U.S. District Court, District of Utah · 2:24-cv-00163-DAK-CMR · Federal
UHS of Provo Canyon v. Bliss
Granted in part UPEPA
- Forum
- U.S. District Court, District of Utah
- Case number
- 2:24-cv-00163-DAK-CMR
- Motion decided
- Sep 24, 2024
- Outcome
- Granted in part
- Underlying case
- Still going as of the last filing checked. A court order limiting what the filmmaker can do with his recordings is in place while both sides gather evidence.
- Conduct at issue
- Undercover fact-gathering by a filmmaker who took a job at a psychiatric youth facility to document the troubled-teen industry
- Underlying claims
- Breach of contract, fraudulent misrepresentation, federal and Utah wiretap acts, trespass, intrusion upon seclusion, conversion
What the court held
- Judge Dale Kimball announced the two-part analysis for UPEPA in federal court: first whether UPEPA applies, then whether the plaintiff failed to state a claim, applied through Rule 12(b)(6). On step one he split the conduct: gathering information about the troubled-teen industry is protected speech-creation under Tenth Circuit precedent and within UPEPA, but individual patient healthcare information is not a matter of public concern. On step two six of seven claims survived as plausibly pled; only intrusion upon seclusion was dismissed, because a corporation has no privacy right under the Restatement. The court simultaneously granted a preliminary injunction requiring Bliss to return all recordings and enjoining dissemination pending discovery. No party disputed that UPEPA applies in federal court.
Source
Other UPEPA matters
BAM Franchising v. Schneider
Brunette v. Engemann and Jeff Jenkins Productions
Tanner v. Deininger
The Preserve v. Kamas City
Not legal advice. Deadlines in your case may differ. Talk to a lawyer.