A New Jersey federal court judge dismissed consumer fraud claims Tuesday in an amended complaint (in Pacer) that alleges Samsung and Sony smart TVs spied on the private viewing habits of their owners. U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo let the case go forward on allegations that the TV makers may have captured more than just "static identifiers" such as IP addresses and ZIP codes, in possible violation of the Wiretap Act. Plaintiffs "have adequately alleged that their 'content' was intercepted," said the judge. On the fraud claim, New Jersey plaintiff Patricia Cauley claimed she wouldn't have purchased her Samsung smart TV -- or would have paid substantially less for it -- if she had known the company would collect her personal and viewing data. The jurist said Cauley failed to demonstrate that her loss was “quantifiable or measurable,” and the claim was dismissed. The findings were similar for Florida resident Thomas White, who filed a consumer fraud claim under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act over one Sony and two Samsung smart TVs. White alleged the smart TVs he bought had a tracking feature that “impaired the value of the televisions.” Plaintiffs must be able to calculate or quantify an ascertainable loss but did not do so, the judge wrote.
A New Jersey federal court judge dismissed consumer fraud claims Tuesday in an amended complaint (in Pacer) that alleges Samsung and Sony smart TVs spied on the private viewing habits of their owners. U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo let the case go forward on allegations that the TV makers may have captured more than just "static identifiers" such as IP addresses and ZIP codes, in possible violation of the Wiretap Act. Plaintiffs "have adequately alleged that their 'content' was intercepted," said the judge. On the fraud claim, New Jersey plaintiff Patricia Cauley claimed she wouldn't have purchased her Samsung smart TV -- or would have paid substantially less for it -- if she had known the company would collect her personal and viewing data. The jurist said Cauley failed to demonstrate that her loss was “quantifiable or measurable,” and the claim was dismissed. The findings were similar for Florida resident Thomas White, who filed a consumer fraud claim under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act over one Sony and two Samsung smart TVs. White alleged the smart TVs he bought had a tracking feature that “impaired the value of the televisions.” Plaintiffs must be able to calculate or quantify an ascertainable loss but did not do so, the judge wrote.
ASPEN, Colo. -- DOJ likes its chances of prevailing with its structural remedies on T-Mobile's buy of Sprint and a divestiture to Dish Network, said Antitrust Division head Makan Delrahim in an interview after a Technology Policy Institute Q&A. About a dozen states sued to block the deal. Also at TPI, Delrahim confirmed his department and several states are probing tech issues. He wouldn't object to a look by others at Communications Decency Act Section 230.
ASPEN, Colo. -- DOJ likes its chances of prevailing with its structural remedies on T-Mobile's buy of Sprint and a divestiture to Dish Network, said Antitrust Division head Makan Delrahim in an interview after a Technology Policy Institute Q&A. About a dozen states sued to block the deal. Also at TPI, Delrahim confirmed his department and several states are probing tech issues. He wouldn't object to a look by others at Communications Decency Act Section 230.
ASPEN, Colo. -- DOJ likes its chances of prevailing with its structural remedies on T-Mobile's buy of Sprint and a divestiture to Dish Network, said Antitrust Division head Makan Delrahim in an interview after a Technology Policy Institute Q&A. About a dozen states sued to block the deal. Also at TPI, Delrahim confirmed his department and several states are probing tech issues. He wouldn't object to a look by others at Communications Decency Act Section 230.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the weeks of Aug. 12-18:
The Court of International Trade on Aug. 19 dismissed an importer’s bid to be eligible for the zero percent antidumping duty rate applicable to its purported parent company, rather than the 92.84% China-wide rate assigned to its entries of tapered roller bearings from China. Wanxiang America should have used the administrative review process to qualify its exporter for the parent company’s rate, CIT told the importer.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Aug. 5-9 in case they were missed.
Ten comments documents filed by trade groups and companies that would be affected by a digital services tax imposed in France -- as well as one filing by a European think tank -- describe the problems with the tax and the discriminatory intent against U.S. companies. But three of the groups, and one company, told the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that tariffs on French imports under Section 301 are not the way to fix the problem, while only two individuals called for tariffs as a way to get France to roll back the law.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the weeks of Aug. 5-11: