the cell, loudly telling someone, “My roommate is such a freak! I can’t believe I have to live with this freak!”
Upset, Andy went immediately to his hall R.A. He explained what had happened and asked that the R.A. speak to Fred and ask him to back off. He also asked that the R.A. help him arrange for a new roommate. The R.A. refused, telling Andy that he should speak to Fred himself, that negotiating roommate conflict was an important part of the college experience.
The next morning, Fred told Andy that he planned to “score big time” at a party and so he wouldn’t be back to the room until late Saturday evening. Andy was relieved that he would have a night without his offensive roommate, and decides that he will use the opportunity to try on some of the clothes he purchased. He does so, and dances around the room to some music, pretending he’s a woman being led on the dance floor.
Unbeknownst to Andy, Fred set up his computer to record what was going on in the room. On Saturday evening, Fred downloaded what he’d recorded and saw a video of Andy, dressed in women’s clothing dancing around the room. He posted it on YouTube, making it clear what university they both attended, labeling it “Dancing Freak Roommate.”
On Sunday morning, Andy attended chapel services, as usual, and noticed a few people looking at him, grinning and then whispering to others. After the service, one of his friends, Tina, pulled him aside and told him about the YouTube posting. Andy was horrified. That afternoon, Andy wrote to YouTube, begging them to take down the video. YouTube did, but only after a week had passed. During that week, Andy received nasty emails, was laughed at openly on campus, and received a call from his father saying that he was disgusted by the son he’d raised.
Andy was miserable and anxious. He started eating all of his meals at a local fast food restaurant, which advertised itself as offering “Food to get you through the tough times” and specialized in “comfort food” such as macaroni and cheese, bacon cheeseburgers and chocolate cake. It offered a discount to university students for its full dinners. Each dinner averaged 2500 calories, which was not mentioned in any of its promotional materials. Andy’s weight ballooned. After six months, he was diagnosed as having high blood sugar and pressure and needs medication. He is also incurring medical costs that are not covered by insurance, and his family refuses to pay so he is trying to find work to afford the treatment.
Andy has come to your firm to see if he has claims against anyone for what has happened to him. Lindsay asks you to address the following assignment questions to assignment questions to discuss.
o Can Andy make a claim against Fred for intentional infliction of emotional distress? What about violation of a right of privacy?
o Can Andy make a claim against YouTube for the delay in taking down the video? What would he have to show? What defenses is YouTube likely to assert, and how strong are those defenses?
o Does Andy have any claim against the university in connection with the R.A.’s refusal to speak to Fred or help in getting a new roommate?
o Can Andy sue the fast food restaurant? Based upon what legal claims? Would the fast food restaurant have any defenses?
It is to be no more than 6 pages long (double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 point type), and citations to cases or any other sources should be included, either in text, or in footnotes or endnotes. You may refer to any of the cases assigned as readings and may treat them as accurately stating the law of California.