A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit alleging Thomson Reuters violated New Jersey’s judicial privacy measure, Daniel’s Law, in a significant ruling regarding judicial privacy rights. U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III ruled that Atlas Data Privacy Corp. failed to properly serve the Canada-based Thomson Reuters under The Hague Convention, the legal process for serving foreign entities, leading to the dismissal of the case without prejudice.
The lawsuit, filed in February 2024 in New Jersey state court and later moved to federal court, claimed that Reuters violated Daniel’s Law by not removing the personal information of judges and law enforcement personnel from the internet. The law was enacted in 2020 to protect judicial officers after the tragic murder of Daniel Anderl, the son of New Jersey District Judge Esther Salas, by a disgruntled litigant who found her address online.
Judge Bartle highlighted that Atlas Data had failed to take appropriate steps to serve Reuters under The Hague Convention for over a year after the lawsuit was filed, despite repeated reminders from Reuters. “The fault is with plaintiffs when they take no steps under The Hague Convention for over a year after the lawsuit is filed. This delay cannot be deemed to be in good faith,” the judge wrote in his opinion.
While Atlas argued that Reuters should have been excused from the timely service due to their knowledge of the lawsuit, Judge Bartle dismissed this argument. He emphasized that simply knowing about the lawsuit does not waive the need for proper service, and challenges regarding the constitutionality of Daniel’s Law and subject matter jurisdiction had to be resolved before other defenses could be addressed.
Daniel’s Law allows judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officials to request the removal of their home addresses and unlisted telephone numbers from the internet. Entities failing to comply face potential legal consequences, including injunctive relief, damages, and criminal sanctions.
Atlas Data Privacy Corp. has been at the forefront of enforcing Daniel’s Law, filing over 140 lawsuits for more than 19,000 individuals. Although Judge Bartle dismissed the case against Reuters, the company has filed over 25 additional lawsuits against other data brokers in a continued effort to hold entities accountable under the law.
Representatives for both parties declined to comment immediately following the ruling. The case, Atlas Data Privacy Corp. et al. v. Thomson Reuters Corp. et al., is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey under case number 1:24-cv-04269.
