Pavone v. Meyerkord & Meyerkord, LLC

118 F. Supp. 3d 1046, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102021, 2015 WL 4638062
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedAugust 4, 2015
DocketNo. 15 C 1539
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 118 F. Supp. 3d 1046 (Pavone v. Meyerkord & Meyerkord, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pavone v. Meyerkord & Meyerkord, LLC, 118 F. Supp. 3d 1046, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102021, 2015 WL 4638062 (N.D. Ill. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

AMY J. ST. EVE, District Court Judge:

Before the Court is Defendant Meyer-kord & Meyerkord, LLC’s (“Meyerkord’s” or “Defendant’s”) motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. (R.15, Defs.’ Mot. to Dismiss.) Specifically, Defendant alleges that Plaintiffs have failed to satisfactorily plead a violation of the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2721, et seq. (“DPPA”). For the reasons set forth below, the Court grants Defendant’s motion and dismisses Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint without prejudice.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs Antonio Pavone, Karen Pa-vone, and their minor child, M.P., (the “Pavones” or “Plaintiffs”) filed this class action lawsuit pursuant to the DPPA. (R.4, ¶¶ 1, 6, 7.)1 The Pavones plead a single claim for relief, seeking redress for injuries — suffered by themselves and others similarly situated — allegedly caused by Defendant improperly obtaining, using, and disclosing personal information contained in a motor vehicle record in an effort to solicit legal business and advertise services. (Id., ¶ 1.)

The Pavones were in an automobile collision on the afternoon of January 15, 2015. (Id., ¶ 8.) The Schaumburg Police Department was alerted and the responding officer created an Illinois Traffic Crash Report (the “Report”). (Id.; R.4-1, attached to the Amended Complaint as Exhibit A, Correspondence from Meyerkord to the Pavones, including the Report.) The Report contained the name, home address, telephone number, date of birth, and sex for each of the Pavones. (R.4, ¶¶ 10-12; R.4-1.) The following day, Defendant, a law firm with principal attorneys licensed to practice in Illinois, sent a parcel to each of the Pavones at their home address. (R.4, ¶ 20.) The parcels included an unre-dacted copy of the Report and correspondence on letterhead from “Meyerkord & Meyerkord LLC”, clearly marked “ADVERTISING MATERIAL”. (Id., ¶ 21; R.4-1.) Upon receiving the parcels from Defendant, the Pavones became concerned [1048]*1048that Defendant had obtained the Report and the personal information it contained, including information related to M.P., a minor child, and used that information for solicitation of legal representation. (R.4, ¶¶ 23-24.)

The Pavones allege that Defendant “knowingly obtained a copy of the Report from the Schaumburg Police Department, and/or the Illinois Secretary of State directly and/or through a private entity supplier” of Illinois Traffic. Crash Reports. {Id., ¶ 13.) Additionally, the Pavones allege that Defendant obtains records, such as Illinois Traffic Crash Reports, on a daily basis in order to mail advertisements to persons involved in car accidents in order to advertise legal services and solicit potential clientele. (Id., ¶¶14, 19.) The allegations provide that Defendant obtains Illinois Traffic Crash Reports in bulk for' a fee, without knowing the names and’ addresses of the persons' identified in the reports; (Id.; ¶ 15.) The Pavones bring this lawsuit as a class action and identify an alleged class of natural persons residing within Cook County, Illinois and the State of Illinois within the last four years to whom Defendant sent “ADVERTISING MATERIAL” parcels substantially similar in form to the parcels sent to the Pa-vones — i.e., including Illinois Traffic Crash Reports. (Id., ¶ 26.) Specifically; the Pa-vones allege that Defendant violated Sections 2722(a) and (b) of the DPPA when it knowingly obtained the Pavones’ information from the Report and,used it for an unlawful purpose. (Id., ¶¶ 33, 34.)

LEGAL STANDARD

Defendant moves to dismiss Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). See R.10. “A motion under Rule 12(b)(6) tests whether the complaint states a claim on which relief may be granted.” Richards v. Mitcheff, 696 F.3d 635, 637 (7th Cir.2012). Under Rule 12(b)(6), a plaintiffs “[fjactual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). Put differently, a “complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955). “In reviewing the sufficiency of a complaint under the plausibility standard, [courts] accept the well-pleaded facts in the complaint as true,” Alam v. Miller Brewing Co., 709 F.3d 662, 665-66 (7th Cir.2013), and draw “reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiffs.” Teamsters Local Union No. 705 v. Burlington N. Santa Fe, LLC, 741 F.3d 819, 823 (7th Cir.2014). “[T]he complaint must, supply ‘enough fact[s] to raise a reasonable expectation that discovery will reveal evidence’ supporting the plaintiffs allegations.” Indep. Trust Corp. v. Stewart Info. Servs. Corp., 665 F.3d 930, 935 (7th Cir.2012) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955). “A claim must be plausible rather than merely conceivable, or speculative, meaning that the plaintiff must include ‘enough details about the subject-matter of the ease to present a story that holds together.’” Carlson v. CSX Transp., Inc., 758 F.3d 819, 826-27 (7th Cir.2014) (citations omitted). A plaintiffs pleading burden “should be commensurate with the amount , of information available” to him. Olson v. Champaign Cnty., Ill, 784 F.3d 1093, 1100 (7th Cir.2015).

ANALYSIS

The DPPA “regulates, the disclosure of personal information contained in the records of 'state motor vehicle departments.” Maracich v. Spears, — U.S. -, 133 S.Ct. 2191, 2195, 186 L.Ed.2d 275 (2013); see also Reno v. Condon, 528 U.S. 141, 143, [1049]*1049120 S.Ct. 666, 668, 145 L.Ed.2d 587 (2000); 18 U.S.C. §§ 2721-2725. The DPPA’s general prohibition provides injured parties with a private right of action, and states:

A State department of motor vehicles, and any officer, employee, or contractor thereof, shall not knowingly disclose or otherwise make available to any person or entity: (1) personal information ...

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Bluebook (online)
118 F. Supp. 3d 1046, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102021, 2015 WL 4638062, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pavone-v-meyerkord-meyerkord-llc-ilnd-2015.