After two and a half years, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued a highly anticipated ruling reviewing the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC” or “Commission”) July 2015 Declaratory Ruling and Order (“2015 Order”) in which the FCC issued interpretative guidance on several aspects of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (”TCPA”). Over … Continue Reading
The United State Supreme Court recently denied certiorari in Nosal v. United States, 16-1344, declining to weigh in on the scope of unauthorized access under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”). The Ninth Circuit held in Nosal that David Nosal violated the CFAA by using his past assistant’s password to access his former employer’s … Continue Reading
A New Jersey appeals court recently ruled that a two-year statute of limitations applies to a claim by an HIV-positive patient asserting one of his doctors improperly disclosed his medical status to a third party without consent. The three-judge Appellate Division panel rejected arguments by the doctor that the suit should be dismissed as time-barred … Continue Reading
As everyone is aware, the Pokémon GO craze has taken the world by storm in the past month. Reports estimate there have been over 75 million downloads of the digital game since the program became available on July 6. Apple has not issued any concrete numbers, but has confirmed that it was the most downloaded … Continue Reading
On April 20, 2016, a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court, Southern District of California against Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. The lawsuit was initiated by a former employee whose W-2 was allegedly disclosed as part of a phishing scam that occurred in late March 2016 amid reports that Sprouts’ employees … Continue Reading
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California recently granted Wilshire Consumer Capital’s (WCC) motion to deny class certification in a putative class action filed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The named plaintiff, Alu Banarji, filed suit after receiving numerous telephone calls on her cell phone. According to the Court, Ms. Banarji’s … Continue Reading
The U.S. Court Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has ruled that statutory damages under the Stored Communications Act (SCA) are not available in a case where the plaintiff did not incur any actual damages. The case, Vista Marketing LLC v. Burkett, originated from an extremely contentious divorce proceeding. While the majority of the allegations in that … Continue Reading
In honor of Data Privacy Day, we provide the following “Top 10 for 2016.” While the list is by no means exhaustive, it does provide some hot topics for organizations to consider in 2016. EU/U.S. Data Transfer (status of Safe Harbor). On October 6, 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled … Continue Reading
Today, in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court of the United States held in Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez that an unaccepted settlement offer or offer of judgment does not moot a plaintiff’s case. As previously discussed, the Supreme Court granted a petition for a writ of certiorari on May 18, 2015 and heard arguments in … Continue Reading
You’ve spent extensive time and effort, not to mention money, establishing your company’s reputation only to have the company defamed or disparaged anonymously online. This is a scenario which many organizations face in today’s virtual marketplace. As a recent decision by the Delaware Superior Court illustrates, dealing with these types of issues is often difficult … Continue Reading
In a recent ruling, the Seventh Circuit abandoned its previous stance as to whether a complete offer of judgment prior to the filing of a class certification motion would moot a class action brought pursuant to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In 2009, the plaintiff, Arnold Chapman, brought a class action alleging First Index Inc. … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
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 the Sterling … Continue Reading
Norton Rose Fulbright recently released the results of their 9th annual litigation trends survey. The Fulbright survey reflects information collected from 392 in-house attorneys; including 82% identifying themselves as general counsel and 14% as head of litigation. Additionally, the companies responding to the survey represent virtually all industries, include entities of all sizes, and are almost evenly split … Continue Reading
A New Jersey student has filed a federal court lawsuit, H.W. v. Sterling High School District, alleging that she has been subject to disability discrimination and that her First Amendment rights have been violated. The student, known only as H.W. in court papers, was banned from the prom, senior trip, and the school’s commencement ceremony following … Continue Reading
The Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District quashed an order requiring the mother of a vehicle accident victim to produce copies of certain postings on her Facebook account. In Root v. Balfour Beatty Constr., LLC, the plaintiff, Tonia Root (“plaintiff”) filed a negligence suit against the city and its contractors following an accident where her … Continue Reading
In honor of National Data Privacy Day, we provide the following “Top 14 for 2014.” While the list is by no means exhaustive, it does provide critical areas businesses will need to consider in 2014. Location Based Tracking. As the utilization of GPS enable devices becomes more and more prevalent, employers are often faced with … Continue Reading
The Driver’s Privacy Protection Act ("DPPA"), 18 U.S.C. Section 2721, et seq, was enacted by Congress in 1994 after the highly-publicized murder of actress Rebecca Schaeffer by a stalker who obtained her unlisted address from the California Department of Motor Vehicles. ("DMV"). The Act restricts state DMVs from disclosing personal information contained in motor vehicle records except … Continue Reading
Two New Jersey defense lawyers face attorney ethics charges in connection with the way they allegedly accessed Facebook. Regardless of how these charges are resolved, the facts in the case should serve as a reminder to attorneys to become more familiar with social media, and perhaps be more specific in the direction they give to … Continue Reading
A Virginia district court recently held that an employee’s clicking of the Facebook “like” button is not comparable to speech. Accordingly, the court affirmed the dismissal of First Amendment retaliation claims brought by employees of a Virginia sheriff’s office finding that the employees’ action was insufficient to merit constitutional protection. Sheriff B.J. Roberts of the Hampton, Virginia … Continue Reading
A U.S. District Court in Indiana has ruled that a company’s use of keylogger software to access an employee’s personal e-mail account may have violated the Stored Communications Act (“SCA”). Keylogging or keystroke logging is the tracking of the keys struck on a keyboard, typically in a covert manner. In Rene v. G.F. Fishers, Inc.,the … Continue Reading
A Missouri federal district court has ruled, in I.S. v. Washington University, that a HIPAA-covered entity’s disclosure of protected information can form the basis for a state-law negligence claim. The Court reached this holding despite the well-accepted principle there is no private cause of action under HIPAA. The plaintiff, I.S., was undergoing medical treatment for … Continue Reading
The pervasiveness of social media in professional and everyday communication is a hot button issue (discussed at length here), particularly for private and public employers and organizations. In fact, many organizations have adopted, or are considering adopting, social media policies for employees and providing training for how employees should interact in cyberspace. But what should … Continue Reading
Trying to keep up with the fast-moving world of social media, the Kentucky Court of Appeals has ruled that “tagged” or captioned photographs posted on Facebook may be admitted as evidence. The ruling in the case has implications for employers. In LaLonde v. LaLonde, the appellant-wife objected to the trial court’s admitting into evidence photographs taken … Continue Reading
