Question: QUON V. ARCH WIRELESS OPERATING CO., INC. 445 F. Supp. 2d 1116 (N.D. CA 2006)
Facts: The defendant was contracted to audit the use of city-owned cell phone/pager devices for text-messaging by police department employees. The audit resulted in the review of personal text messages, often including messages sent by employees when they were off duty and away from work. The employees were required to carry the devices at all times and were permitted to make private use of them, provided they reimbursed the city for such uses.
Issue: When are invasions of privacy intentional?
Decision: The plaintiff-employees were permitted to proceed with their privacy action, since they had a reasonable expectation that the city and its private auditing firm would not pry into the plaintiffs' personal communications.