Four complaints filed Friday allege plaintiffs’ car insurance rates increased as a result of General Motor’s OnStar connected car technology sharing information with LexisNexis, which sold GM customers’ driving behavior data to car insurance companies without their knowledge or consent. Two also named Verisk Analytics as a defendant that buys GM’s data.
Three illustrators and a photographer sued Google Friday, alleging its Imagen AI text-to-image diffusion model used a dataset for training that contains their copyrighted works, said the Friday class action (docket 3:24-cv-02531) in U.S. District Court for Northern California in San Francisco.
To market its business, Select Home Warranty uses robocalls without first obtaining the required express written consent, “thereby contributing to the barrage of robocalls consumers face,” alleged Derouhe Shegian’s Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action Thursday (docket 2:24-cv-05628) in U.S. District Court for New Jersey in Newark. Shegian was one such target of Select’s robocalls when it phoned her with a prerecorded voice to pitch home warranty insurance packages that it said were selling at historic lows for neighborhoods in her area, said her complaint. At no point did the plaintiff provide the company with her express written consent to be contacted using prerecorded messages, it said. The defendant’s unsolicited prerecorded calls caused Shegian and the class members “actual harm,” including invasion of privacy, intrusion upon seclusion, and intrusion “into the peace and quiet in a realm that is private and personal,” it said.
Walmart’s “unlawful collection,” storage and use of its employees’ biometric data “exposes them to serious and irreversible privacy risks,” alleged Joann Davis’ privacy class action Thursday (docket 1:24-cv-03373) in U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois in Chicago. If Walmart’s database containing its employees’ fingerprint scans is hacked, breached or otherwise exposed, employees “have no means by which to prevent identity theft, unauthorized tracking or other unlawful or improper use of this highly personal and private information,” said the complaint. As an employee of the Silvis, Illinois, Walmart Davis was required when clocking into and out of her daily shift, including any lunch breaks, to have her fingerprint scanned, said her complaint. Illinois enacted the Biometric Information Protection Act “to protect residents' privacy interests in their biometric data,” it said. Courts “analogize an individual's privacy interest in their unique biometric data to their interest in protecting their private domain from invasion, such as from trespass,” it said. Walmart “has collected and stored the fingerprint of each employee who was required to use the fingerprint scanning technology as part of Walmart’s timeclock procedure,” said the complaint. Each fingerprint scan the retailer extracts “is unique to a particular individual in the same way that facial geometry or voiceprint uniquely identifies a particular individual,” it said. The suit seeks a declaration that Walmart has violated the BIPA, plus statutory damages of $5,000 for those “intentional and reckless” violations.
Quantum Metric’s (QM) “wiretapping” of CVS website visitors' electronic communications violates California and Pennsylvania privacy statutes, a class action against the data firm (docket 1:24-cv-01154) alleged Thursday in U.S. District Court for Colorado in Denver.
U.S. Magistrate Judge David Ayo for Western Louisiana in Lafayette granted the joint stipulated motion of plaintiff homeowners Gary Blum and Lucia Billiot and AT&T, Lumen and Verizon to let the defendants conduct routine maintenance on the telecom cables that are at issue in their litigation (see 2404220007), including lead-covered cables, said Ayo’s signed order Wednesday (docket 6:23-cv-01748). The actions that the carriers take in the course of conducting such routine maintenance “shall proceed in the ordinary course without any new or additional documentation or other measures required” of the defendants, said the order. The complaint is believed to be one of the first class actions brought by individual homeowners against the telecom industry on grounds that the industry’s legacy lead-laden cables reduced their property values (see [Ref:2312140001).
NuVision Auto Glass, a windshield replacement and repair company, promotes its services by engaging in "aggressive" sales calls and text messages to consumers with no regard for their rights under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, even after customers ask NuVision to stop texting them, alleged plaintiff Justin Therrien’s class action Wednesday (docket 2:24-cv-00934) in U.S. District Court for Arizona in Phoenix. NuVision began sending Therrien multiple text messages in November, urging him to book a windshield inspection appointment, said the complaint. The Marciopa County, Arizona, responded to one of the messages Nov. 10 with an expletive, demanding that the company stop contacting him, it said. Despite Therrien’s “unequivocal opt-out request,” NuVision continued to “bombard” him with more unwanted telemarketing text messages, it said. The plaintiff ultimately sent NuVision four opt-out requests, yet the company ignored them, it said. Therrien’s experience strongly suggests that the defendant uses multiple phone numbers to send marketing text messages to consumers, and fails to ensure that opt-out requests are honored, it said. At no point in time did Therrien give NuVision his express written consent to be contacted, said the complaint. To the extent that the company believed it ever had any consent to contact Therrien for marketing purposes, “that extent was expressly revoked” starting Nov. 10 when he responded to a NuVision text message with his opt-out expletive, it said. Even though the plaintiff used “explicit language” in some of his opt-out requests, his requests “clearly expressed his desire to not receive further tests,” it said. The defendant’s conduct is further illegal because Therrien listed his cellphone number on the national do not call registry in 2015, and it has been listed there “at all times relevant to this action,” it said.
Parfit, an indoor golf simulation company, bombards consumers with unwanted telemarketing text messages and ignores their opt-out requests, alleged Christopher Berman in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action Wednesday (docket 0:24-cv-60685) in U.S. District Court for Southern Florida in Fort Lauderdale. The Broward County, Florida, resident also alleges violations of the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act. He began receiving Parfit’s incessant text messages in December, and on Jan. 9, he responded with the word, “Stop,” in an attempt to opt out of any further text message communications with the company, said the complaint. Though Parfit responded “within seconds” with an “unequivocal” opt-out confirmation, the text messages continued, it said.
FullStory’s motion to dismiss Jane Doe’s third amended complaint (TAC) “turns on a false narrative created by selectively ignoring important facts alleged,” said Doe’s opposition (docket 3:23-cv-00059) to the data analytics firm’s motion to dismiss the TAC Wednesday in U.S. District Court for Northern California in San Francisco.
Apple and Roblox acted in concert to “distribute, market, supply,” and sell the Roblox online game platform via its App Store and via in-game downloadable content and in-game purchases to boost their revenues at the expense of consumers, alleged a video game addiction class action (docket 6:24-cv-00762) Wednesday in U.S. District Court for Middle Florida in Orlando.