PRIVACY CLASS ACTION LAW

 

Ghalchi & Associates has been a pioneer in and in the forefront of data privacy class action litigation.  We represent plaintiffs and litigate, on class-wide bases, against large corporations, in spheres that may implicate violations of privacy rights such as, for example, collection and use of consumer and employee personal information for marketing or other potentially improper purposes, data breach and cybercrime, or disclosure of personal information to governmental authorities.  We protect, preserve and promote consumer and employee privacy rights against large companies in various industries such as the financial and insurance sectors, the healthcare sector, the retail sector, and many others.  In doing so, we apply creative strategies and arguments to obtain successful results. (We do not represent clients solely on individual type bases).

As early as the late 1990s, when corporate collection and use of customers’ personal information for marketing purposes (along with the development of the internet) were still in their nascent stages, Mr. Ghalchi of Ghalchi & Associates greatly helped establish the modern field of private class action privacy law by successfully representing many millions of consumers on class-wide bases against many of the largest financial and banking institutions for allegedly improperly sharing or using their customers’ personal information for marketing purposes.  

Some of these actions wherein Mr. Ghalchi of Ghalchi & Associates has served as plaintiffs’ counsel/co-counsel or class counsel included, for example, class actions against Union Bank of California, California Federal Bank, Chase Manhattan Bank, American Express, Household Credit Services, Wells Fargo Bank, CitiBank, Bank of America, Capital One Bank, MBNA America Bank, FleetBoston Financial Corporation, Discover Bank, G.E. Capital Consumer Financial Services, and Washington Mutual Bank. 

All these actions were brought to a successful conclusion, resulting in injunctive relief, conferring over $100 Million in free services, products and benefits on class member consumers, and awarding nearly $26 Million in cash to numerous and varied laudable non-profit organizations and charities, such as, for example:

  • Privacy foundations
  • Universities and colleges (for example, contributions to the U.C. Berkeley Center for Law & Technology (BCLT) and Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic)
  • Charities that assist the poverty-stricken, needy and homeless
  • Non-profits that alleviate human suffering in emergencies and disasters
  • Public schools
  • Charities that strive to reduce death and sickness caused by disease
  • Organizations that provide legal aid and public advocacy
  • Environmental funds and non-profits
  • Organizations that promote tolerance
  • Educational funds
  • Consumer advocacy organizations
  • Public interest research groups
  • Associations for the mentally handicapped
  • Organizations that promote children’s rights
  • And many more.