Golden State Warriors Score Partial Dismissal of App-Spying Class Action

Oakland’s Golden State Warriors got pretty close to a slam dunk Monday, when a federal judge partially dismissed a class action lawsuit accusing the team of spying on fans’ conversations through its free mobile app.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White found that plaintiff LaTisha Satchell failed to show the app used the contents of her conversations, rather than just her location.

In the 15-page ruling, Judge White stated that Satchell has not alleged facts to show her conversations were intercepted for targeted marketing purposes by the Warriors’ official team app.

“For example, there are no allegations, that Plaintiff was speaking to someone, privately, about a particular topic while the App was running and she suddenly received an advertisement about that topic,” the judge noted.

Satchell, who used the app from April to July 2016, filed the class action lawsuit against the Golden State Warriors and two app makers —Signal360 and Yinzcam — in California federal court in August 2016, stating the team’s official app unlawfully recorded her conversations without consent.

Specifically, Satchell takes issue with the app’s use of “beacon” technology, which tracks a smartphone’s location and uses that data to send its owner targeted ads. Beacons placed throughout an area send out audio signals which are picked up by the phone’s microphone, allowing the app to track the user and pinpoint their location for marketing purposes.

Satchell brought the lawsuit on claims the Golden State Warriors violated the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (i.e. the Wiretap Act) along with her and potential Class Members’ privacy.

Under the Wiretap Act, “any person whose wire, oral, or electronic communication is intercepted, disclosed, or intentionally used in violation of this chapter may in a civil action recover from the person or entity… which engaged in that violation such relief as may be appropriate.”

In November, the Golden State Warriors and beacon technology company Signal360 filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit arguing that Satchell failed to prove the NBA team ever officially “acquired” any conversations that were said to have been recorded. The recordings alleged by Satchell never left user’s phones, the motion stated.

Satchell opposed the motion to dismiss in December, arguing the case should proceed on grounds the Class can prove concrete injury.

But Judge White agreed with the defendants, ruling that Satchell failed to allege facts to show an “interception” of a communication and granted both the Golden State Warriors and Signal360’s motion for dismissal in part, specifically tossing the plaintiff’s claims for violations of the Wiretap Act.

However, Judge White denied the defendants motion to dismiss for lack of standing, telling the parties that Satchell sufficiently alleged facts to demonstrate she suffered injury in fact when the defendants purportedly captured and listened to her private conversations with her knowledge or consent.

Satchell may amend her complaint and has until March 13 to try again. However, she must pinpoint a specific time when she was having a private conversation with someone about a topic and received a targeted ad about that same topic, the judge wrote.

Satchell is represented by Stewart Pollock of Edelson PC.

The Golden State Warriors Mobile App Class Action Lawsuit is LaTisha Satchell v. Sonic Notify Inc. d/b/a Signal360, et al., Case No. 3:16-cv-04961, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: On April 10, 2017, the Golden State Warriors argued that this class action lawsuit failed to sufficiently allege any claims filed under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and did not indicate the precise way the defendants are alleged to have violated the ECPA.

UPDATE 2: On Nov. 20, 2017, a federal judge denied efforts by the Golden State Warriors and a mobile app software developer to dodge accusations that they illegally recorded fans’ conversations.