Chandler v. United States Army

This is an action for declaratory and injunctive relief under a federal statute prohibiting wiretapping.

FACTS

This case was resolved on summary judgment, so the true facts have not been determined. Thus, our review treats the evidence in the light most favorable to Captain Chandler to determine whether there are genuine issues of material fact, and whether the law as applied to the facts so construed entitled the prevailing party to judgment.

Captain Chandler and his wife were having marital problems, and he had filed for a divorce. Mrs. Chandler bought and set up electronic equipment to record her husband’s telephone conversations without his knowledge. She recorded him talking to Julie Ann Kelch, a Sergeant in the Army with whom Captain Chandler had professional contact. Mrs. Chandler listened to the tape and reached the conclusion that her husband was having an affair with Sergeant Kelch.

Mrs. Chandler then took two actions to retaliate against her husband. She falsely charged him with rape at the sheriffs office, and she told his commanding officer that he was having an affair, and that she had a tape recording that proved it. In her affidavit, she admitted that:

The…