A magistrate judge in the Western District of New York recently recommended dismissing the putative class action Tassmer et al v. Professional Business Systems, concluding that any risk of identity theft or other injury was too “speculative” to show standing. The recommendation is in line with numerous other federal circuit and district courts similarly requiring plaintiffs in data breach cases to show concrete harm, not merely a risk of future harm. This recommendation, if adopted, will be another helpful precedent for companies facing class action lawsuits as a result of a data breach or cyber hack.
Court Grants Dismissal of Wiretapping and Contract Claims in Putative Privacy Class Action Involving Google Privacy Settings
A California federal district court recently granted partial dismissal of privacy claims brought by several Google users in Rodriguez v. Google, LLC, No. 20-cv-5688 (N.D. Cal.). The Rodriguez plaintiffs claimed that Google engaged in unlawful wiretapping under section 631 of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”) by collecting data from third-party apps after users turned off certain data tracking in their Google privacy settings; they also claimed that Google breached a unilateral contract they had formed by selecting those privacy settings. The court disagreed, and dismissed these two claims without leave to amend.