A private investigator who used GPS devices to secretly track the vehicles of Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve and a county commissioner ahead of an election asked the Nevada Supreme Court late Friday to overturn a judge's order that he identify the client who hired him.
Schieve filed suit in December seeking damages from private detective David McNeely for a violation of her privacy after a mechanic alerted her to the clandestine GPS tracking device.
Sparks police determined it was purchased by McNeely and ex-Washoe County Commissioner Vaughn Hartung joined the suit in February under similar circumstances.
Lawyers for McNeely said in Friday's appeal to the state's high court that divulging the name of a client who paid him to spy on the politicians would violate the long-accepted and expected confidentiality of a “private investigator-client relationship.”
The attorneys said Washoe District Judge David Hardy had erroneously rejected McNeely's argument earlier this month that the client's name was a “trade secret” protected under Nevada law. They likened the stealth nature of the relationship to the “secret sauce” in a prized recipe.
“Clients of private investigators expect confidentiality,” attorney Ryan Gormley wrote in a 31-page appeal filed Friday.
“Without that confidentiality, the business will fail. Thus, the protection of client identity creates significant economic value for both defendants and the private investigation industry as a whole,” he said.
Hardy had ordered McNeely to identify his client by Friday. But he noted in his ruling earlier this month that he was inclined to stay the case if an appeal was in the works because there would be no way to reverse the harm McNeely suffered from the disclosure of his client's identity if an appellate court later decided he had a right to keep it secret.
Another lawyer filed a motion this week to halt the proceedings on behalf of an anonymous John Doe who said he hired McNeely in an effort to combat corruption in government.
The document attorney Jeffery Barr filed said John Doe has a First Amendment right to anonymously investigate elected officials. It said Doe had not broken any laws or disseminated any of the information gathered on his behalf and never was aware or instructed McNeely to place GPS trackers on vehicles.
Judge Hardy on Thursday agreed to put the case on hold while McNeely pursued appeal avenues, a stipulation to which all the parties had agreed.
The tracking device was on Schieve’s vehicle for at least several weeks and on Hartung’s vehicle for several months, their lawsuit says.
Schieve said McNeely trespassed onto her property to install the device, which a mechanic noticed while working on her vehicle last year in the thick of campaign season, about two weeks before she won re-election for mayor in November.
Hartung also won re-election but since has resigned to accept an appointment as chairman of the Nevada Transportation Commission.
Hardy said in his May 4 ruling that the use of a GPS tracking device to monitor the movements of a person could be "a tortious invasion of privacy."
McNeely's appeal said the Supreme Court's intervention is necessary to provide clarity to state law industry wide.
“In the context of the private investigator-client relationship, the secrecy of the relationship between the private investigator and client is precisely what makes the relationship valuable to the business," the appeal said.
“Because, without the secrecy, there would be no relationship,” it said. “The confidentiality is the secret sauce.”
Download PDFMAY 12, 2023:
The defendant in the GPS tracking case involving Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve and former Washoe County Commissioner Chair Vaughn Hartung will have an extra 12 days to in order to file a protection order from being revealed in the case.
On Wednesday, May 10, Justice David Hardy ordered the defendant - currently being identified as John Doe in legal documents, now has until May 24 to file a protective order.
If granted by the judge, 'John Doe' would not have to reveal their identity.
If the defendant fails to file the protective order by then, they will lose any ability to prevent their name from being disclosed.
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MAY 4, 2023:
A Washoe County judge has ordered a private investigator to name the client who hired him to place GPS trackers on cars of Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve and former Washoe County Commissioner Chair Vaughn Hartung.
In the ruling, dated May 4, District Judge David Hardy says David McNeely has until May 12th to hand over documents revealing that client.
Earlier this week, defense lawyers argued that the client should remain private.
Download PDFMAY 1, 2023:
A judge heard oral arguments Monday in the case involving alleged GPS trackers on cars of Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve and former Washoe County Commissioner Chair Vaughn Hartung.
In court, lawyers argued whether or not the person who hired the private investigator, David McNeely should remain private.
Justice David Hardy said that he would make a determination within the next week whether McNeely has to reveal his client's identity.
"Your argument that the single relationship between private investigator and client is a trade secret because of the enhanced confidentiality of that."
Judge Hardy also pointed out the irony of it in a hypothetical question by saying that one argument that has "curb appeal" is the fact that Mayor Schieve and past Commissioner Hartung might say that being tracked is a privacy violation.
In December, Mayor Schieve filed a lawsuit against McNelly after saying a mechanic working on her car located a GPS device.
In the legislature, a bill that would keep people from putting tracking devices on cars is moving forward.
Assembly Bill 356 is expected to be talked about among lawmakers on Friday, May 5.
If passed, those who place a device under certain circumstances would be guilty of a misdemeanor on the first and second offenses. After that, they could be charged with a felony.
The bill makes exceptions for law enforcement officers who install one because of a warrant or court order.
Download PDFMARCH 28, 2023:
Lawyers for a private investigator accused of placing GPS trackers on cars of Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve and former Washoe County Commissioner Chair Vaughn Hartung say their client should not be revealed to the public.
In a new court document dated March 27, 2023, lawyers say the person who hired the private investigator David McNeely should remain private.
Previously, both Schieve and Hartung tried to compel a judge to reveal the person who hired the private investigator to allegedly track their cars.
The document argues, "the identity of a client that hires a private investigator is confidential and sensitive information. The party hiring a private investigator expects confidentiality," and therefore should be not made public.
In conclusion, the lawyers argue that the court should reverse the previous ruling to make the client known.
Hartung resigned from his position in mid-March.
FEBRUARY 24, 2023:
Washoe County Commissioner Chair Vaughn Hartung says he had a GPS tracking device placed on his car, after Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve alleged the same issue late last year.
According to an amended complaint, dated February 23, 2023, Hartung alleges that not only did he drive the personal car, but so did his wife and daughter, 'including on trips where Hartung was not in the vehicle."
Hartung says he learned of his alleged car device "after being apprised of media and public-records reports that showed the locations of the vehicle(s) at his personal residence...."
The complaint, filed in the Second Judicial District Court, again demands a jury trial.
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Feb. 6, 2023:
Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve has filed in the second Judicial District Court of Nevada an order to compel a Washoe judge to ask the defendants in the case described below to identify the someone(s) who planted a tracking device on her personal car, despite the defendants' 'untenable objection'.
Mayor Schieve cites the lack of private investigator privilege in Nevada as one of her bases for the motion. She also notes that if someone who receives a subpoena objects on the basis that the subpoena seeks a "trade secret", the recipient must first show that the requested information is protected as such.
Furthermore, she argues that the identity of a single client is not a protectable trade secret.
The Counsel for Hillary Schieve argues in all that the Court should compel the defendants, McNeely and 5 Alpha Industries, LLC, to produce documents sufficient to identify the individual or entity/entities who hired them to surveil Mayor Schieve.
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Jan. 21, 2023:
A Washoe County judge has granted subpoenas to identify the person(s) who allegedly hired a private investigator to install a tracking device on Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve's car.
The judge approved the subpoena request submitted by Mayor Schieve on Friday, January 20.
Schieve filed a lawsuit against David McNeely and 5 Alpha Industries, LLC last month after finding a GPS device attached to her vehicle that was capable of tracking its real-time location.
Court documents also reveal that McNeely was interviewed by Sparks Police and did not disclose the "name of the client without a subpoena signed by a judge."
Schieve, who filed the lawsuit as a private citizen is seeking restitution for invasion of privacy, trespassing, civil conspiracy and negligence, as well as attorney’s costs.
