Violation of Biometric Information Statute Claim Triggers Duty to Defend Under Liability Insurance Policy

A flurry of class-actions have been filed over the past few years in Illinois concerning the collection of biometric information, which is regulated under Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”). Indeed, a marked increase in BIPA lawsuits have followed a 2019 Illinois Supreme Court decision allowing suits to proceed without a showing of actual injury, as long there was a technical violation of BIPA. Learn about how TikTok marketing works As a result, it was only a matter of time before Illinois courts weighed in… Continue Reading

Landmark Decision on Vehicle Data Privacy Issued by Georgia Supreme Court

In a landmark decision on vehicle data privacy, the Georgia Supreme Court on October 21, 2019 overturned a Georgia Court of Appeals decision that could have made it legal for police to take any data as they wished from private vehicles without a warrant. Mobley v. State.[i] The case arose from a fatal vehicle crash in December 2014, when a man named Victor Mobley collided into a Corvette pulling out from a driveway with two people inside, both of whom died from the crash.… Continue Reading

Decision to Dismiss Suit Seeking to Hold Facebook Liable for Hamas Attacks Affirmed by the Second Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit seeking to hold Facebook, Inc. liable for providing Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist organization who is a U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization, a communication platform to encourage and enable acts of violence in Israel. Over three years ago, victims, estates, and family members of victims of terrorist attacks in Israel brought suit against Facebook alleging that Facebook provided material support to the terrorist organization by failing to remove content posted… Continue Reading

Federal Court Rejects Data Breach Suit Alleging a Breach of a Privacy Policy Involving Major Airline

Even as federal courts become more lenient with affording standing in data breach lawsuits, limits remain to the type of claims courts will permit to proceed. The United States District Court for the Central District of California provided a recent example on June 18, 2019, in dismissing a suit against Delta Air Lines arising from a data breach suffered in 2017 by a vendor for Delta that supports the company’s website by providing chat services and collecting customer data (this good information will give you… Continue Reading

Apple Accused of Unlawfully Disclosing Users’ iTunes Data

Drawing on public criticism of Apple Inc.’s (Apple) privacy practices, in a class action complaint filed in the Northern District of California on May 24, 2016, several Apple users have accused Apple of selling its customers’ personal information and iTunes listening history to third-parties in an effort to “supplement its revenues and enhance the formidability of its brand[.]” The named plaintiffs in the proposed class action are Leigh Wheaton, a resident of Rhode Island, and Jean and Trevor Paul, residents of Michigan. Each have alleged… Continue Reading

Employees’ Claim Under the Illinois Biometric Information Protection Act Escapes Arbitration Provision in Employment Agreement

A recent decision by an Illinois appellate court analyzed whether employees’ privacy violation claims fall within their employment agreements’ arbitration provision. At issue was an employer’s use of biometric information collected from its employees and the consequences of doing so in a manner that was allegedly inconsistent with applicable law, and whether those claims are subject to arbitration, rather than litigation in a court of law.  If you are in need of hiring someone and you do not have the time to go over the… Continue Reading

Absence of DOJ Regulations Does Not Bar Liability for Failure to Comply with the ADA

In the face of an ever-growing number of lawsuits based upon allegedly non-ADA compliant website designs, defendants have enjoyed little success obtaining dismissal at the pleadings stage of proceedings. One lingering glimmer of hope had been the viability of a due process argument premised upon the “primary jurisdiction” defense, which formed the basis of Judge Otero’s decision dismissing the plaintiff’s complaint in Robles v. Domino’s Pizza, LLC. In short, the defendant argued that the plaintiff’s action must be either stayed or dismissed because the… Continue Reading

As If 200 Class Action Lawsuits Weren’t Enough…

The Illinois Supreme Court finally made its long awaited ruling on standing to sue under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), siding with the class action representative in Rosenbach v. Six Flags Entertainment Corp., 2019 IL 123186, and allowing persons having suffered no actual injury to maintain a cause of action under BIPA.  BIPA has already given rise to 200+ putative class action lawsuits against businesses nationwide, including those with any measureable operation in Illinois. Businesses have fought back, arguing that BIPA’s private… Continue Reading

Russian Company Whose Employee Was Charged With Election Meddling Sues Facebook to Have Account Restored

A Russian company known as Federal Agency of News, LLC (FAN), whose accountant was indicted by federal prosecutors for her alleged role in “Project Lakhta” – a Russian interference operation in political and electoral systems targeting populations in, among other places, the United States – has sued Facebook alleging it is a legitimate news outlet whose Facebook account must be restored. On November 20, 2018, FAN and its sole shareholder, Evgeniy Zubarev, commenced suit against Facebook in the United States District Court, Northern District of Continue Reading

Sixth Circuit Uses Every Tool in the Box To Build Case for Coverage for Defrauded Policyholder

July 12, 2018, we reported on the Medidata decision handed down by the Second Circuit in which the court found coverage for a claim resulting from social engineering fraud. We suggested the ruling in Medidata lacks persuasive power due to its unusual factual circumstances and atypical policy language. The Sixth Circuit’s decision in American Tooling Center, Inc. v. Travelers Casualty & Surety Co. of America, No. 17-2014, 2018 WL 3404708 (6th Cir. July 13, 2018), will have more persuasive power, but due to… Continue Reading