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Lawsuits
Involve Millions of Drivers By Paul Pinkham Plaintiffs' high-powered law-yers from across the country will descend on Jacksonville this morning to talk about a cluster of lawsuits centered here that potentially affect 23 million motorists in six But these cases aren't about product liability, personal injury or wrongful death. They're about ads some vehicle owners have received in their auto registration renewal packets. Since last year, lawyers in Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New York and Ohio sued Imagitas, a Pitney Bowes company, 12 times over its DriverSource program. Under the program, the Massachusetts company handles design and mailing of the state's auto registration renewal for free and underwrites the cost by including advertisements from private companies. The plaintiffs say the ads violate their right to privacy and the federal Drivers Protection Privacy Act, which forbids use of personal information in motor vehicle records for any nongovernmental purpose."Not only is there personal information involved, but it comes in an official envelope," said Jacksonville attorney Woody Wilner, who filed the first case against Imagitas. But Imagitas says the program saves states money - $2.4 million in Florida since 2004 - and actually enhances privacy by replacing postcards that contained motor vehicle information. No advertisers receive personal information, said company spokesman Alfie Charles. "It's been a success all the way around - for privacy advocates, for administrators and ultimately for the taxpayers," Charles said. In Florida the ads were sent to motorists in 17 counties, including Putnam, Union, Columbia and Suwannee. Two weeks ago a panel of federal judges decided to centralize the litigation before U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan in Jacksonville. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation decides when and where to centralize federal lawsuits that are filed across multiple jurisdictions but involve similar facts and allegations. The panel reasoned that Wilner's case was further along than the others, making Corrigan already familiar with the issues. Imagitas wanted the litigation centered in Ohio, but Charles said the company is pleased with the judges' decision. "These lawsuits can hopefully be dismissed as quickly as possible to save the taxpayers money," he said. But Wilner said the potential financial exposure for Imagitas is huge. The drivers protection act provides for damages of $2,500 per motorist, and the company's packets went to 23 million motorists nationwide, including about 4 million in Florida. He said attorneys for the plaintiffs are hoping to certify a federal class action lawsuit. Imagitas opposes certification of a class. Corrigan has scheduled an initial hearing June 26. |
