Copeland v. Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc.

526 N.W.2d 402 (1995)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

KSTP television broadcast an investigative report on the practices of two metro-area veterinarians. One of the veterinarians, Dr. Sam Ulland, treated P's cat. Dr. Ulland received P's permission to bring along a student interested in a career in veterinary medicine. The student, Patty Johnson, did not tell Ps or Dr. Ulland that, in addition to being a part-time student at the University of Minnesota, she was also an employee of KSTP and was videotaping Dr. Ulland's practice methods. The broadcast included two brief video portions filmed inside Ps' house. Ps sued D and Johnson for trespass, and later moved to amend their complaint to add claims for invasion of privacy and violation of state and federal wiretapping statutes. The district court denied the motion to amend and granted D's summary judgment motion on the trespass claim. The district court reasoned that Johnson did not exceed the geographic boundaries of the Ps' consent and the Ps did not expressly limit their consent to Johnson's educational or vocational goals. Ps appealed.