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District Court (Cal.) says Plaintiffs are Entitled to Discovery on German Defendant’s Claim re Lack of Personal Jurisdiction. Under a Negligence Claim, the Sensitive Nature of Data Held By A Dating App Carried Plaintiffs over the Pleading Threshold for a Duty of Care and the Fact that the Breach Occurred was Sufficient to Plead the Element of Breach.

by Genevieve R. Walser-Jolly |

On January 28, 2021, Judge Alsup, in the Northern District of California, denied in part and granted in part Defendants' Motion to Dismiss.  Flores-Mendez et al v. Zoosk, Inc. et al. (N.D. CA; 3:20-cv-04929-WHA). Zoosk, a dating app, is a subsidiary of Spark.  Spark's principal place of business is in Berlin.  Spark filed a 12(b)(2) motion challenging the Court's personal… Read More

AB 335 – Proposed Amendment to the CCPA

by Genevieve R. Walser-Jolly |

On January 27, 2021, Assembly Member Boerner Horvath introduced AB 335 - California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018: vessel information. "Existing law, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, grants a consumer various rights with regard to personal information relating to that consumer that is held by a business, including the right to direct a business not to sell, as… Read More

District Court (Cal.) Says CCPA Data Breach Claims Still Subject to Art. III Standing Requirements Where Information Obtained Lacks the Degree of Sensitivity Required by the Ninth Circuit to Establish Injury in Fact

by Genevieve R. Walser-Jolly |

On January 12, 2021, Judge David O. Carter granted Marriott’s Motion to Dismiss and dismissed the case, including Plaintiffs’ CCPA claim based on lack of standing.  Rahman v. Marriott International, Inc., et al.  (C.D. CA; 8:20-cv-00654), here, “Plaintiff alleges that class members were victims of a cybersecurity breach at Marriott when two employees of a Marriott franchise in Russia accessed… Read More

District Court (Cal.) Allows Data Breach Class Action to Proceed

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Stasi v. Inmediata Health Grp. Corp., No. 19cv2353 JM (LL), 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 217097 (S.D. Cal. Nov. 19, 2020), Judge Miller allowed a data security breach class action to proceed.  The basis of the class action was as follows: According to Plaintiffs' FAC,1 Inmediata provides billing and health record software and service solutions to healthcare providers. (FAC ¶¶… Read More

Californians for Consumer Privacy Submits 900,000 Signatures to get the California Privacy Rights Act on November 2020 Ballot

by Scott J. Hyman |

In June 2018, Alastair MacTaggart and Rick Arney of Californians for Consumer Privacy managed to get the California Legislature to pass the most sweeping privacy legislation in the country - the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”). However, as we reported on September 27, 2019, it turns out that they were just getting started with CCPA.  On September 25,… Read More

California Attorney General Rebuffs Industry Attempts at CCPA Enforcement Delay Due to COVID-19 Disruptions

by Scott J. Hyman |

Forbes reported that it received an email from representatives of Attorney General Xavier Becerra refusing an industry group request to delay enforcement of the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”) due to the ongoing disruptions caused by the response to 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) (“COVID-19”).  With California on lockdown, and most businesses forced to close or have employees work… Read More

Severson & Werson Attorneys Publish a Litigator’s Look at What Constitutes a “Reasonable Security Procedure” Under the California Consumer Privacy Act

by Elizabeth C. Farrell |

The CCPA went live on January 1, 2020, creating a cause of action and potential liability of between $100 to $750 per person for a data breach deriving from a business' failure to maintain reasonable policies and procedures.  Unfortunately, the CCPA does not define the term "reasonable".  While compliance lawyers and consultants properly have been advising their clients to shore… Read More

California Attorney General Holds Public Comment Sessions on California Consumer Privacy Act Regulations

by Scott J. Hyman |

Beginning on Monday, December 2, 2019, the California Attorney General began holding a series of four public comment hearings to receive comments on the draft regulations issued by the Attorney General in October 2019 regarding the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”). Severson & Werson attorneys Joseph W. Guzzetta and Evelina Manukyan attended the San Francisco public comment hearing… Read More

