New Jersey
Recent Proliferation of Lawsuits Under New Jersey’s Daniel’s Law | White & Case LLP
Plaintiffs’ attorneys recently have filed a series of lawsuits in New Jersey, seeking damages based on alleged violations of Daniel’s Law (N.J. Stat. § 56:8-166.1). The suits allege that various website operators have violated provisions of Daniel’s Law by making available the home addresses and unpublished home telephone numbers of law enforcement officers (including by making such information available on an online searchable database) following the receipt of a nondisclosure request. The officers have purportedly assigned their claims to Atlas Data Privacy Corporation, who sent thousands of automated nondisclosure requests to the defendants from “@atlasmail.com” email addresses as a precursor to the lawsuits.
Daniel’s Law was enacted in response to the death of Daniel Anderl—the son of New Jersey federal judge Esther Salas—who was shot and killed by a self-described “anti-feminist” lawyer who had targeted Salas.1 Daniel’s Law aims to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of personal information of “covered persons” (i.e., active or retired law enforcement officers, judges, prosecutors and child protective investigators—along with immediate family members residing in the same household). Under Daniel’s Law, following the receipt of a nondisclosure request from a covered person, or an “authorized person”2 permitted to send such a request on their behalf, businesses and other private entities must stop disclosing or otherwise making available the home address and unpublished home telephone number of such covered person within 10 business days.
Under the law, “disclose” is defined broadly to mean “to solicit, sell, manufacture, give, provide, lend, trade, mail, deliver, transfer, post, publish, distribute, circulate, disseminate, present, exhibit, advertise, or offer, and shall include making available or viewable within a searchable list or database, regardless of whether a search of such list or database is actually performed.”
Potential penalties under Daniel’s Law are as follows:
- actual damages, but not less than liquidated damages computed at the rate of $1,000 for each violation of this act;
- punitive damages upon proof of willful or reckless disregard of the law;
- reasonable attorney’s fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred; and
- any other preliminary and equitable relief as the court determines to be appropriate.
Given the significant potential exposure associated with mass claims under Daniel’s Law, and the short 10-business-day time frame for responding to nondisclosure requests, we recommend that companies receiving requests under Daniel’s Law promptly take steps to assess and mitigate risk by locating any relevant information in their systems and deleting or suppressing it. These suits represent the first large-scale test cases for Daniel’s Law and we expect to see further follow-on litigation; accordingly, it will be critical for companies hosting data of New Jersey residents to stay apprised of developments and ensure they have systems in place to quickly identify and respond to nondisclosure requests.
1 See, e.g., CBS News: Federal judge whose son was killed in ambush: “My son’s death cannot be in vain”
2 Under N.J. Stat. § 56:8-166.1, “authorized person” means “a covered person or any of the following persons hereby authorized to submit or revoke a request for the redaction or nondisclosure of a home address on behalf of a covered person: (1) on behalf of any federal judge, a designee of the United States Marshals Service or of the clerk of any United States District Court; (2) on behalf of any covered person who is deceased or medically or psychologically incapacitated, a person acting on behalf of the covered person as a designated trustee, as an estate executor, or pursuant to a written power of attorney or other legal instrument; and (3) on behalf of any immediate family member who is a minor and who is otherwise entitled to address redaction or nondisclosure pursuant to this act, the parent or legal guardian thereof.”
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This article is prepared for the general information of interested persons. It is not, and does not attempt to be, comprehensive in nature. Due to the general nature of its content, it should not be regarded as legal advice.
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New Jersey
NJ firefighter dies after crash responding to fire call
A young firefighter died two weeks after being badly hurt in a crash while responding to a fire call, according to the Malaga Fire Company.
Robert (Bobby) Reider, 23, was driving north along Delsea Drive while trying to get to the scene of fire on Saturday, June 27 when his car went off the road, officials said.
When first responders got to the scene of the crash, they found Reider trapped in his car and worked to remove him.
Reider was then taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital where he was treated for severe and traumatic injuries.
Weeks later, on July 10 around 4:30 a.m., Reider died from his injuries while still in the hospital.
The Malaga Fire Company says that Reider joined their team in 2018 when he was just 16 as a junior firefighter.
He then went on to earn a certificate at Fire 1 at the Salem County Fire Academy in 2022.
New Jersey
NJ Legislators Are Considering a Bill That Could Ban Tesla Robotaxis Due to Their Tech Choice
New Jersey lawmakers are deliberating on a law that would create a three-year autonomous vehicle pilot program in the state, but Tesla might be banned from participating altogether over a technical choice made by the Texas-based carmaker for its self-driving vehicles.
