Summary Judgment Granted In Favor Of Defendant In DPPA Putative Class Action

The United States District Court for the Central District of California recently granted summary judgment to Sirius XM Radio, Inc. in a putative class action under the Driver's Privacy Protection Act ("DPPA").

As background, plaintiff James Andrew alleged on behalf of himself and a putative class that Sirius sent solicitation letters using personal information obtained from motor vehicle records in violation of the DPPA's limits on marketing uses.  Prior to the filing of Sirius' motion for summary judgment, counsel for Sirius explained to Andrew's counsel that the satellite radio broadcaster had not obtained the "personal information" of Andrew or any other class members from the state's Department of Motor Vehicles but instead obtained Andrew's name, address, telephone number, and vehicle information from a combination of Auto Source, the dealer from which Andrew purchased the vehicle, and the United States Postal Service's change of address database.  Despite