Clifford Chance

TransUnion v. Ramirez: Supreme Court Reins in Class Claims for Statutory Damages

June 30, 2021

Class claims involving little more than statutory damages suffered another setback on June 25, 2021, as the Supreme Court held in TransUnion v. Ramirez that a statutory cause of action cannot by itself create standing. Building upon the Court's 2016 decision in Spokeo v. Robins, the 5-4 opinion authored by Justice Kavanaugh will place important restrictions on the ever-increasing incidence of class action claims—particularly those premised on statutory violations. The Court also found that a risk of future harm is not by itself sufficient injury to create standing in a damages claim, a finding that will make it significantly more difficult to prevail on claims arising from data breaches.

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