Woman says WVU was spying on her

MORGANTOWN - A Morgantown woman is suing West Virginia University and its Board of Governors for intercepting and interfering with communications from her telephone line.

Kimberly Fragale filed the lawsuit last month in Monongalia Circuit Court and also lists John Doe, an unknown agent, servant, employee or student at WVU, as a defendant.

Fragale says crime scene units used by WVU through the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences for its Forensic and Investigative Sciences Program are close to her home, and on May 12, 2005, she says she noticed a message on her home answering machine that identified her phone line as that of a crime scene unit at WVU. The caller identification for that message was "WVU Forensics S."

The next day, she says she noticed an identical message.

"One of the crime scene units utilized by Defendant WVU had a telephone and answering machine that had the telephone line of Ms. Fragale on it," the complaint says. "In addition, the telephone in that crime scene unit had the home phone number of Ms. Fragale attached to the front of it."

Fragale believes the interception of and interference with her phone line had gone on for several months before she discovered it.

She charges the defendants with intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy and is seeking compensatory damages.

Dino Colombo of Morgantown law firm Colombo and Stuhr is the plaintiff's attorney.

Judge Robert Stone has been assigned the case.

Monongalia Circuit Court case number 06-C-295