Federal Court Rules No Backsies on Butt Dials

An Ohio butt dialer who sued a colleague for listening to his confidential discussion had no right to privacy, a federal appeals court upheld on Tuesday.

According to court documents, in 2013, James Huff, a board member of a Cincinnati airport, was discussing replacing the airport’s CEO when he pocket dialed the second-worst person possible: not the CEO, but her assistant. The assistant, Carol Spaw, took notes and audio recordings, and shared a summary with the airport’s board members, the court said.

“[Huff] is no different from the person who exposes in-home activities by leaving drapes open or a webcam on and therefore has not exhibited an expectation of privacy,” the ruling said, affirming the ruling made by a district court.

Privacy in butt dialing incidents previously made headlines in February, when a man who pocket dialed 911 was jailed for talking about drug dealing.