Courts Are Giving "Standing" Teeth After Spokeo -

Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Spokeo, Inc., v. Robins, courts have further clarified and interpreted the Spokeo decision. Spokeo held that (i) in order to establish Article III standing, a plaintiff must allege an injury-in-fact that is both "concrete and particularized," and (ii) the plaintiff cannot "automatically satisf[y] the injury-in-fact requirement whenever a statute grants a person a statutory right and purports to authorize that person to sue to vindicate that right." Courts have begun to give this ruling some force by dismissing claims where plaintiffs fail to show any concrete injury despite alleging a technical statutory violation. However, it appears courts are still hesitant to dismiss claims as they have not granted dismissals where there is a risk of real harm, making clear that a tangible injury is not necessary to have standing.

This month, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Eighth and Sixth Circuits became the first circuit courts to analyze Article III standing after the Supreme Court's decision in Spokeo. Examination of these recent rulings shed light on the ways in which Article III standing may provide a defense in consumer and privacy cases.