On May 18, 2015, the United States Supreme Court granted a petition for a writ of certiorari to address (1) whether a case becomes moot when the plaintiff receives an offer of complete relief on his claim and (2) whether the answer to the first question is any different when the plaintiff has asserted a
Supreme Court to Examine Standing Under FCRA
The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided to hear a case brought under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) to determine whether individual consumers have standing to sue a consumer reporting agency for statutory violations of the FCRA when no “actual damages” were suffered by the consumer.
The FCRA, like other privacy laws, imposes monetary damages
Ethics Case Alleging Improper Social Media Access May Proceed
As we previously reported, sending a “friend” request to access information on an individual’s Facebook page that is not publicly available may have serious ethical implications. Specifically, the New Jersey Office of Attorney Ethics (OAE) alleges John Robertelli and Gabriel Adamo violated the Rules of Professional Conduct, including those governing communications with represented parties,
Top 15 for 2015 – Happy National Data Privacy Day
In honor of National Data Privacy Day, we provide the following “Top 15 for 2015.” While the list is by no means exhaustive, it does provide some hot topics for businesses to consider in 2015.
- Inside Threats for Healthcare Providers and Business Associates. While news reports of security risks often focus on hackings and breaches
Offer of Judgment Doesn’t Moot Class Action
In what may be considered a blow to class action defense, this week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that an offer of judgment to the named plaintiffs did not moot a proposed class action. This was a case of first impression before the Eleventh Circuit.
The putative class action, Stein
California District Court – “Under TCPA Autodialer Must Generate Numbers”
One of the most complex issues under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is determining whether the technology utilized qualifies as an “automatic telephone dialing system” (ATDS) or “autodialer.” The TCPA prohibits using an ATDS to make calls to cell phone numbers, absent prior consent of the called party. An ATDS is generally define as
Second Circuit Finds No Consent in TCPA Appeal
In a recent ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit revived a claim against debt collector under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), finding that the recipient of the call never expressly consented to the calls.
The plaintiff, Albert Nigro, called the power company to discontinue service at the home
*UPDATE* Suit Against School District Regarding Tweet Settles
As previously reported, in a March 2014 filing titled H.W. v. Sterling High School District, a New Jersey high school student filed suit claiming school officials had violated her constitutional rights when they punished her for content she posted on Twitter which criticized Sterling High School’s principal.
The settlement, which was approved by
Missouri Constitutional Amendment Protects Electronic Privacy
On August 5, 2014, Missouri voters approved Amendment 9 to the Missouri Constitution making Missouri the first state in the nation to offer explicit constitutional protection to electronic communications and data from unreasonable serches and seizures.
The official ballot title asked: “Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended so that the people shall be secure in
Interception Does Not Include Access to E-Mail Account
The United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama recently held in Bruce v. McDonald that the “mere access” of an e-mail account and subsequent printing/possession of e-mails from the same account did not constitute an “interception” in violation of the federal Wiretap Act.
Under the Wiretap Act, as amended by the