Written by Amy Malone Earlier this month, we reported on the privacy case against craft giant Michaels Stores (see our blog post here, as well as our client alert here) in which the plaintiff alleged that Michaels illegally collected zip codes during credit card transactions. The case was ultimately dismissed by the federal district court,… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Class Action Litigation
Subscribe to Class Action Litigation RSS FeedHannaford Data Breach Class Action Certification: Denied
Posted in Class Action Litigation, Data Breach, Privacy LitigationWritten by Kevin McGinty Damages issues continue to bedevil would-be data breach class action plaintiffs. A long and growing line of cases holds that consumers cannot maintain claims arising from theft of their personal or financial data without alleging that the theft resulted in financial injury. One notable exception to this trend was the First… Continue Reading
Google: Better to Seek Forgiveness Than Permission?
Posted in Class Action Litigation, Privacy LitigationWritten by Amy Malone For years, Google has been blazing trails in the technology world and along the way they have been caught in a few snares. The latest entanglement wrapped up this week as the company settled a two-year investigation led by an executive committee that represents 38 states and the District of Columbia… Continue Reading
Setback for Apple in iPhone MDL
Posted in Class Action LitigationWritten by Evan Nadel In a case about exposing user data, Apple suffered a setback due to its concealment of information in litigation. Last week, in the multi-district litigation, In Re iPhone Application Litigation, Judge Lucy Koh of the Northern District of California denied Apple’s motion for summary judgment in a putative class action by… Continue Reading
Zip Code as Personal Information: The Massachusetts Round 2
Posted in Class Action Litigation, Data Compliance & Security, Privacy LitigationYesterday, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) ruled that zip codes constitute “personal identification information” under G.L. c. 93. The question of law came to the SJC from the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts stemming from Tyler vs. Michaels Store, Inc, which was dismissed in January. This ruling echoes California’s 2011 decision that the Song-Beverly… Continue Reading
First of a series (updated): Issues for 2013
Posted in Class Action Litigation, Data Breach, Data Breach Notification, Data Compliance & SecurityHappy New Year! We are beginning this week with a series of top Privacy and Security issues for 2013, as we see them. Let’s start with an issue of interest to publicly traded companies, or companies considering going public in 2013 – a reminder that cybersecurity issues are of interest to the Securities… Continue Reading
“Fly Delta” May Get Grounded by California Attorney General
Posted in Class Action Litigation, Privacy Litigation, Privacy RegulationWritten by Evan Nadel and Jake Romero Delta Airlines, Inc. may have to pay fines equal to 20 “excess bag” fees for each user that has downloaded its “Fly Delta” mobile application. California Attorney General Kamala Harris has filed a complaint against Delta, alleging that Delta has failed to conspicuously post a privacy policy on… Continue Reading
“Fair, Adequate and Reasonable”: Federal Judge Approves the FTC’s $22.5 Million Settlement with Google
Posted in Class Action Litigation, Federal Trade CommissionWritten by Jake Romero As previously reported in this blog , Google, Inc. agreed to pay $22.5 Million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it misrepresented its data collection practices to users of Apple, Inc.’s Safari Internet browser . That settlement has now been approved by U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, following a challenge brought… Continue Reading
The Unforeseeable Transaction: Apple Argues that the California Song-Beverly Credit Card Act Should Not Apply To Online Retailers
Posted in Class Action Litigation, Privacy RegulationWritten by Jake Romero When is a gallon of gas like an iTunes track? That may sound like a riddle from a Lewis Carroll novel, but it was one of the questions considered by the California Supreme Court during oral arguments in Apple v. Superior Court (Krescent) as Apple, Inc. attempted to persuade the Court… Continue Reading
Court Decision in Sony PlayStation Data Breach Case Places Burden on Plaintiffs to Allege Actual Damages
Posted in Class Action Litigation, Data Breach, Data Breach NotificationWritten by Kevin McGinty Class action plaintiffs asserting claims against Sony in connection with the 2011 Sony PlayStation Network (“PSN”) data breach face permanent dismissal of their claims unless they can allege actual losses resulting from the breach. In an October 11 decision, a federal court in Los Angeles granted in part Sony’s motion to… Continue Reading
Theft of Employee Data from Third-Party Vendor Exposes Employer and Vendor to Privacy Class Action
Posted in Class Action Litigation, Data Breach, Data Breach NotificationWritten by Kevin McGinty A recently-filed class action lawsuit asserts claims against the Winn-Dixie supermarket chain and a third-party vendor, Purchasing Power, LLC, in connection with the alleged theft of employee data provided to Purchasing Power in order to administer a discount purchasing program offered to Winn-Dixie employees. The claims advanced against Winn-Dixie and Purchasing… Continue Reading
LinkedIn Password Theft Results in Class Action Lawsuit
Posted in Class Action Litigation, Data BreachWritten by Kevin McGinty Nearly as predictable as the sun coming up in the morning, the recent theft of 6.5 million LinkedIn user passwords has resulted in the filing of a class action lawsuit in a California federal court. In her complaint, a LinkedIn premium subscriber asserts claims on behalf of all LinkedIn users for… Continue Reading
Massachusetts Businesses Face Two New Challenges on Data Security
Posted in 201 CMR 17.00, Class Action Litigation, Data Compliance & SecurityA cross-post from our friends at the Associated Industries of Massachusetts – and important reading, given that March 1st is Thursday. Employers Face Two New Challenges on Data Security
No Motion to Dismiss in Facebook “Sponsored Stories” Case
Posted in Class Action Litigation, Online AdvertisingWritten by Jake Romero California district judge Lucy Koh has rejected a motion to dismiss brought by Facebook, Inc. in response to a lawsuit brought by plaintiffs Angel Fraley, et al. alleging that Facebook’s “Sponsored Stories” violate California’s Right to Publicity Statute (CA Civil Code §3334). Sponsored Stories are paid advertisements containing the name and… Continue Reading
SEC Guidance to Public Companies: Evaluate and Disclose Cybersecurity Risks
Posted in Class Action Litigation, Data Breach, Data Compliance & Security, Privacy LitigationThe Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued guidance to public companies with respect to disclosure relating to cybersecurity and data breach risks. This release is from the Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance and is not a rule or regulation — but it is clear that public companies that ignore the advice in the Disclosure… Continue Reading
Update on Patient Information Breaches
Posted in Class Action Litigation, Data Breach, Data Breach Notification, HIPAA/HITECHWritten by Dianne Bourque Nemours Children’s Health System has reported the loss of three, unencrypted computer backup takes containing patient billing and employee payroll data. The tapes had been stored in a locked cabinet, and were reported missing on September 8th. It is believed that they may have been removed in early August during a… Continue Reading
Good Weekend Read
Posted in Class Action Litigation, Data Compliance & SecurityMy colleague, and frequent contributor to this space, Kevin McGinty, has published a great article on data privacy class action lawsuits. Happy reading!
Privacy Class Actions – It’s Still About the Damages
Posted in Class Action Litigation, Online Advertising, Privacy LitigationWritten by Kevin McGinty In a mixed decision, a federal court judge in New York dismissed federal statutory claims arising from Web-based advertisers’ use of cookies that tracked users’ Web browsing activities, but denied a motion to dismiss claims under state law. The plaintiff in Bose v. Interclick alleged that Interclick and clients McDonalds, CBS, Mazda… Continue Reading
