"But" He Didn't Mean to Call Him Print
Wednesday, April 11 2018

A Georgia man is suing his boss for invasion of privacy when his boss overheard negative comments the man made to his wife after the man "butt" dialed his boss.

James Stephens claims he inadvertently dialed back his boss, Michael Coan, after finishing a late evening call with him. During the second ("butt" dial) call, which lasted roughly 12 minutes, Coan overheard James complaining about him to his wife. The next day, Coan confronted James about the call and gave him the choice to resign or be fired.

Now, James and his wife are suing Coan for eavesdropping, claiming Coan invaded their right to privacy with "voyeuristic eavesdropping." Coan, who works for the State of Georgia, filed a motion to dismiss the suit arguing he was acting in his official capacity as a state supervisor when he was listening to the pocket-dialed call of a subordinate employee and, thus, deserves immunity.

According to news reports, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in 2015 on a similar case, opining that someone who pocket dials another person does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy because they placed the call.

Source: cbsnews.com