Key Points
- Associates in Dermatology settled a lawsuit over its website allegedly collecting visitor data without consent, but no legal violation was admitted.
- Heriberto Valiente sued Associates in Dermatology on Aug. 13 alleging unauthorized data tracking on their website, seeking up to $8,000 in damages.
- The case is part of more than 150 similar lawsuits filed against Florida businesses, with some defendants settling to avoid costly litigation and others countersuing alleging the lawsuits are predatory and constitute a shakedown.
- Associates in Dermatology has 13 locations in Central Florida, including one in Apopka.
An Apopka dermatology practice has settled a lawsuit alleging its website collected and transmitted visitors’ online data without their consent, one of more than 150 similar cases filed against Florida businesses in recent months.
Heriberto Valiente of Miami sued Associates in Dermatology Inc. on Aug. 13 in Miami-Dade County small claims court. The practice operates several Central Florida locations, including an office in Apopka.
Valiente alleged that the practice’s website, dermorlando.com, deployed third-party tracking technologies that captured information from his web browser without first obtaining his consent.
“At no time was Plaintiff given any notice that Defendant’s website was installing such tracking technologies,” the lawsuit states, adding that Valiente was never asked for or gave consent for the tracking processes.
The complaint alleges personally identifiable information collected by the practice included IP addresses, browser and device information, operating systems, language settings, geolocation data, email addresses and other digital identifiers.
The lawsuit also alleges the practice violated the Florida Security of Communications Act by using technologies Valiente characterized as “pen register” and “trap and trace” processes to collect and transmit electronic data. The complaint includes an invasion-of-privacy claim.
Valiente sought damages of up to $8,000, along with attorney fees and other costs.
Last week, Valiente’s attorneys filed a notice stating that the two sides had “amicably settled” the case and would seek its dismissal after execution of a final settlement agreement and payment. The filing does not disclose the amount or other terms of the settlement.
The settlement does not constitute a court finding that Associates in Dermatology violated the law.
Associates in Dermatology did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The lawsuit isn’t Apopka’s first encounter with litigation involving website practices. In 2019, the city faced a federal lawsuit from a legally blind Daytona Beach man who alleged documents on the city’s website were inaccessible to his screen-reading software.
The Apopka case is one of at least 150 similar lawsuits the plaintiff has filed against businesses across Florida, according to Mainstreet Daily News, which reported that at least 29 Gainesville businesses had been sued. Several Gainesville defendants told the publication they had settled rather than incur the expense of fighting the claims in court.
At least one plaintiff, Gators Spine and Wellness Clinic, has countersued against Valiente and his attorneys with racketeering charges in federal court. The counter calls the lawsuits “a shakedown.”
“I will not back down,” owner Dr. Wendy Flynn said in a statement. “Our goal in pursuing these counterclaims is to ensure justice is served, to expose these predatory tactics, and to protect other healthcare providers and business owners so they can focus on serving our community without the threat of manufactured litigation.”
Some have disputed the legal theory behind the lawsuits. University of Florida law professor Jane Bambauer, who specializes in privacy law, questioned Valiente’s interpretation of the Florida Security of Communications Act in an interview with Mainstreet.
“Even if this is a faithful reading of the statute, this claim seems to be taking a technical violation that almost everyone in ordinary internet-enabled society has come to take for granted and has turned it into a lawsuit that can really threaten small businesses,” Bambauer said.
Valiente’s attorneys, PereGonza The Attorneys, defended the underlying privacy concerns in a statement to Mainstreet.
“Individuals have a right to expect that businesses will protect their online privacy and implement appropriate safeguards to secure their personal information,” the statement said.
—With reporting by Seth Johnson