SIANNI & STRAITE LLP INSTITUTES PRIVACY CLASS ACTION IN SPY-PHONE SCANDAL

(WILMINGTON, DELAWARE)  The law firms of Sianni & Straite of Wilmington, DE, Eichen Crutchlow Zaslow & McElroy of Edison, NJ, and Keefe Bartels of Red Bank, NJ, have today filed a class action complaint in Federal Court in Wilmington, Delaware related to the unprecedented breach of the digital privacy rights of 150 million cell phone users.  The complaint asserts that three cell phone providers (T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T) and four manufacturers of cell phones (HTC, Motorola, Apple and Samsung) violated the Federal Wiretap Act, the Stored Electronic Communications Act, and the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

The carriers and manufacturers last month were caught willfully violating customers’ privacy rights in direct violation of federal law.  A technology blogger in Connecticut discovered last month that software designed and sold by California-based Carrier IQ, Inc. was secretly tracking personal and sensitive information of the cell phone users without the consent or knowledge of the users.  On Nov. 30, 2011, the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary said in a letter to Carrier IQ that “these actions may violate federal privacy laws.”  It added, “this is potentially a very serious matter.” 

David Straite, one of the attorneys leading the action, noted “this latest revelation of corporate America’s brazen disregard for the digital privacy rights of its customers is yet another example of the escalating erosion of liberty in this country.  We are hopeful that the courts will allow ordinary customers the opportunity to remedy this outrageous breach.”  Steve Grygiel, co-counsel for the proposed class, added, “anyone who cares at all about their personal privacy, or the broader constitutional right to privacy, ought to care and care a great deal about this case."

A copy of the Class Action Complaint in Pacilli v. Carrier IQ, Inc. can be viewed here: Carrier IQ Class Action Complaint 2 DEC 2011FINAL.pdf

Plaintiffs are represented by Sianni & Straite LLP, a Delaware-based litigation firm with a branch office in New York, Keefe Bartels LLC, a New Jersey-based plaintiffs’ rights trial law firm, and Eichen Crutchlow Zaslow & McElroy LLP, a leading plaintiffs firm with three offices in New Jersey.

Contact: DAVID A. STRAITE