Another federal district court has dismissed a putative class action complaint asserting that an online retailer’s chat feature violated the users’ privacy under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”), Cal. Penal Code §§ 630 et seq. See Garcia v. Build.com, Inc., Case No. 22-cv-1985-DMS-KSC (S.D. Cal. Mar. 29, 2024), ECF 37. Continue Reading Federal Court Dismisses Class Action Asserting California Wiretapping Claim Based on Website Chat Feature
Privacy
Federal District Court Applies Excessive Fines Clause of Constitution To Reduce Civil Statutory Penalties
Defendants in privacy class action lawsuits increasingly face assertions by plaintiffs and putative class members that they should be awarded statutory penalties that vastly exceed any purported actual damages. A recent decision under the False Claims Act reinforces the constitutional limitations plaintiffs may face in pursuing these outsized awards.
The United States District Court for…
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
Washington State Court Dismisses Wiretapping and Other Claims Involving Hospital Website
A Washington court recently dismissed with prejudice putative class action claims against Seattle Children’s Hospital asserting that use of third-party tracking technology on its website constituted wiretapping and other privacy law violations.Continue Reading Washington State Court Dismisses Wiretapping and Other Claims Involving Hospital Website
Federal Court Dismisses Lawsuit Over Use of Pixel Technology on University Hospital Websites
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa has dismissed on sovereign immunity grounds a putative class action against the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (“UIHC”) for unjust enrichment and violations of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. See Yeisley v. Univ. of Iowa Hosps. & Clinics, No. 3:23-cv-00025 (S.D. Iowa Feb. 16, 2024) (unpublished).
The plaintiff, a patient of UIHC, had alleged that UIHC used a pixel on its website to share her personally identifiable information with third parties for marketing purposes and without her consent. The Court did not reach the merits of the case and instead granted UIHC’s motion to dismiss on the basis that sovereign immunity barred each of the plaintiff’s claims.Continue Reading Federal Court Dismisses Lawsuit Over Use of Pixel Technology on University Hospital Websites
Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Data Privacy Claims Based on Disclosure of Collection in Privacy Policy
In class actions challenging data collection, whether the defendant’s privacy policy disclosed the collection is almost always a key question at the dismissal stage. In a memorandum decision likely to be useful to defendants, the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed dismissal of claims challenging Google’s collection of data from third-party apps on its Android mobile operating system, holding that Google’s Privacy Policy clearly disclosed the collection. See Hammerling v. Google LLC, No. 22-17024 (9th Cir. Mar. 5, 2024) (unpublished).Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Data Privacy Claims Based on Disclosure of Collection in Privacy Policy
Illinois Federal Court Partially Dismisses Wiretapping, BIPA Claims Involving Home Security Products
The District Court for the Northern District of Illinois recently granted in part a motion to dismiss a putative class action complaint asserting wiretapping, Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), and consumer protection claims relating to their eufy home security cameras and video doorbells (the “Eufy Products”). See Sloan, et al. v. Anker Innovations Ltd., No. 22-CV-7174 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 9, 2024). Plaintiffs contend in their complaint that the Eufy Products applied a facial recognition program to differentiate images of known and unknown individuals within home security services and purportedly misrepresented data storage and encryption practices for the Eufy Products.Continue Reading Illinois Federal Court Partially Dismisses Wiretapping, BIPA Claims Involving Home Security Products
Judge Highlights Trend of Narrow Reading of VPPA In Class Action Dismissal
A federal judge in the Western District of Texas recently sided with a growing trend of rulings adopting a narrow reading of the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) in dismissing a putative class action against the operators of a Texas Longhorns email newsletter. The case involved tracking pixels embedded in videos that were linked in the newsletter but posted to public websites. The court held that because the plaintiffs had not made a durable commitment through signing up for the newsletter, and because videos were not embedded in the newsletter, plaintiffs failed to meet the definition of “consumer” as defined in the VPPA.Continue Reading Judge Highlights Trend of Narrow Reading of VPPA In Class Action Dismissal
Ninth Circuit Finds No Personal Jurisdiction in California Over Website
The Ninth Circuit recently upheld a California district court’s dismissal of a proposed class action against Shopify for lack of personal jurisdiction, cautioning that subjecting web-based platforms to jurisdiction in every forum in which they are accessible would lead to the “eventual demise of all restrictions” on personal jurisdiction.
In Briskin v. Shopify, Inc., 2022 WL 1427324 (N.D. Cal. May 5, 2022), the plaintiff alleged that Shopify, a Canadian-based company that provides online merchants throughout the United States with an e-commerce payment platform, violated California privacy and consumer protection laws by allegedly collecting his sensitive personal information while using a California-based retailer’s website. The district court in the Northern District of California dismissed the action, finding that it lacked both general and specific personal jurisdiction over Shopify.
A panel of the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction, holding that Shopify could not be subjected to jurisdiction in California where it did not expressly aim the alleged conduct implicated by the lawsuit toward California. Briskin v. Shopify, Inc., 2023 WL 8225346 (9th Cir. Nov. 28, 2023). Briskin confirms the Ninth Circuit’s view that for interactive websites and other web-based services and platforms that operate nationwide, “something more” is needed to satisfy the express aiming requirement for personal jurisdiction.Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Finds No Personal Jurisdiction in California Over Website
Are You Not Infotained? The Ninth Circuit Tightens Statutory Standing Rules for WPA Claims
The Ninth Circuit on Friday held that vehicle infotainment systems that illegally record private communications might generate an injury-in-fact sufficient to satisfy Article III standing—but (without more) such recordings fail to injure a plaintiff’s “person,” “business,” or “reputation” as is required to gain statutory standing under the Washington Privacy Act (“WPA”).Continue Reading Are You Not Infotained? The Ninth Circuit Tightens Statutory Standing Rules for WPA Claims