California Civil Code 1798.53 – Any person, other than an employee of the state or of a local …
Any person, other than an employee of the state or of a local government agency acting solely in his or her official capacity, who intentionally discloses information, not otherwise public, which they know or should reasonably know was obtained from personal information maintained by a state agency or from “records” within a “system of records” (as these terms are defined in the Federal Privacy Act of 1974 (P. L. 93-579; 5 U.S.C. § 552a)) maintained by a federal government agency, shall be subject to a civil action, for invasion of privacy, by the individual to whom the information pertains.
In any successful action brought under this section, the complainant, in addition to any special or general damages awarded, shall be awarded a minimum of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) in exemplary damages as well as attorney’s fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred in the suit.
Terms Used In California Civil Code 1798.53
- agency: means every state office, officer, department, division, bureau, board, commission, or other state agency, except that the term agency shall not include:
California Civil Code 1798.3
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- individual: means a natural person. See California Civil Code 1798.3
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- person: means any natural person, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, firm, or association. See California Civil Code 1798.3
- personal information: means any information that is maintained by an agency that identifies or describes an individual, including, but not limited to, the individual's name, social security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial matters, and medical or employment history. See California Civil Code 1798.3
The right, remedy, and cause of action set forth in this section shall be nonexclusive and is in addition to all other rights, remedies, and causes of action for invasion of privacy, inherent in § 1 of Article I of the California Constitution.
(Amended by Stats. 1985, Ch. 595, Sec. 23.)