TopClassActions  |  October 29, 2013

Category: Legal News

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Urban Outfitters LawsuitOn Oct. 25, Urban Outfitters Inc. and Anthropologie argued that Hanover Insurance Group Inc. should be obligated to pay for their legal defense against privacy class action lawsuits that accuse the retailers of unlawfully recording customers’ private information during credit card transactions.

Minnesota-based OneBeacon America Insurance Co. provided insurance to Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie from July 7, 2009 until July 7, 2010. The retailers filed the third-party complaint in Pennsylvania federal court after OneBeacon filed a lawsuit in September, arguing that they weren’t obligated to pay for the retailers’ legal defense.

In their complaint, OneBeacon argued that their commercial general liability coverage does not apply to “knowing violation of rights of another.” Specifically, the insurance company acknowledged that its insurance applies to “’personal and advertising injury’ caused by an offense arising out of your business, but only if the offense was committed in the ‘coverage territory’ during the policy period.”

OneBeacon argued that it had no obligation to pay for the legal defense of Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie because the plaintiffs in the underlying class action lawsuits did not allege “personal and advertising injury” as it was defined under the insurance policy. Further, the allegations would be excluded under either the “Recording and Distribution of Material” exclusion or the “Knowing Violation” exclusion under the policy.

One of the underlying Urban Outfitters ZIP code class action lawsuits was filed by plaintiff Whitney Hancock, who accused Urban Outfitters of requesting ZIP code information to track down customers’ addresses for marketing purposes. Also involved in this litigation are six class action lawsuits that were brought in California between Feb. 15 and March 21, 2011 that have been consolidated into one class action lawsuit. This consolidated lawsuit, led by plaintiff Andrew R. Dremak, alleged that Urban Outfitters improperly collected customers’ personal information, including ZIP codes, and sold the information to third parties. Lauren Miller filed a similar class action lawsuit in Massachusetts, which is also mentioned as an underlying lawsuit in this action.

According to the third-party complaint filed against OneBeacon by the retailers on Oct. 25, Hanover provided commercial general liability and umbrella insurance policies to Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie between July 7, 2011 and July 7, 2013. The retailers argued that Hanover provides insurance coverage through a number of commercial general liability policies, which should cover their legal expenses in the underlying class action lawsuits.

Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie argued in their third-party complaint that Hanover’s policy should cover the underlying class action lawsuits because that insurer’s policies cover damages arising from “personal or advertising injury” which also include coverage for injuries stemming from “oral or written publication, in any manner, of material that violates a person’s right of privacy.”

“The ZIP code actions allege ‘personal and advertising injury’ as those terms are defined in the Hanover policies,” the retailers argued. “The Hanover policies constitute valid and enforceable written contracts between the Urban Outfitters defendants and Hanover obligating Hanover to defend the Urban Outfitters defendants with respect to the ZIP code actions.”

Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie argue that Hanover has a duty to defend them in the ZIP code privacy class action lawsuits. Further, they allege that there are no policy exclusions that would bar coverage for the class action lawsuits.

The case is OneBeacon America Insurance Co. v. Urban Outfitters Inc., et al., Case No. 2:13-cv-05269, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Have you been asked to provide your ZIP code during a debit or credit card transaction at a California or Massachusetts store? You may be eligible to participate in a class action lawsuit and pursue compensation. See if you qualify for free at the Merchant ZIP Code Class Action Lawsuit Investigation.

 

 

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One thought on Urban Outfitters Sues Hanover for ZIP Code Class Action Coverage

  1. Angelica Romero says:

    Add me

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