The Illinois Supreme Court recently ruled that the named plaintiff in a putative data breach class action lacked standing to pursue her claims given that her private personal information had not actually been misused by a third party.
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California Federal Court Grants Summary Judgment on Most Claims in Data Privacy Case
By Class Actions Team on
Posted in Data Privacy and Cybersecurity
A California federal judge has largely granted summary judgment in a data privacy lawsuit against Yodlee, Inc., finding that two of the five plaintiffs lacked Article III standing for all remaining claims and that the three other plaintiffs lacked Article III standing for—and failed to create genuine disputes of fact on the merits about—two of their three remaining claims. Covington represents Yodlee in this action. Clark v. Yodlee, No. 20-cv-05991-SK (N.D. Cal.).
Continue Reading California Federal Court Grants Summary Judgment on Most Claims in Data Privacy CaseNinth Circuit Denies Class Certification because Causation Theory Requires Individual Analysis of Claims
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Posted in Ninth Circuit
In a recent decision, the Ninth Circuit offered a useful reminder that the need for individualized proof of causation can affect multiple elements of the Rule 23 test for class certification.
In Small v. Allianz Life Ins. Co. of N. Am., No. 23-55821, — F.4th —-, 2024 WL 5051192 (9th Cir. Dec. 10, 2024), resolving a District Court split, the Ninth Circuit adopted a “causation” theory of harm for claims asserting that an insurance company had violated the California Insurance Code, holding that plaintiffs must show not only that an insurance company violated the Code (violation-only theory), but also that the violation of the Code caused a plaintiff harm (causation theory).
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Denies Class Certification because Causation Theory Requires Individual Analysis of ClaimsCalifornia Federal Court Finds Plaintiffs Plausibly Alleged That Cloud Solution Company Owed Consumers Duty of Care
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Posted in Data Privacy and Cybersecurity, Litigation
In a putative consumer data breach class action, a court in the Northern District of California recently denied a cloud solution company’s motion to dismiss the plaintiffs’ negligence claim finding that the plaintiffs plausibly alleged that the company owed consumers a duty of care. See In re Accellion, Inc. Data Breach Litig., 2024 WL 4592367 (N.D. Cal. Oct. 28, 2024).
Continue Reading California Federal Court Finds Plaintiffs Plausibly Alleged That Cloud Solution Company Owed Consumers Duty of CareNinth Circuit Holds Courts Cannot Decide Factual Disputes in Standing Challenges Where Standing and Merits Analyses Are Intertwined
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Posted in Article III Standing, Ninth Circuit
Under Ninth Circuit precedent, when a defendant brings a factual challenge to jurisdiction, the district court may resolve factual disputes so long as the jurisdictional and merits inquiries are not intertwined. But where the jurisdictional and merits inquiries are intertwined, the court must treat the motion like a motion for summary judgment and “leave the resolution of material factual disputes to the trier of fact.” The Ninth Circuit recently confirmed that the same rules apply to a factual challenge to Article III standing.
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Holds Courts Cannot Decide Factual Disputes in Standing Challenges Where Standing and Merits Analyses Are IntertwinedNinth Circuit Gives Plaintiffs Second Chance at $91 Million in Statutory Damages
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In Montera v. Premier Nutrition Corp., — F.4th —, 2024 WL 3659589 (9th Cir. Aug. 6, 2024), the Ninth Circuit vacated and remanded a district court’s statutory damages award, holding that an aggregate award of statutory damages is not subject to the Supreme Court’s State Farm due process standard for punitive damages, but should instead be assessed in light of the proportionality and reasonableness of the aggregate award considering the legal violation committed.
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Gives Plaintiffs Second Chance at $91 Million in Statutory DamagesJudge Makes Class Action Claims Against “Magic Avatar” AI App Disappear
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On August 6, 2024, Judge Jorge L. Alonso of the Northern District of Illinois issued an order dismissing Brantley v. Prisma Labs, Inc., a proposed class action suit against the creator of the “Magic Avatar” AI app for lack of standing and lack of personal jurisdiction over the representative plaintiff Tyrone Brantley.
Continue Reading Judge Makes Class Action Claims Against “Magic Avatar” AI App DisappearSupreme Court Receives Filings with Key Implications for Climate Change Tort Suits
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The Supreme Court will soon decide whether to hear two cases that could dictate the future of climate change tort suits. Such suits have proliferated in recent years: several dozen active cases assert state tort law claims—like nuisance, trespass, and strict liability—against oil and gas companies for fueling and misleading the public about climate change. The two pending cases go to the very foundations of these claims.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Receives Filings with Key Implications for Climate Change Tort SuitsN.D. Cal. Court Declines Remand of California-Focused Wiretap Class Action
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We recently posted about a trend of plaintiffs trying to keep certain class actions, including wiretap cases, in California state court and highlighted potential avenues for removal to federal court. Another federal court has weighed in, declining to remand because the plaintiff did not establish that CAFA’s mandatory local controversy exception applied. Miramalek v. Los Angeles Times Communications LLC, 2024 WL 2479940 (N.D. Cal. May 23, 2024). This recent case offers another potential ground for opposing a motion to remand, though it also underscores the attendant risk of jurisdictional discovery.
Continue Reading N.D. Cal. Court Declines Remand of California-Focused Wiretap Class ActionSouth Carolina Federal Court Denies Class Certification in Consumer Data Breach Case
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A court in the District of South Carolina recently denied class certification in a putative consumer data breach class action after concluding that the proposed class and sub-classes were not ascertainable. See In re Blackbaud, Inc., Customer Data Breach Litigation, 2024 WL 21555221 (D.S.C. May 14, 2024).
In February 2022, plaintiffs filed suit against Blackbaud, a business-to-business software company that sells cloud-computing services to social good organizations. Plaintiffs, who had provided personal information to Blackbaud’s customers, alleged that their information was compromised during a breach of Blackbaud’s data centers. In December 2022, plaintiffs moved to certify nationwide and sub-classes representing individuals whose “unencrypted information was stored on the database” of a Blackbaud customer. In support of class certification, plaintiffs sought to demonstrate that the proposed classes were ascertainable by relying on (1) expert opinion, (2) Blackbaud’s discovery responses, (3) customer notices Blackbaud sent following the breach, and (4) Blackbaud’s use of a database to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act. The court rejected each of those arguments.
Continue Reading South Carolina Federal Court Denies Class Certification in Consumer Data Breach Case