Civil Law, Torts, and Liability of Private Investigators
Louisiana is a civil-law jurisdiction: obligations arise from contract and from delict under La. Civ. Code art. 2315. This domain tests the duty-risk analysis, the torts that follow an investigation, and how the agency relationship with the client shapes liability.
Duty-risk and vicarious liability
- Article 2315 obliges a person to repair damage caused by his act. Negligence is analyzed as duty, breach, cause-in-fact, legal cause, and damages; a statutory violation such as trespass or unlawful interception can supply the breach.
- Employers answer for employees acting within the scope of employment (art. 2320). A firm is also directly liable for negligent hiring, training, and supervision - the standard attack when surveillance goes wrong.
- Independent-contractor labels help but do not immunize; non-delegable duties and apparent authority can pull liability back to the firm.
Claims that follow an investigation
- Invasion of privacy: unreasonable intrusion on seclusion, public disclosure of private facts, false light, and appropriation. Louisiana recognizes these theories alongside the constitutional privacy right.
- Defamation: defamatory words, publication, fault, and damages; truth is a defense, and public officials must prove actual malice.
- Malicious prosecution: favorable termination, absence of probable cause, malice.
- False imprisonment: detention without consent or legal authority - the locked-door interview is the classic fact pattern.
The contract side
- The engagement is a mandate (La. Civ. Code arts. 2985 et seq.), carrying duties of loyalty, confidentiality, and obedience to lawful instructions, and requiring a conflicts check.
Worked example
A PI films a workers' compensation claimant lifting weights from a public sidewalk and the insurer ends benefits. Public observation is generally not intrusion; filming through a bedroom window or entering the yard is. If the report overstates what the video shows, the claimant may add defamation or negligent-misrepresentation claims, and the firm faces a board complaint.
Traps
- The client told me to is not a defense to trespass or intrusion.
- Assuming an accurate fact cannot defame when the framing is false.
- Overlooking that a civil judgment can trigger licensing discipline.