Healthcare Data Breach Victims’ Lawsuit Tossed When They Can’t Show Harm–Paul v. Providence
By Eric Goldman Paul v. Providence Health Systems–Oregon, SC S059131 (Ore. Sup. Ct. Feb. 24, 2012) A Providence employee left disks/tapes containing records for 365,000 patients in his/her car, and they were stolen. The opinion implicitly assumes that the data…
Reidentification Theory Doesn’t Save Privacy Lawsuit–Steinberg v. CVS Caremark
By Eric Goldman Steinberg v. CVS Caremark Corp., 2012 WL 507807 (E.D. Pa. Feb. 16, 2012) CVS Caremark provided consumer data to pharma companies and data brokers. The plaintiffs alleged that the data transfers violated CVS’s privacy policies, but CVS…
RadioShack May Be Liable for Accessing Images from Recycled Customer Cellphone — Steele v. RadioShack
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Steele v. RadioShack Corp., 11-14021 (E.D. Mich.; Feb. 3, 2012) Steele bought a new phone at RadioShack, after which a RadioShack employee transferred the data from Steele’s old phone to his new one. Steele also left…
Courts Continue to Grapple with Discovery Disputes Around Social Networking Evidence
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Tompkins v. Detroit Metro Airport, 10-10413 (E.D. Mich.; Jan. 18, 2012) This is a slip and fall case where the plaintiff alleges that injuries she suffered at Detroit’s Metro airport affected her quality of life and…
Facebook Gets Decisive Win Against Pseudo-Competitor Power Ventures — Facebook v. Power Ventures
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani, with comments from Eric] Facebook, Inc. v. Power Ventures, Inc., et al., C 08-05780 JW (N.D. Cal.; Feb. 16, 2012) The long-running dispute between Facebook and Power Ventures came to a close last week, with Judge…
Another Data Loss Case Tossed on Article III Grounds–Whitaker v. Health Net
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Whitaker v. Health Net of California, Inc., Civ S-11-0910 KHM-DAD (E.D. Cal.; Jan. 19, 2012) This is another data breach class action. Plaintiffs tried to squeeze their claims through a narrow opening left by Ninth Circuit…
Posting Family Photos to Facebook With Snarky Comments Isn’t Harassment of Family Member — Olson v. LaBrie
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani with comments from Eric] Olson v. LaBrie, 2012 WL 426585 (Minn. App. Ct. Feb. 13, 2012) This case is what happens when a headline from The Onion comes to life. Aaron Olson sought a harassment restraining…
Top Internet Law Developments of 2011
By Eric Goldman As usual, I’m running late with my year-end recap. This post begins with my countdown of the top 5 Internet Law developments of 2011, then it lists other interesting developments and cases. It concludes with some of…
Comments on United States vs. Jones: What’s Old is New Again (Guest Blog Post)
By Ethan Ackerman with comments from Eric U.S. v. Jones No. 10–1259 (U.S. Supreme Court; Jan 23, 2012) In 2005 federal agents convinced a judge to issue a warrant so they could affix a cellular-based GPS tracker to the underside…
Third Circuit Says Data Breach Plaintiffs Lack Standing Absent Misuse of Data — Reilly v. Ceridian
[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Reilly v. Ceridian Corp, 11-1738 (3rd Cir. Dec. 12, 2011) Ceridian is a payroll processing firm. Reilly and Pluemacher were employees of a law firm that was a Ceridian customer. In December 2009, Ceridian suffered a…