Trials & Litigation
Couple Sues McDonald’s After Nude iPhone Pics Hit Net
Posted Nov 25, 2008, 05:20 pm CST
By Molly McDonough
An Arkansas man who left his iPhone at a Fayetteville McDonald's is suing the restaurant after nude photos of his wife were posted on the Internet.
Phillip Sherman maintains that a store manager promised that the phone would be secured until he could retrieve it, according to Wired's Gadget Lab blog.
But Sherman noticed after picking up his phone that photos of his wife, Tina Sherman, had been posted to the Web, along with her name, address and contact information.
The Shermans are suing for $3 million to compensate for suffering, embarrassment, loss of earnings and the cost of moving to a new home. Gadget Lab notes that "Tina Sherman nude" is currently one of the most popular Google search terms.
Related coverage:
Associated Press: "Nude pics in phone lost at McDonald's get online"
Hat tip South Florida Lawyers.
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Comments
Posted by B. McLeod - 1 month, 1 week, 5 days, 16 hours, 20 minutes ago
It certainly seems poor judgment to have such content on a cell phone to begin with. Who would not foresee the possibility that the phone might be lost or stolen?
Posted by McKasey - 1 month, 1 week, 5 days, 14 hours, 40 minutes ago
Everyone has the right to carry his cell phone with pictures of his wife, nude or not. It is certainly foreseeable that a cell phone would be lost or stolent, it is not foreseeable that a restaurant employee would blow the pictures all over the internet knowing that they belonged to someone else. Legalese aside, are we not jealous that our wives never send us pictures like that?
Posted by logos - 1 month, 1 week, 5 days, 17 minutes ago
This looks like an intentional tort by the employee, so I don’t see a basis for vicarious liability against McDonalds. Unless Arkansas law is screwy, the plaintiffs will have to show that the management actively participated in the wrongdoing (which isn’t vicarious liability).
Posted by mythago - 1 month, 1 week, 4 days, 20 hours, 16 minutes ago
B., poor judgment doesn’t excuse the wrongful behavior of others. It does, however, seem to be poor judgment to post pictures one finds on a customer’s phone, knowing the customer is going to know *exactly* where they came from.
Posted by B. McLeod - 1 month, 1 week, 4 days, 17 hours, 50 minutes ago
Quite right of course. On the other hand, if the only good cause turns out to be against the individual employee, there is not likely to be much of a recovery. If there is enough to obtain recourse from my dear old friends the McDonalds, the employee is not likely to care much about that either. There is a reason why “Sue me” is such a popular expression among the judgment-proof.
Posted by Bill Duggan - 1 month, 1 week, 4 days, 2 hours, 25 minutes ago
What does McDonalds have to do with it. Even if they found the cellphone and returned it, they are not responsible for the pictures getting on the web. “For all we know, a patron could have forwarded them to someone else who put them there. Besides, who even wants to look at nude pictures of someone from Arkansas who eats at McDonalds. Not me.