Robinson & Cole LLP (LexBlog Canada)

We previously alerted readers to the fact that the most recent data compromise of 23andMe exposed data related to Ashkenazi Jews and individuals of Chinese descent. It is reported by Ars Technica, citing TechCrunch, that “nearly half of 23andMe’s 14 million users’ [information] was hacked,” estimated at 6.9 million users. 23andMe is notifying affected users....

The breakfast chain Tim Hortons is defending four class action lawsuits in Canada for allegedly collecting user geolocation data without user consent. According to a regulatory report, the Tim Hortons mobile app secretly collected a vast amount of geolocation data without user consent, violating Canadian law. The app allegedly cataloged every time a user entered...

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed a consumer class action against Ledger SAS’s e-commerce vendor Shopify Inc. because of its locale – Shopify is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada. Judge Edward M. Chen said in his decision earlier this week that the plaintiffs failed to satisfy their burden to demonstrate that...

Last month, in Canada, a 63-year old engineer received his lung transplant via drone delivery. This was the world’s first drone-delivered lung transplant. The drone flew for approximately 6 minutes from Toronto Western Hospital across the city to Toronto General Hospital to deliver the organ. The organ was packed in a lightweight, carbon fiber container...

The Department of Justice recently indicted four men—two of whom are located in Canada and two in New York—for a mass-mailing scheme that bilked thousands of senior citizens out of tens of millions of dollars. According to the indictments, the accused Canadian fraudsters sent mail to thousands of elderly individuals whose names and addresses they...

It is being reported that LifeLabs, a Canadian lab company that is the largest provider of laboratory diagnostics and lab testing services in Canada, recently paid an undisclosed ransom to hackers who compromised its computer system that housed patient lab data. The hackers apparently compromised the system, exfiltrated data and demanded that the company pay...

National Veterinary Associates (NVA), a large network of veterinary hospitals and clinics, has reportedly been the victim of a ransomware attack. According to the reports, NVA employs more than 2,600 veterinarians, with over 700 veterinary hospitals and clinics in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. NVA was reportedly hit with the Ryuk ransomware virus,...

Drone Delivery Canada (DDC) began development of its newest drone, the Condor, last week, which is being engineered to provide payload capacities of up to 400 pounds. The Condor will be able to accept pallet-sized payload shipments (for transporting bulk cargo—both in Canada and abroad) and fly approximately 93 miles. Most important, the Condor will...

On October 12, 2017, a drone collided with a commercial aircraft while it was approaching Jean Lesage International Airport, in Quebec City. This is the first time that a drone has hit a commercial plane in Canada, according to Canada’s Minister of Transport, Marc Garneau. He stated, “I am extremely relieved that the aircraft only...

McDonald’s Canada has shut down its careers webpage following a breach that occurred in mid-March. A hacker gained access to the jobs section of its website and compromised the personal information, including names, addresses, telephone numbers, employment histories and other job application information of approximately 95,000 individuals. McDonald’s Canada has notified the privacy commissioners...

Eddie Bauer announced on August 18 that it is the latest retailer who has become a victim of a “sophisticated” cyber intrusion that has all of the cash registers in the 350 Eddie Bauer stores throughout the U.S. and Canada. The malware compromised the point-of-sale system and compromised the names, credit and debit card numbers,...

We previously reported that hackers The Impact Team had posted legitimate detailed information about 36 million adultery website Ashley Madison users. In the wake of the shocking posting of the data last week, two class action lawsuits were filed against Ashley Madison parent company Avid Dating Life the day after the posting in Canada for...

Some loyal readers of my blog may recall my June 8, 2011 blog post about the district court’s approval of the class action settlement in In re Dry Max Pampers Litigation.  This case alleged that Pampers “Dry Max” diapers purportedly caused excessive diaper rash.  Both the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission and Health Canada investigated...

I recently came across an interesting article entitled “Canada: Class Actions and the Insurance Industry” that I thought would be of particular interest to readers of this blog.  Many U.S. insurers write homeowners and auto policies in Canada and may need to start paying closer attention to developments in Canadian class action law, which Canadian...

I found very interesting a recent post by Russell Jackson on his Consumer Class Actions and Mass Torts Blog, discussing a proposed settlement in In re Dry Max Pampers Litigation, which includes a ban on future class actions.  This MDL involved claims that Dry Max diapers, a relatively new product introduced by Pampers, purportedly caused...