The California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA) provides a private right of action only to those who have “been injured by a violation of” CIPA. A California Superior Court decision, Rodriguez v. Fountain9, Inc., 2024 WL 3886811, at *4 (Cal. Super. July 9, 2024), confirmed that a plaintiff cannot satisfy this statutory standing requirement unless the plaintiff alleges “a concrete injury-in-fact.”Continue Reading California State Court Holds That A Concrete Injury-In-Fact Is Required To Bring Claims Under CIPA
Federal Court Dismisses Wiretapping Claims Against Pharmacy for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction
A federal judge in the Southern District of California recently granted Hwareh.com’s motion to dismiss a proposed class action claiming that third-party source code on its website unlawfully routed information about consumer information to that third party. See Zarif v. Hwareh.com, Inc., No. 3:23-cv-00565-BAS-DEB (S.D. Cal.). The court found that the plaintiff—whose claims included asserted violations of the Federal Wiretap Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2510 et seq., and the California Invasion of Privacy Act, Cal. Pen. Code § 631—failed to establish that the court had personal jurisdiction over Hwareh.com, an online pharmacy. Hwareh.com is incorporated in Delaware and maintains its principal place of business in Missouri, but the plaintiff alleged that its website was available in California and that it maintained a non-resident pharmacy license in the state. The court’s decision is the latest in a series of decisions clarifying personal jurisdiction in the context of privacy claims.Continue Reading Federal Court Dismisses Wiretapping Claims Against Pharmacy for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction
Bank Partnership Defeats Motion for Preliminary Injunction in “True Lender” Suit
A bank partnership that has recently been the target of a series of “true lender” attacks has defeated a California regulator’s motion for a preliminary injunction. The regulator sought the inunction as part of a lawsuit that seeks to hold the fintech firm Opportunity Financial LLC (“OppFi”) liable for violations of California’s usury laws. The court’s decision is a significant victory for companies that follow the bank partnership lending model to provide consumer loans.Continue Reading Bank Partnership Defeats Motion for Preliminary Injunction in “True Lender” Suit
New York and Minnesota Video Privacy Statutes Do Not Include Private Rights of Action for Retention of Rental History Data, Federal Court Holds
A court in the Northern District of California recently dismissed with prejudice a case that claimed a company violated the New York Video Consumer Privacy Act (“NYVCPA”) and the Minnesota Video Privacy Law (“MVPL”) by retaining consumers’ personally identifiable video rental history data. The court found that neither the NYVCPA nor the MVPL contained private rights of action for retention of that data.Continue Reading New York and Minnesota Video Privacy Statutes Do Not Include Private Rights of Action for Retention of Rental History Data, Federal Court Holds
Federal Court Stays Suit Implicating Accrual of Claims Under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act
Last week, an Illinois federal district court granted the defendant’s motion to stay in Stegmann v. PetSmart, No. 1:22-cv-01179 (N.D. Ill.). The case implicates the evolving law surrounding the scope of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) and a pending Illinois Supreme Court case that could provide an important defense to certain BIPA suits.Continue Reading Federal Court Stays Suit Implicating Accrual of Claims Under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act