Symantec Escapes Norton Antivirus Class Action Lawsuit

After four unsuccessful tries, a California federal judge has finally quashed a proposed class action lawsuit accusing Symantec Corp. of hiding a security flaw in its Norton Antivirus software, ruling the plaintiff could not prove which allegedly deceptive ads she relied on to purchase the product.

Plaintiff Kathleen Haskins sued Symantec in April 2013, claiming she and other consumers did not get the antivirus protection that was advertised for certain Norton Antivirus products because hackers breached Symantec’s network in 2006, stealing the software’s source code. Consumers did not find out about the breach until 2012, the class action lawsuit said, even though it made the software vulnerable to cyberattack.

Judge Tigar had given plaintiff Kathleen Haskins a third and final chance to amend her Norton Antivirus class action lawsuit in December. Haskins was asked to explain to the court which specific marketing materials she relied on when she bought Norton Antivirus software, but she was unable to do so to the satisfaction of Judge Tigar.

In his June 2 dismissal Order, Tigar wrote that instead of making a specific allegation, Haskins “alleges conclusorily that she relied on a very long list of representations, and that she was exposed to those representations. It is plain from the numerous iterations of the complaint in this action that plaintiff cannot allege that she saw any specific representation.”

Tigar had allowed Haskins to amend her claim under the Tobacco II “Long-Term Advertising Campaign” exception theory if she could specifically identify how she had been deceived over the scope of the advertising campaign for Norton Antivirus software. She failed.

It’s a not clearly defined exception, said Tigar, but it should have been demonstrated that Haskins relied on the ad campaign for more than two years.

Haskins will not be allowed to amend her claims and try again, the judge ruled.

Haskins is represented by Timothy G. Blood, Thomas J. O’Reardon II and Paula M. Roach of Blood Hurst & O’Reardon LLP, Richard L. Coffman of The Coffman Law Firm and Ben Barnow of Barnow & Associates PC.

The Symantec Norton Antivirus Class Action Lawsuit is Kathleen Haskins, et al. v. Symantec Corp., Case No. 13-cv-01834, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.