This action arose from a dispute between political opponents. The plaintiff Derith Smith alleged that Charles Stewart, the village manager, wrongfully terminated her during her employment with the Village of Suttons Bay. However, she did not file suit against the village because she obtained other employment as the elected supervisor of Elmwood Township.

On May 17, 2005, the plaintiff received an anonymous mailing while serving as Elmwood Township supervisor. This mailing consisted of a document written by Stewart that was contained in her personnel file, but was never brought to her attention or discussed during her employment. The document raised various issues regarding the plaintiff’s employment, such as whether she inappropriately paid herself a higher wage and whether she misrepresented her status as an employee when she was in fact an independent contractor. Someone had added a caption to the document that read, “Attention:

Suttons Bay Villagers Alledged (sic) Misuse of Village Taxpayer Funds?” and “Subject: Personnel meeting scheduled for August 10, 2004….” The plaintiff sued, alleging that the mailing defamed her, invaded her privacy, constituted an injurious falsehood, and was a violation of her free speech rights.

What do you think are her chances of prevailing on the invasion of privacy count in the complaint? If she has a valid cause of action, against whom does she have it?

See Smith v. Anonymous Joint Enterprise, 2009 WL 249415 (Mich. Ct. App., February 3, 2009).