Office Building Janitor Secretly Videotaped Women Over 11-Month Period
An invasion of privacy case involving a group of 29 women surreptitiously videotaped using a restroom by a janitor working in a Somerset, NJ, office building was settled yesterday in Bergen County Superior Court for $940,000.
The women were represented by Neel Bhuta, an attorney for Locks Law Firm, and Franklin Solomon, of Solomon Law Firm, LLC, along with co-counsel Hill Wallack LLP.
The defendants in the trial included the building security company, Planned Security Services; and the collective building management (the janitorial company, CRS Janitorial Services; the building owner, I&G Garden State; and the property manager, Jones Lang LaSalle). The janitor who did the taping, Teodoro Martinez, was criminally charged and released on bail, but subsequently fled the country and is thought to be hiding in Mexico.
The tapings, which began in January, 2009, were not discovered and halted until November 25, 2009. The plaintiffs approached Locks Law in 2010, which then filed the case in 2011.
“We are very pleased to come to this resolution, particularly after such a long, drawn-out affair,” said Neel Bhuta, an Associate with Locks Law Firm. “Even though the individual directly responsible for these sordid actions fled the country, we were still able to win a sizeable award that we hope will provide some measure of satisfaction and closure for our clients.”
“Locks Law is committed to achieving justice for its clients no matter how long or difficult the case may be,” said Michael Galpern, Managing Partner for Locks Law’s New Jersey practice. “Our goal is to represent their interests to the best of our abilities, and to do whatever we can to win them restitution when they are wronged.”
The case is Friedman, et. Al. v. Martinez, et.al. (Docket No. BER-L-136-11).
