Shopify class action lawsuit survives motion to dismiss

By Top Class Actions | August 17, 2026

Category: Consumer News

shopify app seen in App Store on the screen of ipad — (Photo Credit: Ascannio/Shutterstock)

Shopify class action lawsuit overview:

Who: A California federal judge has refused to dismiss a proposed class action lawsuit against Shopify Inc., Shopify (USA) Inc. and Shopify Payments (USA) Inc.
Why: U.S. District Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton found that Shopify knowingly designed its checkout platform to secretly collect California consumers’ personal and payment data.
Where: The Shopify class action lawsuit is pending in California federal court.

A California federal judge rejected Shopify’s bid to dismiss a proposed class action lawsuit alleging the company secretly collected consumers’ personal and payment information through its checkout platform without their consent.

The ruling is the third major turn in a case dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction in 2022, revived by a divided Ninth Circuit en banc panel in 2025 and now surviving a second motion to dismiss under a July 30, 2026, order from Judge Hamilton.

Plaintiff Brandon Briskin, a California resident, filed the class action lawsuit in August 2021 after buying fitness apparel from IABMFG, a Shopify merchant, through IABMFG’s website in June 2019.

Briskin claims Shopify hides its role in these transactions. Though a checkout page appears merchant-generated, he alleges Shopify’s software actually produces the payment form and collects consumers’ name, address, email, credit card number, IP address and geolocation.

He further claims Shopify compiles this data into consumer profiles it sells to merchants without consent and installs tracking cookies on users’ browsers.

Shopify’s own 2019 order confirmation email helped defeat dismissal bid

Shopify argued the latest complaint still lacked factual support, echoing an earlier version dismissed for relying on speculation to link Shopify’s 2021 data practices to its 2019 conduct.

Judge Hamilton disagreed, citing new allegations that Briskin’s 2019 order confirmation email came directly from Shopify and contained images hosted on Shopify’s network.

“Plaintiff further alleges that the page source information for IABMFG’s archived checkout page and archived privacy policy page include multiple references to Shopify and Shopify URLs, revealing that IABMFG used Shopify to operate its checkout processes and storefronts,” the judge said.

The lawsuit also survived on a theory that Shopify read consumer data while still “in transit,” as Briskin alleges Shopify intercepts communications in real time before they reach the merchant or storage.

Judge Hamilton rejected Shopify’s “technobabble” argument, ruling the allegations must be accepted as true at this stage. She also rejected claims that the conduct was routine commercial behavior and that Briskin lacked standing or damages.

Briskin wants to represent all persons who, between Aug. 13, 2017, and the present, submitted payment information through Shopify’s software while located in California.

In another recent motion, a Washington federal judge dismissed a proposed class action lawsuit against Amazon.com and Audible over automatic membership renewal claims, finding the plaintiff failed to produce evidence supporting the central theory of her claims.

Have you ever made a purchase through a Shopify-powered checkout page? Let us know in the comments.

Briskin is represented by Seth A. Safier, Matthew T. McCrary and Todd Kennedy of Gutride Safier LLP.

The Shopify class action lawsuit is Briskin v. Shopify Inc., et al., Case No. 21-cv-06269-PJH, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.