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Information Broker Pays Settlement to Mother of Slain Girl
On August 19, 2003, in Remsburg v. Docusearch Inc., the New Hampshire Supreme Court held that information brokers and private investigators could be liable for the harm caused by selling personal information. This extends the traditional rule that a person has a duty not to place another person at risk of harm from criminal actions when the risk of criminal misconduct is substantial and foreseeable.
The case involved the shooting death of Amy Lynn Boyer in 1999 by an ex-classmate, Liam Youens, who had an obsession with Ms. Boyer. Mr. Youens chronicled his obsession with Ms. Boyer and his plot to kill her on a website. He sought her out but was unable to locate her phone number or work address. Eventually, he turned to Docusearch Inc. and paid the company $45.00 to provide the victim's social insurance number and $109.00 to purchase her work address. Ms. Boyer had been tricked into disclosing her employment information by an independent contractor working for Docusearch who called her at home and lied to her in order to obtain her employment information. Mr. Youens then used the information provided to him and proceeded to Ms. Boyer's workplace, shot her and then shot himself.
Docusearch Inc. recently agreed to pay Ms. Boyer's mother $85,000 in settlement of the lawsuit.
For a full copy of the New Hampshire Supreme Court decision, visit:
http://www.courts.state.nh.us/supreme/opinions/2003/remsb017.htm