Civil Procedure › Privacy › Commercial Law & Contracts

Court Dismisses California AG’s First Suit Against Mobile Application Provider Under Online Privacy Protection Act

On May 9, the Superior Court of California dismissed California Attorney General Kamala Harris’ first suit against a company for allegedly failing to comply with the state’s Online Privacy Protection Act. California v. Delta...more

Not So Secret - When Under Seal Isn't Enough

In a recent decision, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York found the standard for sealing under § 107 of the Bankruptcy Code was not met and declined to seal a settlement agreement, despite...more

Laying Foundation for Meta Data and Websites

Lawsuits brought in the U.S. that result in judgments against Chinese companies often have problems with enforceability, unless the Chinese company has assets in the US or assets in another country that enforces US judgments....more

BLG Monthly Update for May 2013

Privacy, data breaches, texting, a bit of golf law and more in the BLG Monthly Update for May 2013...more

Washington Supreme Court Limits Public Access to Hospital Privileging, Peer Review Documents

Public hospital districts may not disclose certain records created during closed-door meetings about hospital privileging decisions, the Washington Supreme Court recently held in Cornu-Labat v. Hospital Dist. No. 2 Grant...more

Homework For The Privacy Commissioner Of Canada: Guidelines To Follow

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics tabled its Report, entitled “Privacy and Social Media in the Age of Big Data” on April 23, 2013....more

Retailers Should Use Caution In Collecting Zip Codes From Consumers

In a recent decision, Tyler v. Michaels Stores, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ("SJC") has increased the risk of class action lawsuits under M.G.L. c. 93A against retailers who collect consumers' ZIP codes during...more

Check the White Pages for Personal Information: Massachusetts Decision Highlights the Expansion of Consumer Privacy Litigation

Last week, in Tyler v. Michaels Stores, Inc., the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts responded to certified questions presented by the district court and interpreted a Massachusetts statute to reflect the state’s...more

Massachusetts Follows California in Finding Retailers Vulnerable to Suit for Collecting Zip Codes in Credit Card Transactions

Earlier this month, the Massachusetts Supreme Court issued an opinion holding that zip codes “may well qualify” as personally identifiable information under the Massachusetts law controlling the treatment of PII in credit...more

Mortgage Banking Update - March 21, 2013

In This Issue: - Uniform State Test Implementation Nearing - Mortgage Servicer's Alleged Failure To Be Licensed Subjects Company to Claims under State and Federal Debt Collection Statutes - Sixth Circuit...more

LinkedIn Data Breach Lawsuit Dismissed For Lack Of Standing

A federal judge in the Northern District of California recently added to the growing list of cases rejecting attempts to recover damages resulting from data breaches. In In re LinkedIn User Privacy Litigation, Case no....more

It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again: Massachusetts Allows Actions for Violation of Privacy Rights Based on Collection of ZIP Codes

Massachusetts appears to have followed California’s lead in opening a litigation floodgate over ZIP code collection at the point of sale. In 2011, the California Supreme Court held in Pineda v. Williams-Sonoma Stores, Inc.,...more

BLG Monthly Update March 2013

Fake judgments, fashion law, lots on contracts and privilege in the BLG Monthly Update for March 2013!...more

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rules That Retailers May Be Sued for Wrongful Use of Customer Zip Codes Recorded During...

“May I have your zip code?” is an all-too-familiar question that may be going the way of the dinosaur in Massachusetts. Many retailers commonly ask customers for their zip codes when processing credit card transactions at,...more

Breach of Privacy in the Cloud (U.S.)

In 2012, LinkedIn made headlines as a result of a significant data breach. The passwords and email addresses of over 6 million LinkedIn users were hacked and posted online. Encryption and security was improved by LinkedIn in...more

2013 US Labor and Employment Horizon

Overview - As a resource to our clients, the Labor, Employment and Workplace Safety team at K&L Gates has summarized major legislative changes and key cases affecting employers in 2013 in certain key states in which we...more

You Can’t Make a Square Peg Fit in a Round Hole: California Supreme Court Holds Online Purchases of Electronically Downloadable...

Handing a victory to online retailers, on February 4, 2013, the California Supreme Court held in a split decision that online transactions involving electronically downloadable products fall outside the scope of the...more

Major Win for eCommerce Businesses: California Supreme Court Rules On-Line Merchants May Collect Personal Information to Verify...

The California Supreme Court held today in Apple v. Superior Ct. that on-line merchants may require customers to provide personally identifying information (such as home address and phone number) to purchase electronically...more

R (on the application of Prudential plc and another) v Special Commissioner of Income Tax

Privilege – Lawyers Only

The Supreme Court has given judgment in a long awaited case on whether or not legal advice given by accountants is privileged. The case is R (on the application of Prudential plc and another) (Appellants) v Special...more

The California Supreme Court Loosens Restrictions On Internet Retailers

Attempting to strike a balance between the competing concerns of privacy and fraud protection, the California Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act does not apply to online retailers that collect...more

Are You Recording Your Customers’ Calls? Better Listen

Federal law and most states only require one party to a phone call to consent to recording it, which means the person recording the call doesn’t need anyone else’s permission; however, a minority of states, including...more

California District Court Holds Song-Beverly Credit Card Act Does Not Prohibit Post-Transaction Collection Of Zip Codes, Denies...

On January 28, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied a motion for class certification filed by a group of plaintiffs seeking to challenge, on behalf of similarly situated individuals, a...more

Faulkner v. ADT and the Landscape for CIPA Class Actions

Last week the Ninth Circuit ruled on the issue of whether a business can be held liable under the California Invasion of Privacy Act, Cal. Penal Code § 632 (“CIPA”) for monitoring or recording its own customer service...more

California Supreme Court To Rule On Legality Of Collecting Customer Information During Online Credit Card Purchases

Companies that accept online credit card payments should be keeping an ear very close to the ground for the California Supreme Court’s decision in Apple v. Superior Court (Krescent), expected within the next few weeks. ...more

How to Ensure That Your Company’s Data Doesn’t Get Lost in the Clouds: Part II

Cloud computing has become an increasingly popular option for businesses to cheaply and efficiently manage their data systems. Businesses interested in utilizing these services should be cautious, however, when entering into...more