California Penal Code Section 637.2 gives you a private right to sue anyone who violates the state’s wiretapping and eavesdropping laws, and to collect the greater of $5,000 per violation or three times your actual damages. You can pursue the claim whether or not prosecutors ever bring a criminal case, and you can ask the court to order the conduct stopped. You have one year from the violation to file.
What Conduct You Can Sue Over
Section 637.2 covers any violation of Chapter 1.5 of the Penal Code, known as the California Invasion of Privacy Act. Three provisions drive most civil claims.
Section 631 prohibits wiretapping: intentionally tapping into or making an unauthorized connection with telephone lines or other communication infrastructure to intercept messages in transit, or using information obtained that way.1California Legislative Information. California Code, Penal Code – PEN 631
Section 632 is the most commonly invoked. It bars intentionally recording or eavesdropping on a confidential communication without the consent of every party. California is an all-party consent state, and a “confidential communication” is any exchange where the circumstances reasonably suggest the parties expected privacy. Conversations at public gatherings and open government proceedings are carved out.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 632
Section 632.7 extends the same all-party consent rule to calls involving cellular and cordless phones, in any combination with each other or with landlines, and reaches voice, data, and fax transmissions.3California Legislative Information. California Code, Penal Code – PEN 632.7 Sections 632.5 and 632.6 cover related cordless and cellular interception scenarios.
What You Can Recover
Under Section 637.2(a), you get the greater of two figures: a flat $5,000 per violation, or three times your actual damages.4California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 637.2 If your out-of-pocket losses are small or hard to quantify, you still collect the statutory $5,000 for each incident. If an illegal recording cost you a $50,000 business deal, you can pursue $150,000 instead. Each separate violation is calculated on its own, so a defendant who recorded multiple conversations faces damages that stack.
Punitive Damages
You can layer punitive damages on top under California Civil Code Section 3294, but the standard is higher. You must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant acted with malice, oppression, or fraud.5Justia. California Civil Code 3294-3296 In privacy cases, that typically means showing the defendant knew the recording was illegal and did it anyway. Punitive damages have no statutory cap and are set by the jury based on the conduct and the defendant’s financial resources.
Getting the Conduct Stopped
Section 637.2(b) authorizes an injunction: a court order directing the defendant to stop violating your privacy.4California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 637.2 Violating an injunction exposes the defendant to contempt penalties. You can pursue an injunction on its own or alongside damages in the same suit. This matters most against employers, landlords, or businesses running ongoing surveillance, where forcing the conduct to stop is worth more than a check.
What You Have To Prove
You do not have to prove financial loss. Subdivision (c) of 637.2 states plainly that actual damages are not a prerequisite to suit.4California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 637.2 The California Supreme Court confirmed as much in Ribas v. Clark, holding that the right to statutory damages accrues the moment the violation occurs.6Stanford Law – Supreme Court of California Resources. Ribas v. Clark – 38 Cal.3d 355 The invasion is the injury.
You do have to prove the violation itself. For a Section 632 claim, that means:
- The communication was confidential, meaning the parties reasonably expected privacy given the circumstances.
- The defendant acted intentionally, not accidentally.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 632
- At least one party did not consent to the recording.
Because this is a civil case, the standard is preponderance of the evidence: more likely than not. That is a much lower bar than the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard in criminal court.
The One-Year Deadline
You have one year to file. Courts apply Code of Civil Procedure Section 340(a), the one-year deadline for any action to recover a statutory penalty.7California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 340 The clock usually starts on the date of the violation.
The discovery rule can push the start date later if the recording was secret and you had no reasonable way to know about it, but the burden is on you to justify a late filing, and you have to show that a reasonable person in your position would not have caught on sooner. Do not plan around the discovery rule. If you suspect a violation, treat the clock as running.
Defenses You Should Expect
The most common defense is that the communication was not confidential. Conversations at a loud restaurant, a public meeting, or an open government proceeding fall outside Section 632(c) because the parties could not reasonably expect privacy.2California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 632
Consent is the other frequent defense. Consent can be implied. When a business plays a “this call may be recorded” notice and you stay on the line, that is generally treated as agreement.
Section 633.5 carves out a specific exception you should know about, because it can defeat your claim outright. A party to a confidential communication may lawfully record it without other-party consent when gathering evidence of extortion, kidnapping, bribery, any felony involving violence, human trafficking, or domestic violence.8California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 633.5 A recording made under that exception cannot support a 637.2 civil claim.
How To File the Lawsuit
You file in the Superior Court for the county where the violation occurred. Because statutory damages start at $5,000 per violation and often push past $35,000 once violations stack, most CIPA cases are filed as unlimited civil actions. The statewide filing fee for an unlimited civil case is $435, with a small surcharge in Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Francisco counties.9Superior Court of California. Statewide Civil Fee Schedule Effective January 1, 2026 Fee waivers are available if you cannot afford the fee.
Your complaint should identify the parties, describe each recording or interception, cite the specific Penal Code sections violated, and state the damages you want. You will file it along with a Civil Case Cover Sheet (form CM-010) and obtain a summons from the clerk.10California Courts. Civil Case Cover Sheet (CM-010)
Once the court accepts the filing, someone other than you (at least 18 and not a party) must deliver the summons and complaint to the defendant. Process servers typically charge between $40 and $200. The defendant then has 30 days to file a written response.11California Legislative Information. California Code, Code of Civil Procedure – CCP 412.20 If they don’t respond, you can ask the court for a default judgment.
Attorney’s Fees and Your Net Recovery
Section 637.2 has no fee-shifting provision. Under California’s default rule, each side pays its own legal costs unless another statute or a contract says otherwise.12California Legislative Information. California Code, Code of Civil Procedure – CCP 1021 That matters for the math. A single $5,000 violation billed at hourly rates can produce legal fees that exceed the recovery. Many plaintiffs’ attorneys in this area work on contingency, which shifts the financial risk to the lawyer but takes a percentage off your recovery. Cases with multiple violations or real actual damages are easier to place with counsel.
Taxes on What You Collect
Privacy damages are generally taxable as ordinary income. The IRS treats statutory damages for non-physical injuries as includable in gross income under IRC Section 61, and the personal-injury exclusion in IRC Section 104(a)(2) applies only to physical injuries or sickness.13Internal Revenue Service. Tax Implications of Settlements and Judgments Expect a Form 1099 for the full gross amount, including the portion paid to your attorney. Under Commissioner v. Banks, plaintiffs on contingency generally must report the whole settlement, not just their net share. Whether the above-the-line attorney-fee deduction under IRC Section 62(a)(20) applies to invasion-of-privacy cases is not settled, so talk to a tax professional before you file returns tied to a recovery.