The California Attorney General Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on CCPA Regulations

by Genevieve R. Walser-Jolly |

The CCPA enacted in 2018, creates new consumer rights relating to the access to, deletion of, and sharing of personal information that is collected by businesses. It also requires the California Attorney General to solicit broad public participation and adopt regulations to further the CCPA’s purposes. Today, the AG issued proposed regulations designed to establish procedures to facilitate consumers’ new… Read More

Here We Go Again – New California Ballot Initiative From the Authors of the CCPA Would Drastically Expand Privacy Protection and Enforcement

by Scott J. Hyman |

On Wednesday, Californians for Consumer Privacy, the official proponent of the ballot initiative that became the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), announced that it had filed a new voter-sponsored initiative with the California Secretary of State that will appear on the November 2020 ballot (if the requisite number of signatures can be gathered and certified).  The initiative, named the “California… Read More

Severson & Werson Publishes the Two Definitive Practice Guides on the CCPA and on Consumer Privacy in California

by Scott J. Hyman |

The Firm’s depth and expertise in consumer privacy has been recognized through the publication of two of the definitive practice guides on privacy in California and on the California Consumer Privacy Act. Joe Guzzetta in the Firm’s San Francisco Office was retained by The Rutter Group to publish its California Practice Guide on Privacy Law, which is an in depth… Read More

Severson & Werson Moderates Panel of Experts on the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

by Scott J. Hyman |

Severson's own Joseph Guzzetta will moderate a panel of experts for The Rutter Group on the California Consumer Privacy Act.  The panel will consist of Mr. Guzzetta of the Firm's San Francisco office, Payal Mehra, the Senior Director of Privacy of RingCentral; and Rick Arney, Boardmember of Californians for Consumer Privacy and co-Author of the California Consumer Privacy Act.  A… Read More

District Court (Cal.) Says California’s Data Breach Statute’s Element of “Failing to Implement Reasonable Security Procedures and Practices” Cannot Be Generally Pleaded

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Anderson v. Kimpton Hotel & Rest. Grp., LLC, No. 19-cv-01860-MMC, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133869, at *13-14 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 8, 2019), Judge Chesney dismissed a data breach claim under California's data breach statute, Civil Code 1798.81.5.  The facts were as follows: In their complaint, plaintiffs [*2]  allege "Kimpton uses an online reservation system that facilitates the booking of hotel… Read More

Severson & Werson Moderates Panel of Experts on the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

by Scott J. Hyman |

Severson's own Joseph Guzzetta will moderate a panel of experts for The Rutter Group on the California Consumer Privacy Act.  The panel will consist of Mr. Guzzetta of the Firm's San Francisco office, Payal Mehra, the Senior Director of Privacy of RingCentral; and Rick Arney, Boardmember of Californians for Consumer Privacy and co-Author of the California Consumer Privacy Act.  A… Read More

SB 561 to Amend the CCPA Dies in Committee

by Scott J. Hyman |

Tomorrow is the deadline for fiscal committees to report bills to the floor of the California legislative chambers. So, today,  the Senate Appropriations Committee held a special hearing on all bills previously placed in the suspense file.  For those following the CCPA, the focus was on SB 561 introduced by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D – Santa Barbara), and co-authored by… Read More

Privacy Bills Voted on in California Assembly and I Can’t Take the Suspense in the Senate (Hearing on SB 561 Set for Thursday)

by Scott J. Hyman |

Every article regarding any bill referred to the California Senate (or Assembly) Appropriations Committee suspense file begins with a pun about being in suspense, and so does ours.  At a hearing of the California Senate Appropriations Committee on April 29, 2019, Senate Bill 561, written by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D – Santa Barbara), which would add a private right of… Read More

The Week in Review – Numerous Privacy Bills (Including CCPA Amendments) Heard In California Legislative Committees During the Week Ending May 3

by Scott J. Hyman |

As the deadline for policy committees in the California Legislature to report non-fiscal bills out of their respective Committees looms, this week saw a number of privacy-related bills heard in the Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection. In addition, the appropriations committees are also facing deadlines in mid-May to hear hundreds of bills that would have a fiscal impact… Read More

Numerous Amendments To The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) Pass Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection

by Scott J. Hyman |

On April 23, 2019, the California Assembly’s Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection (the “Committee”) held a whirlwind, three-hour hearing on 40 pending bills, including numerous bills that relate to consumer privacy and amend the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (the “CCPA”). With a deadline of April 26 for the Committee to report fiscal bills and a deadline of… Read More

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