Mo. Agency Disclosed Drivers' Personal Info, Class Action Says

Two data collection companies violated the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act by obtaining the personal information of hundreds of thousands of Missouri drivers from the state's Department of Revenue and selling it to third parties, according to a class-action lawsuit.

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, names The Source for Public Data, ShadowSoft Inc. and state Revenue Department Director Omar Davis.

Plaintiffs Emily Roberts and Sarah Smith seek to represent a group of licensed Missouri drivers whose personal information the state's Revenue Department allegedly disclosed to the defendant companies.

The complaint says the proposed class is easily identified through the Revenue Department records.

According to the suit, Public Data and ShadowSoft illegally conspired with Revenue Department employees to obtain the highly restricted personal information, including the Social Security numbers of licensed Missouri drivers.

The companies then made the personal information available for search and sale on the Web site publicdata.com, according to the plaintiffs.

The complaint alleges violations of the Driver's Privacy Protection Act which prohibits all state-run motor vehicle agencies from knowingly disclosing "highly restricted personal information" except under conditions outlined in the statute.

The law provides an exception in cases where a person provides, in writing, permission to disclose his or her personal information, according to the suit.

The plaintiff class members, however, did not consent to the release of their personal information, the complaint says.

Public Data and ShadowSoft made false representations to acquire the personal information they posted on the Web site, the suit says.

The complaint also alleges that unidentified Revenue Department employees, agents and contractors violated 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The statute provides a private right of action when a state actor deprives a party of constitutional rights.

The plaintiffs allege that Revenue Department employees knew or should have known that they were violating the plaintiffs' privacy rights by disclosing their personal information to Public Data and ShadowSoft.

In addition the defendant companies were unjustly enriched when they violated Missouri's Merchandising Practices Act, the suit says.

The plaintiffs are seeking actual and statutory damages and penalties for the alleged violations of state and federal laws.

They are represented by Don Saxton and Ralph Phalen in Kansas City, Mo.; Mitchell Burgess of Burgess & Lamb in Kansas City; and Tim McDuffey of Bergmanis & McDuffey in Camdenton, Mo.

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