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An employee of home security company ADT watched unsuspecting customers naked and engaging in sexual activity “hundreds and hundreds of times,” due to the company’s failure to ensure its own security, a new class action lawsuit alleges.
In a proposed nationwide class action lawsuit filed in Florida on April 2, lead plaintiff Randy Doty accuses ADT Security Services of negligence, and technician Telesforo Aviles of spying on Doty and his family, as well as hundreds of others, without their consent.
According to the lawsuit, a failure in ADT’s policies and procedures meant staff could grant themselves permanent access to home security systems as they were being installed.
Because of that, Aviles was able to watch customers naked and engaging in sexual activity in their homes, “which he did hundreds and hundreds of times over without consent for years”, for his own sexual gratification, the class action alleges.
The lawsuit explains Doty and his wife installed the ADT Pulse system, which includes in-home live cameras, in 2014. The camera gave a view of a bathroom and master bedroom, the lawsuit states.
Then, in April 2020, Doty’s wife received a call from ADT saying Aviles, who had installed their system six years earlier, had spied on her, her husband, and their son an unknown number of times, according to the class action.
Indeed, Doty’s wife filed a class action lawsuit against ADT in federal court in Texas in May of 2020 over the alleged privacy breach.
In his class action, Doty says he soon found out his was one of hundreds of households that suffered the “staggering invasion of privacy” over the past seven years, pointing to an investigation by ADT found Aviles had access to 200 customer accounts.
Beyond Aviles, potentially countless other unknown people have access to customers’ ADT Pulse accounts and surreptitiously view their camera footage all around the country, the class action lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit claims ADT touts itself as the top provider of home security in the country, but failed to secure even its own systems from massive and ongoing intrusions into its customers’ private lives.
In an effort to mitigate the damage of the security, ADT began a campaign to call all affected account holders and secure a release and confidentiality agreement in exchange for payment, says the class action.
ADT’s offer was a only fraction of the value of their claims, alleges the class action. ADT’s offer also misled customers into believing the release would cover account holders and non-account holders in the household alike, contends the lawsuit.
“The mental and emotional impact this revelation has had on every person receiving these calls from ADT is immeasurable,” says Doty’s class action lawsuit. “Moments once believed to be private and inside the sanctity of the home are now voyeuristic entertainment for a third party.”
Aviles was charged with one count of fraud and pleaded guilty in October 2020. According to the class action, Aviles said ADT permitted technicians to add their ADT employee email to the application for access to the security system. The lawsuit alleges ADT failed to implement procedures to ensure technicians removed their access after installation.
Doty is suing ADT and Aviles for negligence, intrusion upon seclusion, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and privacy monitoring. He is seeking to represent non-account holders of ADT Pulse security systems who have had their system remotely accessed by ADT or affiliates without authorization from the account holder. He is also representing a subclass for people whose system was accessed by Aviles.
Doty is seeking certification of the Class, admission of negligence, damages, injunctive relief, legal fees, interest, and a jury trial.
Home security company Ring is also facing a class action lawsuit over breaches of customer security, with the lawsuit alleging the company promised to provide customers with peace of mind, but instead allowed hackers to “invade and terrorize them” in their homes.
“These customers trusted ADT with their safety and privacy,” a lawyer representing both the Doty’s in their respective class action lawsuits told reporters in May. “This privacy breach occurred because ADT did not follow the most basic security procedures. These lawsuits were filed to ensure this company does everything possible to make their systems safe and deserving of the trust their clients place in them.”
“We deeply regret what happened,” an ADT spokesperson said in a statement to Dallas News. “Customers trust ADT with their safety and security, and we understand that this jeopardizes that trust, and it is certainly and entirely unacceptable.”
Do you have an ADT security system in your home? How safe do you feel? Let us know in the comments!
Doty is represented by Jay Edelson, Benjamin H. Richman, and J. Eli Wade-Scott of Edelson PC, Matthew R. McCarley and Christopher Michael Brown of Fears Nachawati, PLLC and Amy M. Carter and Heather V. Davis of Carter Law Group, P.C.
The ADT Security Camera Privacy Breach Class Action Lawsuit is Doty v. ADT LLC, et al., Case No. 0:21-cv-60715-XXXX, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Fort Lauderdale Division.
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61 thoughts onADT Tech Spied on Customers in ‘Moments of Intimacy,’ Lawsuit Says
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I have had ADT over 20 years
I’ve used both adt and ring. Please add me.
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I have had ADT for the past 4 years and this was something I discussed before installing the system. I ask if someone was watching the cameras or had access to watch my family when we were not aware. I was told the cameras were only activated for ADT use or recording when an alarm was set off.
I had ADT for several years and the system is different.
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