Massachusetts General Laws
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 214, § 1B (2026)
Right of privacy
✓ current as of July 2026
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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).
Ayash v. Dana-Farber Cancer Inst., 33 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1513 (Mass. 2005). “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). “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). “" 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). “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). “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). “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). “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). “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). “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). “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). “” Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 214, § 1B. Section IB protects people from “disclosure of facts .”
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