Locke Lord's Tara Trifon Quoted on Predictions for Cybersecurity Class Actions After TransUnion v. Ramirez

Hartford Partner Tara Trifon, a member of Locke Lord’s Privacy and Cybersecurity Practice Group, was quoted by Cybersecurity Law Report on the potential implications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in TransUnion v. Ramirez, including the likelihood of more privacy and cybersecurity class actions filed in state courts, and the assertion of more common law claims. As such, while the case has helpful arguments for defendants, companies may not save money or time after breaches, Trifon noted.

Trifon also noted privacy plaintiffs will seize on the part of the decision where the Court specified examples of intangible injuries that could support standing, but defendants are sure to contest the propriety of allegations citing companies’ improper collection or retention of personal data. “We are going to see how lower courts interpret Ramirez for a while,” Trifon said.

Additionally, she noted Ramirez is not a data breach case and that the examples the justices used in the decision to support their conclusion, such as the risk of damage in an accident, may not apply in such cases. For instance, in addition to Ramirez, circuit courts may continue to consider the test for standing based on the risk of future identity theft set forth in McMorris v. Carlos Lopez & Assoc., Trifon observed.

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