Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog
The war for data rages on as companies continue to mine their customers’ data and their customers continue to sue them for it.
The latest data-related lawsuit was filed last month against Casper, a direct-to-consumer startup that makes and delivers mattresses, on behalf of visitors to its website. According to the class action lawsuit, Casper used a software company called NaviStone (which is also listed as a defendant in the lawsuit) to collect personal information from visitors to the Casper website, including the visitor’s name, address, IP address, and their online shopping habits, including keystrokes and mouse clicks.
The lawsuit alleges NaviStone’s code (which Casper uses on its website) begins transmitting information about the individual as soon as they load the Casper website onto their browser, without the individual’s knowledge or consent. That meant information that visitors put into forms on Casper’s website went directly to the company, regardless of whether the person ever finished filling out the form or hit the “Submit” button.
The lawsuit alleges the violation amounts to wiretapping and is suing both companies under the federal Wiretap Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.
Both companies have responded dismissively to the lawsuit. NaviStone didn’t even realize it was being sued until it was contacted by a reporter, at which point it released a statement saying they are hopeful for a “conversation” in which the company can clear up any “misunderstandings” the plaintiff may have regarding the kinds of services NaviStone offers to its clients. While the company advertises on its website that it allows clients to reach website visitors who were previously unidentifiable, it also insists that it strictly adheres to all privacy laws.
In its response to the lawsuit, Casper claimed it was nothing more than an attempt to cash in on the success of a fast-growing startup.
Indeed, Casper, which is based in New York, famously raised $55 million a couple years ago from such celebrity investors as Leonardo DiCaprio and Adam Levine. In 2016, the company made $220 million, proving it had been a sound investment for movie stars and musicians alike.
But the recent class action consumer lawsuit might change all that, depending on the outcome and how consumers react.
This is also not the first time NaviStone has gotten into trouble. Earlier this year, Gizmodo published a story about more than one hundred companies that were using the companies code. After the publication of that article, several of the big-name companies that had been using NaviStone’s code stopped using it. Whether Casper will choose to follow as a result of the lawsuit remains to be seen.
But this isn’t even the first major lawsuit the new mattress company has had to face. Just two months earlier, Casper was sued by Serta for allegedly infringing on Serta’s patent for its Wave model.
The current consumer lawsuit was filed by another New Yorker, Brady Cohen, who said he visited the Casper website several times within a six-month period while he was in the market for a new mattress.
Our Oak Brook, Illinois consumer rights private law firm handles individual and class action gift card, data breach, privacy rights, deceptive advertising, predatory lending, unfair debt collection, lemon law, and other consumer fraud cases that government agencies and public interest law firms such as the Illinois Attorney General may not pursue. Class action lawsuits our law firm has been involved in or spear-headed have led to substantial awards totaling over a million dollars to organizations including the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the National Consumer Law Center, and local law school consumer programs. The Chicago consumer lawyers at Lubin Austermuehle are proud of our achievements in assisting national and local consumer rights organizations to obtain the funds needed to ensure that consumers are protected and informed of their rights. By standing up to consumer fraud and consumer rip-offs, and in the right case filing consumer protection lawsuits and class-actions you too can help ensure that other consumers’ rights are protected from consumer rip-offs and unscrupulous or dishonest practices.
Our River Forest and Oak Park consumer attorneys provide assistance in data breach, privacy violation, fair debt collection, consumer fraud and consumer rights cases including in Illinois and throughout the country. You can click here to see a description of the some of the many individual and class-action consumer cases our Chicago consumer lawyers have handled. A video of our lawsuit which helped ensure more fan friendly security at Wrigley Field can be found here. You can contact one of our Palatine and Glenellyn consumer protection, gift card and data breach attorneys who can assist in consumer fraud, consumer rip-off, lemon law, unfair debt collection, predatory lending, wage claims, unpaid overtime and other consumer, or consumer class action cases by filling out the contact form at the side of this blog or by clicking here. You can also call our toll-free number at 630-333-0333.