Free Speech

Eugene Volokh | 12.29.2025 9:19 AM

From the long opinion by Chittenden County (Vermont) Judge Colin Owyang in Doe v. Deluca, decided Dec. 15 but posted on Westlaw a few days ago (an appeal is pending):

On March 18, 2025, DeLuca recorded a 29-minute video that included Doe and others standing in public view outside a homeless shelter and warming center on Pearl Street in Burlington. An approximately two-minute portion of that video captures Doe speaking and apparently recording or attempting to record DeLuca on Doe's cell phone. The video shows other people closer to Doe than DeLuca who remains on or near the public sidewalk. Doe speaks to DeLuca who does not respond. DeLuca turned Doe's speaking portion of the video into a YouTube "short" video. DeLuca posted both videos to his YouTube channel, for commercial profit according to Doe. Doe never gave DeLuca consent to record him or use his image….

The court rejected Doe's intentional infliction of emotional distress claim:

Doe has alleged that (1) DeLuca's "act of recording a vulnerable, homeless individual and exploiting their image for profit,........

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