On June 27, 2025, the District Court for the Middle District of Florida, on remand from the Eleventh Circuit, reversed course when it denied class certification to a group of plaintiffs who were purportedly impacted by a spring 2018 cyberattack on Brinker International, Inc., the parent company of the popular chain restaurant, Chili’s. The recent […]
Suite Victory: Marriott Finally Checks Out of Court
On June 3, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a pivotal ruling in longstanding litigation against Marriott International, Inc., arising out of a 2018 data breach involving its Starwood Preferred Guest Program. In reversing the lower court’s grant of class certification, the Fourth Circuit determined that the customers’ contractual agreements […]
Georgia Supreme Court Clarifies There Is No Duty to Safeguard Personal Information from a Data Breach
The Georgia Supreme Court recently issued a decision holding that there is no duty to safeguard personal information from a data breach under Georgia law. Georgia Department of Labor v. McConnell involved the accidental disclosure of a spreadsheet that contained the name, social security number, home telephone number, email address, and age of thousands of […]
The Supreme Court Signals Further Review of Article III Standing
The Supreme Court recently issued an opinion concerning the requirements for Article III standing for statutory violations under the Stored Communications Act (SCA). In Frank v. Gaos, the Supreme Court in a per curiam decision remanded a class action settlement because there remained a standing issue in light of Spokeo v. Robins. While the Supreme […]
FTC Publishes Report Regarding Privacy Workshop
In October 2018, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published a report that summarized discussions at a December 2017 workshop discussing the potential impact to consumers of privacy and security incidents. The purpose of the workshop was to explore whether government intervention in this arena is warranted under the enforcement authority granted to the FTC under […]