California Supreme Court Decision

This story caught my attention last night as it was scrolling by on the news ticker. The California Supreme Court ruled in favor of two California plaintiffs that their privacy rights were violated by Salomon Smith Barney when their phone calls to brokers from California to Georgia were recorded by SSB. Their rights were violated because SSB did not inform or seek consent of the California callers to record the conversation.

I used to work in the securities industry. I was responsible for the audio recordings. We recorded everything. Every call made to the order desk or the help desk was recorded. It didn't matter from where those calls originated. We recorded the conversation because we had to make sure that if there was any miscommunication we could go to the "videotape" to listen to the exact words.

We had major clients in California. Were they aware we were violating their privacy rights? I doubt it.

I'm curious if this case can be appealed to Federal court due to the interstate commerce involved. I imagine the General Counsel's office at SSB will do so.