Far too often, companies use or disclose the personal information you've given them (or that they've taken from you) to track where you are, what you do, what your interests are, and who you associate with – all without your consent. Then they sell that information on the open market – also without your consent – to aggressive advertisers and marketing companies, data brokers and aggregators, law enforcement, and anyone else willing to pay for it.
When companies systematically misuse their customers’ personal data – whether it’s sensitive financial information, personal reading information, or immutable biometric data, to name a few examples – Hedin Hall proudly stands on the side of the consumers.
Our firm has successfully litigated and resolved class actions against publication companies for violating the Michigan Personal Preservation of Privacy Act (“PPPA”) by disclosing their customers’ personal information to data brokers, data miners, aggressive marketing and advertising companies, among many other third parties.
We are actively litigating class actions against companies for harvesting their consumers’ immutable biometric data (including scans of facial geometry and fingerprints), without their consent, in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”). Our attorneys have achieved several victories on important issues of first impression under the Illinois BIPA, paving the way for the enforcement of consumers’ rights in this area of law.
And most recently, in March 2020, we recovered $14 million for consumers (on a non-reversionary basis) in connection with a proposed settlement of a class action against a payment-processing company for allegedly disclosing its customers’ credit and debit card account numbers on printed transaction receipts in violation of the federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act ("FACTA").
Notable examples of our attorneys’ work in these areas of law include:
Donahue v. Everi Payments, Inc., et al., No. 2018-CH-15419 (Cook Cnty., Ill. Cir. Ct.) (class counsel in action alleging disclosure of consumers’ credit and debit card information on printed transaction receipts in violation of FACTA, resulted in $14 million non-reversionary settlement for class of consumers)
Kokoszki v. Playboy Enterpises, Inc., No. 19-cv-10302-BAF (E.D. Mich.) (class counsel in action alleging sale of Playboy subscribers’ personal information in violation of the Michigan PPPA, resulted in $3.8 million non-reversionary settlement for class of consumers)
Edwards v. Hearst Communications Inc.., No. 15-cv-9279-AT (S.D.N.Y.) (co-plaintiffs’ counsel in class action alleging the disclosure of Hearst magazine subscribers’ personal information in violation of the Michigan PPPA, resulting in $50 million non-reversionary settlement for class of consumers)
Lin v. Crain Communications Inc., No. 19-cv-11889-VAR (E.D. Mich.) (represent plaintiff and proposed nationwide class in action against Crain for disclosing its subscribers’ personal information in violation of the Michigan PPPA, achieved a key victory on issue of first impression concerning the statute’s enforceability by non-Michigan resident plaintiffs against a Michigan-based defendant)
Horton v. Dow Jones & Company, Inc.., No. 1:18-cv-04027-LGS (S.D.N.Y.) (represented plaintiff and proposed class in action against Dow Jones for selling Wall Street Journal subscribers’ personal information in violation of the Michigan PPPA, successfully defeated defendant’s motion to compel arbitration)
Huguelet v. Maxim Inc., No. 19-cv-4452-ALC (S.D.N.Y.) (represent plaintiff and proposed class in action against Maxim for disclosing Maxim magazine subscribers’ personal information in violation of the Michigan PPPA, recently resulted in proposed class-wide settlement);
Rivera, et al. v. Google, Inc., No. 16-cv-2714 (N.D. Ill.) (Hedin Hall attorney served as lead plaintiffs’ counsel in class action alleging Google’s nonconsensual collection of consumers’ scans of face geometry in violation of the Illinois BIPA, achieved multiple key victories on issues of first impression pertaining to the application of the statute)
Calderon et al v. Clearview AI, Inc., No. 1:20-cv-01296-CM (S.D.N.Y.) (represent plaintiff and proposed class in action alleging Clearview AI’s nonconsensual collection and transmission of consumers’ scans of face geometry in violation of the Illinois BIPA)