Hall v. Post

Newspaper journalist Rose Post (defendant) published articles about a birth mother's search for the daughter she had abandoned 17 years earlier, which identified babysitter Mary Hall and the now-grown child Susie Hall (plaintiffs) by name, described the reunion, and detailed both families' emotional reactions. Mary and Susie alleged they fled their home to escape public attention after publication and required psychiatric treatment, and sued for invasion of privacy based on public disclosure of private facts. The trial court granted the defendants summary judgment, the court of appeals reversed, and the North Carolina Supreme Court took the case on discretionary review.