LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – Fitness guru Richard Simmons will be allowed to pursue a lawsuit that says a detective agency hired by In Touch Weekly spied on him with a tracking device on a car.
The California Court of Appeal’s Second Appellate District ruled May 21 against a defense asserted by former In Touch Weekly publisher Bauer Media Group – that its conduct was protected free speech under the Anti-SLAPP Act.
“Here, Bauer contends Mathews’ placement and use of the tracking device was illegal and not protected speech,” Justice Brian Currey wrote.
“But it insists it merely hired Mathews to take photographs, not illegally place a tracking device. That assertion, however, contradictions allegations in the first amended complaint that Bauer hired Mathews and LA Intelligence both to stake out the hospital during Simmons’ visit and to track and report on Simmons’ whereabouts, making Bauer vicariously liable for their torts.”
Bauer hired private detective Brian Mathews and his agency LA Intelligence when Simmons was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in April 2017. He performed 12 hours of surveillance, according to his invoice.
Months later, a tracking device was found on the car of Simmons’ caretaker and driver. Mathews subsequently pleaded no contest to vehicle tampering and was placed on three years of probation.
Simmons’ lawsuit seeks to hold he and Bauer liable for invasion of privacy and trespass claims.