Philip N. Yannella

Connect: Read more about Philip N. Yannella
Firm/Organization: Ballard Spahr LLP
Blogs: Consumer Finance Monitor, CyberAdviser, Health Care Reform Dashboard

Latest Articles

Last Friday we blogged on the Saks data breach class action, and in the process mentioned a trend among federal courts to reject fear of future identity theft claims in retail breach cases.  As we  explained, because retail breaches rarely involve theft of social security numbers, date of birth, healthcare information or other data that can be used to commit identity theft, courts have typically found that plaintiffs in such cases lack standing to…
For years, plaintiffs in data breach class actions have argued that the threshold for Article III standing is low – and increasingly courts are accepting that argument. The Saks data breach class action, pending in the Southern District of New York, is the latest example of a federal court finding that Article III standing exists even where the plaintiff’s asserted injuries are very minimal.…
  In April 2019, the California Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee rejected a proposal known commonly as the “Privacy for All Act” (AB-1760), which among other things would have provided a private right of action for all violations of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The rejection of AB-1760 was a blow to consumer privacy advocates. A similar measure, SB-561, would also have provided a private right of action for all privacy violations.…
Following the speedy enactment of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA or Act) in June 2018, business and consumer advocates alike have been pressuring California lawmakers to clarify the many ambiguities raised by the Act’s sweeping requirements. California lawmakers recently responded to these calls for greater clarity by proposing a slate of amendments to address some of the more controversial provisions of the CCPA, including the definition of “personal information”, requirements regarding information sharing, and…
Utah Governor Gary Herbert is expected to sign a new privacy law in the coming weeks that will make his state the first to protect private electronic data stored with third-party providers from government access without a warrant. Under the legislation passed unanimously by the Utah Legislature earlier this month, law enforcement agencies need a warrant to obtain information about an individual from wireless communications providers, email platforms, search engine providers, or social media companies.…
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On March 20, 2019, the Supreme Court refused to address the adequacy of a $8.5 million Google privacy class action settlement and instead remanded to a lower court to determine whether the class action plaintiffs had standing to assert a claim under the Stored Communications Act (“SCA”).  The Court’s holding serves as a reminder that despite the recent trend in finding standing for privacy violations, it can still be an open issue. Frank v. Gaos…