## Facts

- Joseph Bonome operated a tree surgery and landscaping business in the Cambridge, Massachusetts area and was married and living in New Hampshire in the early 1990s.
- Susana Kaysen, an author living in Cambridge, began an affair with Bonome in 1994; he later divorced and moved in with her in 1996.
- Kaysen developed severe, chronic vaginal pain and pursued medical treatment over several years while writing a memoir, *The Camera My Mother Gave Me*.
- The memoir described Kaysen’s pain and its effects on her life, including graphic descriptions of her sexual relationship with her “boyfriend,” portraying him as insensitive and, in one passage, appearing to force sex.
- The memoir did not name Bonome and altered certain identifying details (including aspects of the boyfriend’s background and occupation).
- Some family, friends, and business clients who already knew about the relationship identified Bonome as the boyfriend depicted.
- Bonome sued Kaysen and the publisher, Random House, alleging invasion of privacy under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 214, § 1B based on public disclosure of private facts.
- Defendants moved to dismiss under Mass. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6); other counts were dismissed by agreement, leaving the § 1B claim for decision.

## Issues

1. Whether publication of an autobiographical memoir describing intimate sexual details about an identifiable boyfriend states a claim for public disclosure of private facts under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 214, § 1B.
2. Whether the First Amendment bars liability where the disclosures about the plaintiff are intertwined with the author’s account of her own experiences on matters of public interest and the plaintiff is not unnecessarily identified.

## Decision

- The court allowed defendants’ motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6).
- The court held the memoir’s disclosures did not violate § 1B, even assuming the pleaded facts were true.
- The court concluded the challenged material was protected by the First Amendment because it was intertwined with the author’s personal narrative on matters of public concern and did not unnecessarily reveal the plaintiff’s identity.

## Legal Principles

- Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 214, § 1B (public disclosure of private facts) must be applied with regard to constitutional limits on imposing liability for truthful speech.
- Publication revealing intimate details of a relationship between an author and a plaintiff is not actionable under § 1B where (i) the plaintiff-related facts are intertwined with the author’s account, (ii) the disclosure relates to a subject of public interest, and (iii) the plaintiff’s identity is not unnecessarily revealed.
- Newsworthiness/public interest can include discussion of personal experiences when used to address broader topics (such as the effects of chronic pain on intimacy and the boundaries of consent), not merely to expose private gossip.
- Omission of the plaintiff’s name and alteration of identifying details can support a finding that any identification was limited and not unnecessarily publicized, even if some who already knew of the relationship recognize the plaintiff.
- A complaint may be dismissed at the pleading stage when, on the alleged facts, the constitutional protection for the publication defeats the privacy claim as a matter of law.

## Conclusion

The Superior Court dismissed the § 1B claim, holding that a memoirist may publish intimate, truthful details of a shared relationship when those details are part of the author’s account addressing matters of public interest and the partner’s identity is not unnecessarily disclosed.


Bonome v. Kaysen, 17 Mass. L. Rptr. 695 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2004)