Case: Ehling v. Monmouth-Ocean Hosp. Serv. Corp., 872 F. Supp. 2d 369 United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, 2012.

Deborah Ehling, a registered nurse and paramedic who worked at the Monmouth-Ocean Hospital Service Corporation (MONOC) reacted on her Facebook page to a shooting. Her Facebook privacy settings limited access to just friends.

An 88 yr old sociopath white supremacist opened fire in the Wash D.C. Museum this morning and killed an innocent guard (leaving children). Other guards opened fire. The 88 yr old was shot. He survived. I blame the DC paramedics. I want to say 2 things to the DC medics. 1. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? and 2. This was your opportunity to really make a difference! WTF!!!! And to the other guards go to target practice.

A hospital supervisor summoned one of Ehlings coworkers, who was her Facebook friend, into an office where she forced him to access his account so that she could view Ehlings post. The supervisor sent a copy of the posting to the boards that regulate nursing and paramedics in New Jersey with a letter saying that the hospital was concerned that this statement showed a disregard for patient safety.

She filed suit against MONOC, alleging intrusion. In her view, these letters were a malicious attempt to damage her reputation and possibly cause her to lose her license. She claimed that she had a reasonable expectation of privacy in her Facebook posting because her comment was disclosed to a limited number of people whom she had individually invited to view a restricted access webpage. The hospital filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that Ehling did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in her Facebook posting because the comment was disclosed to dozens of people, including coworkers.

Question: What are the elements for a claim of intrusion in this case?

Question: Are expectations of privacy governed by subjective or objective standards?