The bill, officially known as S1677, would establish autonomous vehicle testing requirements with the New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT) and the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. One of these proposed requirements is that autonomous vehicle operators use camera-based technology and two additional forms of sensor tech, such as lidar or radar. Of course, Tesla’s autonomous vehicle technology is purely camera-based, meaning the brand could be banned from testing in New Jersey.
The text of the bill is fairly straightforward, requiring prospective autonomous operators to submit a “law enforcement interaction plan” and detail redundant safety systems, crash-avoidance technology, and data recording capabilities. The specific language that would ban Tesla’s system requires autonomous operators to “be equipped with crash-avoidance systems, including a camera system and two distinct sensing modalities that are capable of detecting and tracking obstacles in the event of failure of the camera system.” The bill also favors keeping traditional steering wheel and pedal controls available. While initial testing would be completed with human safety operators, the bill would allow fully autonomous operation once certain metrics, such as 50,000 crash-free miles, are met.
The decision to require both camera- and sensor-based technology is not a coincidence, according to The Verge. “This is not anti-Tesla. I’m pro-New Jersey safety,” Democratic state senator Andrew Zwicker, the bill’s primary sponsor and a physicist by trade, said to The Verge. “At this point, I don’t think the evidence is sufficient that a single sensor with software can handle situations that humans can.”
Tesla is, unsurprisingly, upset about this development, and the company is fighting back. The automaker’s public policy platform, Engage Tesla, features a call to action for Tesla owners to contact members of the New Jersey Legislature to oppose the bill, with the plea claiming the autonomous vehicle testing program is the opposite of progress, and saying that Tesla would be legally barred from testing in the Garden State. Statistics about roadway death rates in New Jersey and denying freedom of movement for elderly populations are also included.
“Rather than prioritizing real safety outcomes and performance, the bill specifically bans Tesla from the New Jersey market,” the site reads. “Every arbitrary roadblock is a delay for the people who need this life-changing technology most. Legislation that bans Tesla’s proven AV technology from the market is not caution — it’s anti-competitive favoritism that will cause New Jersey to fall behind while other states move forward.”
The bill, introduced on January 16, is currently under consideration by the New Jersey Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. The bill’s language closely mirrors talking points from the nonprofit SAVE-US, which is lobbying for stronger oversight of autonomous vehicle testing. New Jersey is not the only state pondering additional autonomous testing regulation; New York legislators are working on similar legislation. Just yesterday, federal safety regulators called out autonomous vehicle operators like Waymo for interfering with first responders.
A New York transplant hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Emmet White has a passion for anything that goes: cars, bicycles, planes, and motorcycles. After learning to ride at 17, Emmet worked in the motorcycle industry before joining Autoweek in 2022 and Road & Track in 2024. The woes of alternate side parking have kept his fleet moderate, with a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta GLI and a BMW 318i E30 street parked in his Queens community.
New Jersey
Are all Freedom Fuel locations $3.47? Not anymore
Trump rolls out Freedom Fuel gas stations, what are they?
Trump’s Freedom Fuel is selling gas at $3.47/gal in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
President Donald Trump is touting a new fuel option for motorists: Freedom Fuel, advertising gas at a discount price to local consumers.
When the network was opened and announced on July 7, it advertised $3.47 per gallon regular gas at the pumps, a noticeable difference from national and state averages in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
But is the gas actually as cheap as the 47th President says?
According to some gas tracking platforms, it may not be.
On GasBuddy, a website tracking gas prices across the country with a pricing heat map based on user submissions, some of the Freedom Fuel locations’ pricing appeared to have risen.
Some still sporting the names of what appeared to be their previous sites, like a Gas N Go on Island Ave, the following addresses on GasBuddy match those listed as one of Trump’s 25 gas stations.
The pricing, however, varies:
- 2200 Island Ave, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – $3.57 as of July 8
- 400 Baltimore Pike, Springfield, Pennsylvania – $3.57 as of July 9
- 6243 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – $3.57 as of July 9
- 6800 E. Baltimore Ave, Lansdowne, Pennsylvania – $3.57 as of July 9
- 6801 Tilton Rd., Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey – $3.89 as of July 8
- 6501 Delilah Rd., Egg Harbor Township New Jersey – $3.57 as of July 9
Much about the gas station network remains unknown, like how long they’ll be operating or where stations could be popping up next.
Administration officials told USA TODAY on July 8 that the federal government has no role in the Freedom Fuel Network, nor is it providing it with funding.
The White House also said that “no other entity or person” is subsidizing the cost of gasoline.
Contributing: Michelle Del Rey USA TODAY NETWORK
Kaitlyn McCormick is a Philadelphia-based reporter writing all things trending, breaking and city-related for USA TODAY’s Philadelphia Metro Connect Team.
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