Allstate Driving Data Collection Lawsuits Consolidated in Northern District of Illinois

Court has agreed to transfer more than a dozen data collection lawsuits filed against Allstate insurance company to a single judge, for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

A federal judge has ordered all Allstate lawsuits brought within the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, involving allegations that the insurance company illegally collects personal driving data without adequate consent, will be consolidated to help coordinate pretrial proceedings.

Over the past few months, a series of Allstate driving data collection lawsuits have been filed by policyholders, each raising similar allegations that the company illegally collects driving data through mobile apps issued by third parties, which it then uses to raise insurance premiums.

The lawsuits claim that Allstate and its data analytics subsidiary, Arity, paid millions to app developers to embed tracking code in various mobile apps, including those unrelated to driving, such as Life360 and SiriusXM. This code allegedly collected detailed user data, including location, speed and motion patterns, which was then used to analyze driving behavior.

According to the complaints, Allstate used this data to raise insurance premiums without notifying users or obtaining permission to track their driving habits. Plaintiffs argue that this practice violates consumer privacy rights and amounts to deceptive and unfair business conduct.

Given the growing number of Allstate driving data collection lawsuits, each raising similar questions of fact and law, a group of plaintiffs filed a motion calling for the lawsuits to be consolidated before Judge Jeremy C. Daniel in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, where Allstate’s headquarters are located.

On April 10, Judge Daniel issued an order (PDF) granting the motion. As a result, 13 separate lawsuits brought within the Northern District of Illinois will be consolidated before the judge. In addition, Judge Daniel has appointed a small group of attorneys to serve as co-lead counsel, as well as liaison counsel and plaintiffs’ executive committee members.

Beyond allegations of covert data collection, the lawsuits further claim that Allstate and its subsidiaries not only used the driving behavior data to adjust premiums but also profited by selling the information to third parties. Plaintiffs assert that Allstate compiled what is believed to be the world’s largest driving behavior database, housing sensitive data from more than 45 million individuals, without their knowledge or consent.

Demetric Sims, an Allstate policyholder who used the SiriusXM app, alleges in his complaint (PDF) that he was never notified that the app was transmitting his driving behavior to his insurance company. His lawsuit alleges that Allstate violated the Federal Wiretap Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by intercepting private data without consent. The complaint also accuses the company of common law invasion of privacy and deceptive business practices.

“Defendants, each a company owned by The Allstate Corporation, an insurance company, conspired to secretly collect and sell ‘trillions of miles’ of consumers’ ‘driving behavior’ data from mobile devices, in-car devices, and vehicles,” Sims stated in his complaint. “Defendants used the illicitly obtained data to build the ‘world’s largest driving behavior database,’ housing the driving behavior of over 45 million Americans.”

Sims, and other plaintiffs are seeking permanent injunctive relief to halt the continued collection and use of this data, along with equitable remedies and both actual and compensatory damages for those affected. The outcome of the consolidated litigation could have sweeping implications for consumer data privacy standards in the insurance industry and beyond.