In a compelling legal battle, a plaintiff has accused a prominent electronics company of violating consumer privacy laws through its aggressive and undisclosed marketing practices. Margaret McClure filed the complaint in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, on June 12, 2024, against Anova Applied Electronics, Inc., doing business as Anova Culinary.
The lawsuit centers around allegations that Anova requires consumers to provide personal identification information (PII) during credit card transactions on its online platforms. This PII includes names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, ZIP codes, and IP addresses. According to the complaint, this information is then shared with third-party marketing companies for targeted advertising campaigns without the consumers' knowledge or consent. These actions are said to violate the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act (SBCCA), which aims to protect consumer privacy and prevent misuse of private information in credit card transactions.
McClure's experience serves as a case in point. On May 6, 2024, she purchased an item from Anova's website and was required to provide extensive PII to complete her purchase. Despite opting out of marketing communications by unchecking a pre-selected box during checkout, she continued to receive unsolicited emails from Anova. The complaint argues that such practices not only breach SBCCA but also constitute invasion of privacy and unlawful intrusion upon seclusion.
The plaintiff is seeking several forms of relief from the court: statutory damages under Civil Code § 1747.08(e), compensatory and consequential damages according to proof, punitive damages for willful misconduct, injunctive relief to prevent further violations, restitution and disgorgement of profits gained through these practices, interest on any awarded sums, costs of suit including attorneys' fees under California Code of Civil Procedure § 1021.5 (Private Attorney General statute), and other just relief deemed appropriate by the court.
Representing McClure are attorneys M. Anderson Berry from Clayeo C. Arnold Professional Corporation; Jason M. Wucetich and Dimitrios V. Korovilas from Wucetich & Korovilas LLP; John J. Nelson from Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman PLLC; Gary M. Klinger from Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman PLLC in Chicago; Glen L. Abramson and Alexandra M. Honeycutt from Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman PLLC in Knoxville.
Judge Austin Lam will oversee the case identified as CGC-24-615351.