Privacy invaded...

[jmacgregor]

I live in a small high-rise where everyone seems to know or know of everyone. A very serious occurrence happened today and I was wondering what options I have and what actions I have at my disposal to take.

Here's the scenario:
I was selling a set of car speakers to a guy down the hall (Mr. A), and he was going to re-sell them to another person. I gave Mr. A one speaker to go show his prospective buyer and said he could have the other upon payment in full.
Mr. A is buddies with the maintenance man whom is under contract by the largest property manager in the city (we'll call him Mr. M). Mr. M gave Mr. A a master key to the building so that Mr. A could have access to the roof of the 13-floor high-rise. Mr. A uses the master key to access my apartment while I am out of town, takes the remaining speaker, and leaves no money or note of his actions. I return later that day and find the speaker missing.
My brother later informed me that Mr. A openly admitted to him that he had entered my apartment without my knowledge or approval.

I am really wondering how many angles I have to attack from. I personally place the majority of the blame on both the property manager and Mr. M, but still, Mr. A chose that action. For now, no move has been made.

jM

 

[Michael Wechsler]

It wouldn't be an "invasion of privacy" but more like (1) trespass or (2) breach of your lease. What your actual damages are is a good question and how you choose to pursue it is really up to you. Think about what you want to accomplish before you make your move.

 

[jmacgregor]

For the most part I agree, but "invasion of privacy" is very similar to "trespass" in many aspects, if I'm not mistaken. I think you're begging the question here.
As far as a (2) breach of my lease, it doesn't mention anything about other tenants' rights to access other apartments with or without notice.

What do I really want to accomplish? I guess my real goal is to gain the knowledge of right and wrong and ultimately what penalties 'could' be inflicted if I so chose. I'm not really a vindictive person, however, my silence has become a much more powerful tool than I thought.

It seems good lessons are still being learned.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

"Invasion of privacy" claims vary according to state. While it is similar to trespass, privacy tort claims may require the following:

1) Publication of facts about the plaintiff by defendant which places the plaintiff in a false light to the general public.
2) The false light is something objectionable to a reasonable person.
3) Malice by the defendant where the published matter is in the public interest.

A trespass on land in your case wouldn't concern the placement of you in a false light since it was just a trespass on your property. If, for example, they found 2000 homosexual pornography magazines in your apartment and told this to the news who reported this incredible library of yours, it could be found to be an invasion of privacy tort. This would not be defamation since no false information was spread.

This illustrates the difference in the claims.