CLARKSBURG – A retired law enforcement officer has filed a potential class action lawsuit claiming an international information company has broken state law by publishing private information online.
Michael Jackson filed the potential class action in July in Braxton Circuit Court against Thomson Reuters America Corporation, which removed the case to federal court September 17.
Jackson is a retired law enforcement officer who served with the Braxton County Sheriff’s Department, the Sutton Police Department and the Clendenin Police Department.
West Virginia lawmakers passed Senate Bill 470, known as Daniel’s Law, on April 10, 2021. It became law July 9, 2021. It’s goal, as lead sponsor Senator Mike Woelfel (D-Cabell) said was to ensure the state has “the best law there is in the United States of America to make sure that the public information of our judicial officers and law enforcement (is) protected.”
The law is named for Daniel Anderl, the son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas. He was the victim of a fatal shooting in July 2020 after the gunman found the judge’s home address online.
Jackson’s complaint says Thomson Reuters America disclosed his home address and/or unpublished home or personal telephone numbers without his written permission, exposing him to harassment and harm through its Thomson Reuters CLEAR and Westlaw PeopleMap platforms.
In fact, he says the defendant has disclosed, redisclosed and otherwise made available the home addresses and unpublished home or personal telephone numbers of thousands of West Virginia active, formerly active or retired judicial officers, prosecutors, federal or state public defenders, federal or state assistant public defenders and law enforcement officers. He says that conduct has exposed him and others to harassment and risk of harm to life or property.
Jackson says the defendant’s people finder services compile vast amounts of information about people from various sources, such as public records, social media, court documents and more. He says it allows user to access “both surface and deep web data to examine intelligence” about people “not found in public records or traditional search engines” by providing access to and monetizing said personal details through websites.
“This is achieved by simply searching such a public servant by name, city, state, phone number, address and/or other parameters,” the complaint states, including examples of information found online through these types of searches. “Written permission (was not) first obtained from the individuals.
“Defendant never requested – and said public servants never provided – written permission from defendant to disclose, redisclose or otherwise make available their home addresses and unpublished home or personal phone numbers. In fact, plaintiff has no relationship to defendant whatsoever. Plaintiff had never heard of defendant and had no reasonable ability to discover defendant’s use of his personal information until shortly before filing suit.”
Jackson says the defendant’s actions have exposed him and others to harassment or harm because “those personal details can be leveraged for nefarious purposes,” including by individuals such as criminals with whom the public servants dealt in the line of their duties.
The complaint accuses Thomson Reuters America of violating Daniel’s Law, and says the potential class would be those public servants whose information was disclosed by the defendants. The class could be composed of thousands of individuals.
In addition to seeking class certification, the complaint also seeks statutory damages of $1,000 for each violation of Daniel’s Law as well as injunctive and other equitable relief, attorney fees, court costs, pre- and post-judgment interests and other relief.
The potential class is being represented by Jason E. Causey of Bordas & Bordas in Wheeling and by Philip L. Fraietta and Julian C. Diamond of Bursor & Fisher in New York. Thomson Reuters is being represented by Luke T. Schmitt of Flaherty Sensabaugh & Bonasso in Wheeling.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia case number 1:24-cv-88 (Braxton Circuit Court case number 24-C-42)