Women and men who frequent tanning salons expect that their dignity and right to privacy will be honored during their visits. However, twice in recent years, women have filed lawsuits against a Tigard tanning salon that exposed them to passers-by.
In K&M’s case, Renee Baker has filed a lawsuit against Palm Beach Tan after Baker disrobed and found out that she was visible to anyone in Palm Beach Tan’s parking lot. Baker was unaware that some of the location’s rooms had traditional two-way glass until an employee at Palm Beach Tan knocked on her door and explained that the windows lacked privacy. Baker then realized that the man in the parking lot, parked in his car, could see her. The salon’s clerk instructed Baker to get up from her tan and push down the switch that controlled the room’s electronic blinds. Baker was unaware of the switch because it was hidden by clutter on the wall and mimicked a light switch. In addition, the blinds were concealed above the windows by a metal panel.
In our 2011 case against the same Palm Beach Tan, Shantel Smith sued the same tanning salon after she discovered that the windows were traditional two-way glass and a man in a pickup truck was watching her tan in the nude. A clerk that was working at Palm Beach Tan testified that several patrons had previously complained about the lack of warning regarding the two-way mirrors and the electronic blinds. Smith lost her trial for $135,000 because an invasion of privacy claim required that Palm Beach Tan intentionally exposed her to passers-by.
In our 2016 suit, Renee Baker is suing Palm Beach Tan for negligence because, after Baker’s 2011 lawsuit, Palm Beach Tan did not change its windows, signage, or employee policies, and therefore continued to expose unsuspecting patrons to passers-by. Renee Baker is seeking $325,000 for her negligence claim.