The San Francisco Class Action Defense Team of Fletcher Alford, Kevin Liu, Jigar Desai, and Abe Barrera recently scored a big win in the ever-expanding “pixel” litigation. Businesses large and small are being sued in cases like this for allegedly collecting personal information from website users and transmitting it to Meta and other companies for commercial purposes.
In the matter of Timothee and all others similarly situated v. Meta Platforms et al, Judge Beeler of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the case at the pleading stage, finding that plaintiffs lacked standing and that they consented to the alleged collection of their personal information. Although Judge Beeler gave the plaintiffs an opportunity to amend, it is unclear how the fundamental defects found by the court could be cured by amendment. The GRSM team is optimistic that this ruling spells the beginning of the end of the case.
This closely watched ruling represents an important development in pixel litigation and provides a strong framework for companies defending against similar claims. The GRSM team is hopeful that the court’s reasoning signals a favorable trajectory for the defense as the case proceeds.
The decision has drawn attention across the legal press, including coverage by Law360 and Bloomberg Law. Read the article in Law360, “Meta, Food Banks Beat Pixel Privacy Suit For Now,” and the article in Bloomberg Law, “Meta Defeats Data Privacy Class Lawsuit Over Food Bank Sites.” Subscription may be required.