Lien v. Talkdesk, Inc.

Background

The plaintiffs alleged that Talkdesk intercepted their phone numbers and questions about store hours, events, and products during calls to retailers. Each plaintiff alleged that information was collected from one call to one retailer. The plaintiffs claimed that Talkdesk infringed their interest in controlling their personal, private information.

Court’s reasoning

The court granted Talkdesk’s motion to dismiss because the plaintiffs did not allege a concrete injury sufficient to establish Article III standing. Article III standing is the requirement that a plaintiff show a concrete harm that permits a federal court to hear the case.

The court explained that the claimed interest would be infringed only if the information was actually personal and private. It also said that the alleged injury had to closely resemble a type of harm traditionally recognized as a basis for a lawsuit. The court identified intrusion upon seclusion—the tort involving highly offensive intrusion into a person’s private affairs—as the closest comparison.

The court held that the plaintiffs’ phone numbers and questions about store hours, events, and products were not private or personal enough to establish standing when each plaintiff alleged only one call to one retailer. The court noted that its ruling did not necessarily resolve whether standing would exist if the same information were collected from many communications with one store or from communications with multiple stores that were aggregated.

Disposition

Judge Vince Chhabria ordered that the case be dismissed without leave to amend, but without prejudice to refiling it in state court. The opinion does not state the specific statutory or other substantive claims asserted by the plaintiffs.