Teacher Settles Privacy Suit Against Software Company Accused of Giving Her Racy Photos to Police
A substitute teacher in Ohio has settled her privacy lawsuit claiming a software company invaded her privacy and violated federal laws when it accessed her sexually explicit photos and gave them to police.
Susan Clements-Jeffrey settled the suit on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports. Lawyers did not disclose details.
Clements-Jeffrey had sued Absolute Software Inc., claiming it used anti-theft software to gain remote access to a laptop she had purchased for $60 from a student. Clements-Jeffrey says she didn’t realize the computer had been stolen.
When the company accessed the laptop, it took three screen shots of webcam images showing a naked Clements-Jeffrey as she communicated with her boyfriend, the suit had alleged. Springfield, Ohio, police had the photos with them when they showed up to arrest Clements-Jeffrey in June 2008. Charges were dismissed about a week later.
Last week a federal judge refused to grant a motion for summary judgment filed by the software company. The ruling kept alive Clements-Jeffrey’s claims that the company invaded her privacy and violated two federal laws: the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the Stored Communications Act. A Fourth Amendment claim against police for a warrantless search of Clements-Jeffrey’s apartment was also pending.
