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On November 25, a California federal court dismissed without prejudice a proposed class action against Toyota Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co., and General Motors LLC, claiming the carmakers failed to ensure the electronic security of their vehicles by equipping them with computer technology that is susceptible to being hacked by third parties. Cahen, et al. v. Toyota Motor Corp., et al., No. 15-cv-01104-WHO, 2015 WL 7566806 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 25, 2015).

The putative class of drivers sued the three automakers in March, claiming the companies knew for years that hackers could remotely control cars with drivers behind the wheel but did nothing to protect consumers. Notably, none of the plaintiffs alleged that such hacking had actually occurred or that they in particular were in danger of having their cars hijacked remotely.
Continue Reading Big Win for Automakers After Federal Judge Dismisses Car Hacking Lawsuit

A panel of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (Wood, C.J., Kanne, J. and Tinder, J.) has reversed the dismissal of a data security breach class action lawsuit against luxury department store Neiman Marcus.

This lawsuit stemmed from a hacking incident in which “350,000 cards were potentially exposed; and 9,200 of those 350,000 cards were known to have been used fraudulently.” The company provided notices to consumers and a year of free credit monitoring. A number of class action lawsuits were brought by consumers, consolidated into the lawsuit Hilary Remijas v. Neiman Marcus Group, LLC. “The plaintiffs point to several kinds of injury they have suffered: 1) lost time and money resolving the fraudulent charges, 2) lost time and money protecting themselves against future identity theft, 3) the financial loss of buying items at Neiman Marcus that they would not have purchased had they known of the store’s careless approach to cybersecurity, and 4) lost control over the value of their personal information.”

The trial court dismissed the case for lack of Article III standing under Rule 12(b)(1) and declined to rule on defendant’s Rule 12(b)(6) argument. The Seventh Circuit found that at least some of plaintiffs’ alleged injuries passed Constitutional muster, even under the standards set forth in cases like Clapper v. Amnesty International USA.
Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Revives Data Security Breach Class Action Against Neiman Marcus: Finds Article III Standing In Class Expenses “Resolving Fraudulent Charges and Protecting…Against Future Identity Theft.”

A New Jersey federal court is allowing the FTC’s case against Wyndham Worldwide Corporation to go forward, denying Wyndham’s Motion to Dismiss on both the unfairness and deception counts.  In this closely watched case, the court emphasized that in denying Wyndham’s request for dismissal, it was not providing the FTC with a “blank check to…

This post was also written by Frederick Lah.

Earlier this week, a data breach class action brought against health insurance provider AvMed, Inc. came one step closer to resolution when plaintiffs filed their unopposed motion for preliminary approval of the class action settlement. The parties filed a joint notice of settlement back in September,…