Judge Grants Stay in Augusta National VPPA Case Pending Ruling in NBA Suit

U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rearden for Southern New York in Manhattan granted defendant Augusta National’s stay of proceedings request (see 2406070050) in a Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) lawsuit, said her Tuesday order (docket 1:24-cv-03058). In the June 6 letter motion, Augusta National’s counsel, David Venderbush of Alston & Bird, requested the stay of the suit by Adam Labernik and Shane Doyle, pending the 2nd U.S. Circuit Appeals Court's decision in Salazar v. National Basketball Association. Labernik and Doyle don’t oppose the stay. The plaintiffs allege that Augusta National, owner of the Masters golf tournament, doesn’t disclose on its website or in its online newsletter that the Meta Pixel tracking tool that the defendant installed will capture subscribers’ personally identifying information and then share that PII with Meta. In the Salazar appeal, the plaintiff-appellants argue that the district court erred in dismissing their claims against the NBA on grounds that the goods and services as defined in the VPPA don’t apply to online newsletters. The Southern District of New York has previously stayed a similar VPPA case pending the outcome of Salazar, said Venderbush’s letter motion: “It would be in the interest of the parties, the Court, and the public to do the same here.” Both parties will benefit from a decision in Salazar, “clarifying the scope of the VPPA and any new legal standards before beginning to brief a dispositive motion in this matter based on uncertain law,” said the letter motion. Oral argument in Salazar was held April 2.