Weld v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc.

11 Mass. L. Rptr. 21
Massachusetts Superior Court·Decided November 19, 1999·No. No. 98-0897·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

Brassard, J.

Plaintiffs John Weld, Jr. (“Weld”) and Jeffrey A. Kelley (“Kelley”) seek certification as a class in their action against CVS Pharmacy, Inc. (“CVS”) and others (collectively, “defendants”). In their original complaint, plaintiffs allege that defendants, for their own financial gain, improperly used confidential medical information provided to CVS by its pharmacy customers. Plaintiffs now seek class certification, arguing that defendants’ actions violated the privacy rights of plaintiffs and the class they seek to represent. Defendants oppose the motion, arguing that plaintiffs have not satisfied the requirements to be certified as a class. For the following reasons the motion is ALLOWED in part and DENIED in part.

BACKGROUND

CVS implemented a Patient Compliance Program (“PCP”) to provide health care information to its pharmacy customers. Using a database prepared from its records of customer prescriptions, CVS mailed letters to several of its pharmacy customers. Those customers were not previously informed of, or asked to consent to, this program. The mailings concerned different drugs and medical conditions, and took a variety of forms. Some provided information as to the risks of certain health conditions; some urged customers to switch to a new or alternative prescription medication; still others addressed the benefits of taking and refilling prescriptions as ordered by their physicians. The letters provided recipients with a box to check if they did not want to receive future mailings.

Although they were written under the CVS letterhead, the mailings were financed by the defendant drug manufacturers through separate agreements with CVS. No drugs other than those manufactured by the sponsoring pharmaceutical firms were recommended to customers who received the mailings.

CVS contracted with Elensys Care Services, Inc. (“Elensys”) to carry out the actual mailings. Their agreement provided that CVS would provide Elensys with information about customer prescriptions, and [22]*22that Elensys would take extensive precautions to protect the confidentiality of that information. Elensys engaged a mail fulfillment firm, W.A. Wilde (“Wilde”) to stuff envelopes and send out the letters. The agreement between Elensys and Wilde also contained strict confidentiality provisions.

As part of the PCP, Kelley, who takes the prescription medicine Glucotrol to control diabetes, received a mailing from CVS concerning the dangers of high cholesterol. High cholesterol is a known risk for diabetes patients. That mailing, which was targeted to CVS customers who were taking prescription diabetic medications, was sponsored by defendant Merck & Co., Inc. (“Merck”). Merck manufactures the anti-cholesterol prescription drug Zocor. To date, plaintiffs have presented no evidence that Weld received any of the PCP mailings.

In February 1998, reports concerning the PCP program first appeared in the press. On February 18, 1998, CVS announced that it was suspending the program. Plaintiffs filed this action two days later. Defendants CVS, Elensys, Merck and Glaxo moved for summary judgment. On June 21, 1999, this court (Fremont-Smith, J.) denied CVS’s motion for summary judgment as to Kelley on all counts [10 Mass. L. Rptr. 217). As to Weld, the court denied CVS’s motion without prejudice to renewal at the close of discovery. The court also denied without prejudice to renewal at the close of discovery the motions of Elensys, Merck and Glaxo for summary judgment. Plaintiffs now move for certification as a class pursuant to Mass.R.Civ.P. 23(a) and (b) and G.L.c. 93A.

DISCUSSION

The plaintiffs seek to certify as a nationwide class all CVS pharmacy customers residing in each of the 25 states where CVS conducts business.

Standing

Before addressing the question of class certification, the court must consider the issue of standing. Defendants argue that those CVS customers who did not receive PCP mailings do not have standing to bring this action because they have failed to demonstrate that they suffered an “injury in fact” from the PCP program. See Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560 (1992). To have standing to bring a claim, a plaintiff must demonstrate “an invasion of a legally protected interest which is a) concrete and particularized and b) ‘actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical.’ ” Id., quoting Los Angeles v. Lyons, 461 U.S. 95, 102 (1983).

In deciding whether to certify a class, the court must take the substantive allegations of the plaintiff as true. See Blackie v. Barrack, 524 F.2d 891, 900 (Ninth Circuit, 1975). The cases, however, require plaintiffs to present sufficient factual information for the court to ascertain that the plaintiffs may have suffered, or are in danger of suffering, actual legal harm. See Doe v. The Governor, 381 Mass. 702, 704 (1980). Id. at 901. In making such a determination, a court must determine whether, if the plaintiffs prove their allegation of x, x will be a question of fact or law common to the class." Id. at 900, fn 16.

In this case, plaintiffs have not made a sufficient showing for the court to form a reasonable judgment that the alleged violation of privacy extended to those CVS pharmacy customers who did not receive a PCP mailing. Plaintiffs reliance on Pressman v. Brigham Medical Group, 919 F.Supp. 516 (D.Mass. 1996), is misplaced. In that case, the plaintiff had presented evidence that hospital officials who interviewed him had access to information that was available only in his medical records. The court held, therefore, that a jury must determine whether there had been an invasion of privacy. In contrast, these plaintiffs have presented no evidence that mere inclusion in the CVS database constituted any more of a violation of privacy than inclusion in any chain pharmacy’s prescription database. This case concerns the unauthorized use and/or disclosure of customer’s confidential prescription information. Plaintiffs have failed to establish that CVS prescription customers who did not receive mailings had any confidential information disclosed as part of the PCP. Consequently, plaintiffs will be unable to prove that CVS pharmacy customers who did not receive mailings suffered “an invasion of a legally protected interest . . . which is not conjectural or hypothetical.” See Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, supra, at 560. For purposes of standing, therefore, the class must be limited to CVS customers who received PCP mailings.

If the named representatives cannot maintain a cause of action, the class action is not viable. See Doe v. Governor, 381 Mass. 702, 704-5 (1980). Kelley, who received a mailing, has standing to maintain an action on behalf of those CVS customers who received PCP mailings. Weld, however, does not.

Nationwide Certification

The United States Supreme Court has addressed the issue of whether a state may certify a nationwide class of plaintiffs if that state does not permit prospective plaintiffs to “opt out” of the proceedings. See Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Shutts, 472 U.S. 797, 811 (1985).

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Weld v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc., 11 Mass. L. Rptr. 21 (Mass. Ct. App. 1999).

11 Mass. L. Rptr. 21 (Weld v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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