## Facts

- Laura Green’s son, Calvin Green, was taken to Cook County Hospital with a gunshot wound and later died shortly after midnight on December 31, 1992.
- Tribune employees photographed Calvin during emergency treatment without permission.
- After Calvin was moved to a private room to await the coroner, Tribune personnel allegedly entered the room, took additional photographs, and prevented Green from entering.
- A Tribune reporter asked Green for comment about her son’s death; she refused.
- When Green entered the room, Tribune personnel allegedly overheard her private statements to her deceased son.
- The Tribune published a front-page article on January 1, 1993, quoting Green’s private statements and printing an unauthorized photograph taken after Calvin’s death.
- The Tribune published another article on January 3, 1993, printing a photograph taken while Calvin was undergoing medical treatment.
- Green sued the Tribune for invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED), and battery; the trial court dismissed all claims for failure to state a claim.

## Issues

1. Whether the amended complaint stated a claim for invasion of privacy based on alleged intrusion into a private hospital room and publication of private facts.
2. Whether the alleged conduct stated a claim for IIED by plausibly alleging extreme and outrageous conduct and severe emotional distress.
3. Whether the allegations that Tribune personnel physically impeded Green’s entry and repositioned her for photographs stated a claim for battery.

## Decision

- The appellate court reversed the dismissal of the invasion of privacy claim and remanded.
- The appellate court reversed the dismissal of the IIED claim and remanded.
- The appellate court reversed the dismissal of the battery claim and remanded.
- The court held that, at the pleading stage, Green’s factual allegations were sufficient and had to be taken as true.

## Legal Principles

- On a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, well-pleaded facts are accepted as true and viewed in the plaintiff’s favor.
- Illinois recognizes invasion of privacy theories including intrusion upon seclusion and public disclosure of private facts; alleged unauthorized entry into a private hospital room and exploitation of intimate grief-related statements can support these claims at the pleading stage.
- A privacy claim is not defeated at pleading solely because the plaintiff did not attach the allegedly offending newspaper articles when the complaint otherwise describes the publications with sufficient detail.
- IIED requires allegations of extreme and outrageous conduct, intent or reckless disregard, and severe emotional distress; conduct alleged to exceed ordinary newsgathering in a private, emotionally charged setting may satisfy the “extreme and outrageous” element at the pleading stage.
- Battery includes unauthorized harmful or offensive touching; allegations of physical restraint or interference with a person’s movement may be sufficient to plead battery.

## Conclusion

The appellate court held that Green plausibly alleged invasion of privacy, IIED, and battery based on alleged unauthorized photographing and reporting inside a private hospital room during and immediately after her son’s death, and it reversed the trial court’s dismissal and remanded for further proceedings.


Green v. Chi. Trib. Co., 286 Ill. App. 3d 1, 675 N.E.2d 249 (Ill. App. Ct. 1st Dist. 1996)