Another lead plaintiff, Jessica Leving Siegel, first sued ZoomInfo in Illinois federal court in April 2021, stating she never provided written consent, as required by Illinois privacy laws, for ZoomInfo to use her identity for commercial products or to promote its website.
ZoomInfo asked the court to dismiss the suit, arguing that Leving Siegel failed to state an IRPA claim. However, Judge Kocoras refused to dismiss the case in September 2021.
After the case survived the dismissal bid, an amended complaint led by Ramos was filed in Illinois in October 2021. The parties reached a settlement in principle in March, following years of adversarial litigation, contentious discovery, drawn-out settlement discussions, and an unsuccessful mediation session.
“This settlement sets the high-water mark for right of publicity cases and we’re looking forward to presenting it to the court,” Eli Wade Scott of Edelson PC, one of the attorneys for the potential class, told Law360.
Counsel for ZoomInfo could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday.
Legal Representation
Ramos is represented by Benjamin H. Richman, Ari J. Scharg, Benjamin S. Thomassen, J. Eli Wade Scott, and Michael W. Ovca of Edelson PC, and Philip L. Fraietta of Bursor & Fisher PA. ZoomInfo is represented by Martin L. Roth, William E. Arnault, Katherine T. Walling, and Rachel B. Haig of Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
