Lawyers Can't Use DMV Records to Solicit Clients

Lawyers Can't Use DMV Records to Solicit Clients

(CN) - Lawyers cannot use confidential information from state motor vehicle records to solicit clients, the Supreme Court ruled Monday in a 5-4 opinion.

The high court reversed the 4th Circuit's ruling for a group of South Carolina lawyers who used data gleaned from Department of Motor Vehicle records to target potential plaintiffs for lawsuits against car dealerships.

Citing the "litigation exception" to the Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994, trial lawyers retrieved the names, addresses and phone numbers of thousands of car buyers.

The buyers filed a federal class action, claiming the mailings they received from lawyers violated their privacy rights.

The high court narrowly agreed.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/06/17/58574.htm