Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 214, § 1B (2026)

Right of privacy

✓ current as of July 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 1B. A person shall have a right against unreasonable, substantial or serious interference with his privacy. The superior court shall have jurisdiction in equity to enforce such right and in connection therewith to award damages.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 188 cases (42 in the last 5 years), 1976–2026 · leading case: Ayash v. Dana-Farber Cancer Inst., 33 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1513 (Mass. 2005).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Ayash v. Dana-Farber Cancer Inst., 33 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1513 (Mass. 2005). · cites it 5× “4 After five weeks of trial (presided over by a different judge *371 than the judge who had dealt with discovery), a jury in the Superior Court found Dana-Farber liable for (1) violation of the plaintiff’s statutory right to privacy under G. L. c. 214, § 1B; (2) breach of the…”

Madsen v. Erwin, 481 N.E.2d 1160 (Mass. 1985). · cites it 5× “12, §§ 11H, 11I, G.L.c. 214, § 1B (invasion of privacy), "the common law of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the Constitution of the United States.”

Jones v. Taibbi, 512 N.E.2d 260 (Mass. 1987). · cites it 6× “" G.L.c. 214, § 1B. The plaintiff asserts that the ABC reports of his arrest invaded his privacy in two respects.”

Cort v. Bristol-Myers Co., 431 N.E.2d 908 (Mass. 1982). · cites it 4× “The judge properly allowed the defendants' motion for directed verdicts on the plaintiffs' claims for invasion of privacy under G.L.c. 214, § 1B, and we affirm the judgments entered on this motion.”

Tower v. Hirschhorn, 492 N.E.2d 728 (Mass. 1986). · cites it 7× “In dismissing the plaintiff's cause of action for invasion of privacy, the motion judge reasoned that: (1) G.L.c. 214, § 1B, covers breach of confidentiality, but no protected confidential relationship existed between the plaintiff and the defendant; (2) in the absence of a…”

Duarte v. Healy, 537 N.E.2d 1230 (Mass. 1989). · cites it 3× “12, §§ 11H & 11I, and G. L. c. 214, § 1B. The case arises out of a policy, adopted by the city, of subjecting fire fighter probationary recruits to urinalysis at random times during their training.”

O'CONNOR v. Police Comm'r of Boston, 557 N.E.2d 1146 (Mass. 1990). · cites it 4× “A judge ordered summary judgment for the defendants on all counts. The plaintiff appealed, and we allowed the plaintiff's application for direct appellate review.”

Pederson v. Time, Inc., 532 N.E.2d 1211 (Mass. 1989). “After a partial judgment on the pleadings, 3 the remaining claims against Time, the publisher of Life, the reporter, and the photographer allege intentional violation of the State privacy statute, G. L. c. 214, § 1B (1986 ed.), and intentional infliction of emotional distress.”

Commonwealth v. PORTER P., 923 N.E.2d 36 (Mass. 2010). · cites it 2× “G. L. c. 214, § 1B ("person shall have a right against unreasonable, substantial or serious interference with his privacy").”

Howell v. The Enter. Publ'g Co., LLC., 920 N.E.2d 1 (Mass. 2010). · cites it 2× “Howell's complaint also alleged that the Enterprise's conduct constituted an intentional infliction of emotional distress, and that the Enterprise violated his privacy rights set forth in G. L. c. 214, § 1B. The Enterprise moved for summary judgment.”

Weld v. Glaxo Wellcome Inc., 434 Mass. 81 (Mass. 2001). · cites it 2× “Because the alleged injuries were the result of the single course of conduct 11 engaged in by CVS and the other defendants, the determination whether the program violated G. L. c. 214, § 1B, G. L. c. 93A, § 2, or involved a tortious misappropriation for commercial gain of the…”

Dasey v. Massachusetts Depart, 304 F.3d 148 (1st Cir. 2002). · cites it 2× “” Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 214, § 1B. Section IB protects people from “disclosure of facts .”

Show all 188 citing cases →

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.