Privacy and data breach class action litigation, as well as artificial intelligence issues, are among the key issues that keep businesses and corporate counsel up at night. There was over $1 billion procured in settlements and jury verdicts over the last year for these types of “bet-the-company” cases. At the ALM Law.com Legalweek 2024 conference in New York City, Duane Morris partner Alex W. Karasik was a panelist at the session “Trends in US Data Privacy Laws and Enforcement.” The conference, which had over 6,000 attendees, produced excellent dialogues on how cutting-edge technologies can potentially lead to class action litigation.
Thoughts on AI from the EEOC
USA-based companies are embracing use of artificial intelligence. At the 32nd Annual Employment Employment Practices Liability Insurance Conference in Chicago, Jerry Maatman of the Duane Morris Class Action Defense Group served as one of the co-hosts of the Conference, which addressed a broad range of topics on employment-related litigation and risk transfer strategies. Commissioner Keith Sonderling of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission gave the keynote address at the Conference on the Legal Implications of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) in the Workplace. Commission Sonderling shred his thoughts on the what, how, and why corporations should be “looking around the corner” to ready themselves for new class action theories and possible EEOC litigation over the use of AI.
30-Year-Old Video Tape Statute Fueling New Class Action Lawsuits
Perhaps you are old enough to recall when consumers used to have to go to video stores like Blockbuster Video to rent a movie. And perhaps you recall the excitement of scoring a copy of the always limited “new release.” It was during these “archaic” times that Congress passed the federal Video Privacy Protection Act in response to a newspaper publishing Robert Bork’s video rental history during his U.S. Supreme Court nomination.
Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.
Seller Beware: Recent Lawsuits Under N.J. Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act Target E-Commerce Businesses
Online retailers across the United States have one more issue to consider as they prepare for the next sale: a growing number of lawsuits under the New Jersey Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act (TCCWNA) alleging that standard online terms of service agreements on websites violate the New Jersey bar on deceptive notices.
The TCCWNA—N.J.S.A. 56:12-14 et. seq.—was enacted in 1981 to prohibit businesses from using provisions that deceived consumers about their legal rights. The statute provides a private right of action that allows both actual customers and prospective buyers to bring suit against businesses. Businesses that violate the TCCWNA are liable to aggrieved consumers for $100, actual damages, or both, as well as reasonable attorneys’ fees and court costs.
To read the full text of the Alert, please visit www.duanemorris.com.