Garcia v. Enterprise Holdings, Inc.

78 F. Supp. 3d 1125, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8799, 2015 WL 351367
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedJanuary 23, 2015
DocketCase No: C 14-00596 SBA
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 78 F. Supp. 3d 1125 (Garcia v. Enterprise Holdings, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Garcia v. Enterprise Holdings, Inc., 78 F. Supp. 3d 1125, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8799, 2015 WL 351367 (N.D. Cal. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS

Dkt. 33

SAUNDRA BROWN ARMSTRONG, District Judge

Plaintiff Miguel Garcia (“Plaintiff’) brings the instant putative class action against defendants Enterprise Holdings Inc. (“Enterprise”) and Lyft, Inc. (“Lyft”), which are the present and former owners, respectively, of an internet-based ride sharing application known as “Zimride.” Plaintiff alleges each time he used Zimride, it automatically disclosed his personal information to a third-party, Mixpanel, in violation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”), Cal. Pen.Code § 637.6 (“Section 637.6”). The Court has subject matter jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d).

The parties are currently before the Court on the Motion to Dismiss Class Action Complaint jointly filed by Defendants Enterprise and Lyft, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Having read and considered the papers filed in connection with this matter and being fully informed, the Court hereby GRANTS the motion, and dismisses the First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) with leave to amend. The Court, in its discretion, finds this matter suitable for resolution without oral argument. See Red. R. Civ. P. 78(b); N.D. Cal. Civ. L.R. T — 1(b).

[1129]*1129I. BACKGROUND

A. Plaintiff’s Allegations

Launched in 2007, Zimride is a popular on-line ride-sharing application which matches Zimride members seeking rides with other members willing to offer rides. First Am. Compl. (“FAC”) ¶ 2.1 The service, which is marketed heavily to college students through partnerships with various universities, has over 350,000 subscribers and is one of the largest carpooling and ridesharing services in the United States. Id. ¶¶ 2,12.

To use Zimride, a user must first navigate to the application’s website (mmv. zimHde.com), and then enter a starting point, a destination, and the desired date and time of departure. Id. ¶ 14 (citing Figure 1, below).

[[Image here]]

In order to search for existing rides or to post a new ride, the user is prompted to sign in to his or her Facebook account. If the user does not have a Facebook account, the user is prompted to sign up for one. Id. ¶ 15 (citing Figure 2, below).

During the sign-up process, a pop-up dialogue box appears which informs the user as follows: “Zimride will receive the following info: your public profile, friend list, email address, birthday, work history, education history, events, hometown, interests, current city, personal description and likes.” Id. ¶ 16 (citing Figure 3, below).

[1130]*1130[[Image here]]

According to Plaintiff, Zimride is “designed” to transmit the user’s personal information to Mixpanel after that information is entered by the user. Id. ¶ 19. The information sent to Mixpanel consists of the user’s gender, age, zip code, metropolitan region, travel plans, link to the user’s Facebook profile and unique alphanumeric identifier. Id. Mixpanel is identified as “a third party data analytics company” which allegedly uses consumers’ personal information to “compile comprehensive profiles of consumers’ entire digital lives,” which can then be “sold as a commodity.” Id. ¶ 14. However, there are no allegations in the FAC regarding the reason Zimride transfers information to Mixpanel.

Plaintiff signed up to use Zimride in July 2012. Id. ¶ 31. Thereafter, he submitted ride requests in August 2012 and again in May and December 2013. Each time, his personal information was allegedly transmitted to Mixpanel. Id. ¶¶ 31-34.

B. Zimride’s Terms op Service and Privacy Policy

Use of Zimride is subject to its Terms of Service (“TOS”) and Privacy Policy. See Defs.’ Request for Judicial Notice at 2, Dkt. 35. The TOS states, in part:

THIS FOLLOWING USER AGREEMENT DESCRIBES THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS ON WHICH ZIM-RIDE, INC. OFFERS YOU ACCESS TO OUR SERVICES ... [¶] IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, PLEASE DO NOT USE OR ACCESS OUR SERVICES OR REGISTER FOR THE SERVICES PROVIDED ON THIS SITE.

See Ybarra Deck, Exs. D-F, Dkt. 36. The TOS includes a Privacy Policy, which states, inter alia, that Zimride may disclose a user’s personal information to third-parties in connection with providing ride-sharing services:

To operate the Site, including processing your transactions and supporting your activities on the Site, we may share your personal information with our agents, representatives, contractors and service providers so they can provide us with support services such as email origination, receipt or support services, customer relationship management services, and order fulfillment. We require these entities not to use your information for any other purpose.... By using the site, you do hereby represent and warrant that you have read understand and agree to all terms of this Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

See id., Ex. D at 1,12; Ex. E at 1, 12; and Ex. F at 1, 7 (emphasis added).

Hyperlinks to both the TOS and Privacy Policy are located at the bottom of the Facebook log-in screen. To the right of the hyperlinks is an “Okay” button, which the user must click on in order to complete the sign up process. The webpage shown to the user appears as follows:

[1131]*1131[[Image here]]

Ybrarra Decl. Ex. C.2

C. Procedural History

Plaintiff filed his original Complaint in this Court on February 7, 2014, and a First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) on March 28, 2014. Dkt. 1, 29. The FAC alleges a single claim for violation of Section 637.6, which is part of the CIPA. FAC ¶¶ 43-47. In response, Defendants have filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. The motion is fully briefed and is ripe for adjudication.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

A. Motions to Dismiss

Pleadings in federal court actions are governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2), which requires “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Rule 12(b)(6) “tests the legal sufficiency of a claim.” Navarro v. Block, 250 F.3d 729, 732 (9th Cir.2001). A complaint may be dismissed for either failure to state a cognizable legal theory or insufficient facts to [1132]*1132support a cognizable legal theory. Mendiondo v. Centinela Hosp. Med. Ctr., 521 F.3d 1097, 1104 (9th Cir.2008).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
78 F. Supp. 3d 1125, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8799, 2015 WL 351367, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/garcia-v-enterprise-holdings-inc-cand-2015.