Banking Your Secrets Just Got Safer - Invasion Of Privacy Tort Recognized

On January 18, for the first time, the Ontario Court of Appeal in Jones v. Tsige explicitly recognized the tort of invasion of personal privacy. In July 2009, Sandra Jones discovered that her co-worker, Winnie Tsige, had been surreptitiously viewing her bank records for four years. Although Jones did not know or directly work with Tsige, Tsige and Jones' ex-husband were in a common-law relationship. As an employee of the Bank of Montreal (where Jones maintained her primary bank account), Tsige had full access to Jones' banking information. Contrary to the bank's policy, Tsige accessed Jones' banking records at least 174 times. Sharpe J.A. allowed the appeal, ruled that Tsige committed the tort of "intrusion upon seclusion" and granted Jones $10,000 in damages.