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 […]
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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 […]
Georgia Court of Appeals Reaffirms Lack of Duty to Safeguard Personal Information
The Georgia Court of Appeals recently reaffirmed its prior conclusion that there is no duty to safeguard personal information under Georgia law. In McConnell v. Ga. Dep’t of Labor, — S.E.2d —-, 2018 WL 2173252 (Ga. App. May 11, 2018), the Court of Appeals addressed whether a plaintiff whose social security number and other personal […]