Privacy

In a landmark resolution within the Northern District of California, Zoom Video Communications, Inc. agreed to a $150,000,000 settlement to resolve a securities class action lawsuit led by investor Michael Drieu. The legal battle began after Zoom’s stock price reached record highs during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, fueled by corporate assurances of "end-to-end encryption" and robust privacy protocols. However, the plaintiff alleged that these claims were deceptive, revealing that Zoom’s servers maintained access to decryption keys and that user data was shared with third parties like Facebook without proper disclosure. Following a series of stock price drops and institutional bans on the software, investors sued for financial losses. While Zoom denied any intentional wrongdoing and successfully dismissed portions of the complaint, the tech giant ultimately opted for a massive payout to end the litigation, marking one of the most significant pandemic-era settlements in the tech sector.

Plaintiff Carli Rodriguez filed this class action lawsuit following a cyberattack on City of Hope's systems between September 19, 2023, and October 12, 2023. The complaint alleged that the organization failed to secure the Personal Health Information (PHI) and Personally Identifiable Information (PII) of approximately 800,000 individuals, including social security numbers and medical history. Rodriguez further claimed that City of Hope was negligent by waiting until April 2024—nearly six months after discovering the breach—to notify affected victims. The case, which involved claims of negligence, breach of implied contract, and privacy violations, was resolved with a settlement of $8,500,000.

On October 20, 2019, Los Angeles police discovered Elizabeth Baggett deceased in her home. Plaintiffs alleged Officer David Rojas molested her remains, recorded bodycam video, and shared it, causing severe emotional distress. They sued Rojas and the City of Los Angeles for privacy invasion, mishandling of remains, and related claims. Both defendants denied liability and raised multiple defenses. The case concluded with a conditional $250,000 settlement, approved by the Court on December 12, 2024.

Plaintiffs accused Google of misusing Android users’ cellular data allowances through undisclosed “passive” transfers. They claimed the practice caused financial harm and benefited Google’s advertising business. Google denied all allegations and raised multiple affirmative defenses. On July 1, 2025, the court awarded $314,626,932 in damages to the plaintiffs, holding Google liable for the full amount.

In a workplace harassment and privacy invasion lawsuit, Jane Doe and John Doe sued Eye for Optical, Inc. and owner Kenneth Chang after discovering a hidden camera in an employee restroom. The jury found the conduct egregious and awarded Jane Doe $300,000 in punitive damages—$200,000 against Chang and $100,000 against the company—highlighting the seriousness of the misconduct and its emotional toll on the plaintiffs.

A Florida jury awarded $52.8 million to influencer Danielle McQueen after she sued fellow influencer Gregory Harris for secretly recording and selling a sex video without her consent. The jury found Harris acted with specific intent to harm and awarded both compensatory and punitive damages, concluding his conduct was driven by financial gain and a reckless disregard for McQueen’s rights.

In a landmark decision, a California jury found NSO Group liable for hacking roughly 1,400 mobile phones belonging to attorneys, activists, and journalists. The verdict confirms that NSO Group violated federal and state computer intrusion laws, making it a pivotal case for digital privacy and cybersecurity enforcement.

On December 3, 2021, Plaintiff Maria Orellana filed the first data breach lawsuit against Planned Parenthood Los Angeles (“PPLA”) and Does 1 through 100 (“Doe Defendants”), followed by six related complaints. The complaints alleged violations of privacy due to PPLA's negligence and failure to secure their personal data. A consolidated class complaint was filed on May 25, 2022, representing approximately 409,437 individuals who received data breach notice