WEBSITE TRACKING UNDER CIPA: Surviving Motion To Dismiss Without Technical Specificity.

In D’Antonio v. Smith & Wesson Inc., No. 5:25-CV-03085-PCP, 2026 WL 2653811, at *1 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 8, 2026), the Court denied Defendants’ motion to dismiss finding that the amended complaint sufficiently detailed to give notice of the claims and defenses. The court noted that any challenge to whether the tracking technology fell outside the statutory definition of a pen register could be addressed on a fuller record.

Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint alleged that Defendants violated privacy rights under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”) by placing cookies on users’ devices even after they rejected them, unlawfully using a pen register and tracking users on their website. Smith & Wesson moved to dismiss Plaintiffs’ claims, arguing that CIPA privacy claims lacked sufficient detail.