Los Angeles Partner Reid Dammann and San Francisco Associate Kati Pimentel Vargas successfully secured a favorable ruling on behalf of the firm’s e-commerce website client on a motion to strike in a California invasion of privacy case under California Penal Code Section 638.51.
The case involved alleged privacy violations through the use of a “trap and trace” device, purportedly capturing visitor information via tracking software on a social media platform. The plaintiff’s claims included requests for punitive damages and attorney’s fees. The defendant argued that the general allegations of data collection did not demonstrate the despicable conduct required for punitive damages nor meet the criteria for awarding attorney’s fees under Code of Civil Procedure Section 1021.5.
The California superior court granted the defendant’s motion to strike the plaintiff’s claims for punitive damages and attorney’s fees with leave to amend, aligning with the defendant’s argument that the allegations failed to meet the necessary standards for such claims.
This outcome reflects the strength of the Cyber, Privacy & Data Security practice, which leverages the experience of a national team skilled in resolving complex privacy and data security issues across industries, defends against class actions and cyberattack-related litigation, and partners with the Privacy & Data Protection team to develop case-specific strategies that protect clients from unfounded claims nationwide.