Australian Court Grants Damages For Invasion of Privacy In Landmark Case

In a recent landmark Australian decision, a Queensland District Court Senior Judge ordered Robert Purvis to pay his ex-lover Alison Grosse $178,000 (Australian dollars) in damages for the invasion of her privacy (and other torts), and for post-traumatic stress disorder ("PTSD") that debilitated her as the result of eight years of stalking. This is the first Australian case to expressly give recognition to a right of action for invasion of privacy.

The court held that the essential elements that a plaintiff must prove when suing for an invasion of privacy are:

there must be a willed or deliberate act by the defendant;
the act must intrude upon the privacy or seclusion of the plaintiff;
the intrusion must be in a manner which would be considered highly offensive to a reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities; and
The act must cause the plaintiff detriment in the form of mental or psychological or emotional harm or distress or it must prevent or hinder the plaintiff from doing an act which he or she is lawfully entitled to do.

There was no finding whether the claimant had to show that harm was the intended consequence of that deliberate act. The key here is whether privacy is invaded "in a manner which would be considered highly offensive to a reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities" causing actual damage to the plaintiff.

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Volume I

Australian Court Grants Damages For Invasion of Privacy In Landmark Case