Just a couple weeks ago, we reported on another case from the Eastern District that dismissed a FDCPA case for lack of standing post-TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, 141 S. Ct. 2190 (2021). Another recent decision from the same court (different judge) shows, yet again, that Ramirez has teeth. In Grauman, No.
Meghan Quinn
Court Rejects Bid to Move BIPA Case to Binding Arbitration, Declining to Enforce Arbitration Clause in Terms of Service
CPW has previously covered how companies can proactively use binding arbitration agreements to manage litigation risk-including in the context of data privacy litigation. But as a biometric software developer just learned, if you’re not a signatory to the agreement, you better make sure the arbitration clause is drafted broadly enough to cover you to…
HO HO HOLD UP! Federal Government Warns Consumers of Holiday Cyber Threats (and Companies Should Take Note Too)
‘Tis the season.
Cybercrimes always increase during the holidays, but this year could reach new threat levels. With COVID-19 (and as confirmed by the decreased Black Friday foot traffic versus the increased Cyber Monday sales), Americans are expected to do most of their holiday shopping online this year. In response to this development, the Cybersecurity…
Ups & Downs in Healthcare Data Breach Litigation—Federal Court Tosses Damages Class, but Leaves Case on Life Support by Certifying Injunctive Class
As CPW has covered, healthcare data breaches are on the rise (and are likely to continue to do so in light of the rise in telehealth in 2020). Despite the recent proliferation of data breach litigation, case law hasn’t caught up—you can count on your hands the number of times any court, state or…
Godiva Been Dying to Tell You the Good News! Eleventh Circuit Bars Consumers from Suing for Bare Procedural Violations
The Eleventh Circuit recently took a huge bite out of consumers’ ability to bring class actions. In Muransky v. Godiva Chocolatier, Inc., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 33995 (11th Cir. Oct. 28, 2020) (en banc), the court uprooted the circuit’s plaintiff-friendly view of standing and forcefully held that consumers can’t sue for technical statutory violations.…
Experian Avoids Hefty Punitive Damage Award, but Still Has to Pay $5,000 for a Single FCRA Violation For Claimed Pain and Suffering
The Eleventh Circuit vacated a $490,000 punitive damages award last Friday for a single FCRA violation, finding that there wasn’t enough proof of a willful violation. Considering that the jury had initially awarded $3 million in punitives (which the trial court cut to $490,000 on due process grounds), this is a big win for Experian.…
Vimeo Will Face Facial Recognition BIPA Class Action in Federal Court, Despite Valid Arbitration Clause
Biometric tech is everywhere. Think facial recognition, voice ID, fingerprints, retina scans (a la Minority Report or a million other sci-fi movies, except real and in the present). It’s probably how you unlock your phone every day, and how social media platforms ask if that photo some friend of a friend tagged is really you.…
[FCRA] A California Court Softens the Definition of “Firm Offer” (at Least at the Discovery Phase)
There hasn’t been much litigation in recent years over what constitutes a “firm offer.” And that’s probably, at least in part, because federal courts have allowed lenders to defeat consumer lawsuits by pointing to terms within the offers indicating that they intend to honor the offered credit. But that didn’t stop a California appellate court…
Shutterfly Avoids BIPA Class Action by Adding Arbitration Provision AFTER Plaintiff Files Suit
Change in terms provisions are nifty little thing. Add one into a consumer agreement and–in some jurisdictions at least–a business can modify terms to give themselves helpful advantages, even after a consumer has filed suit.
Example: Photo printing app Shutterfly – one of the leading apps for photo storage and prints – just avoided a
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