In re Northwest Airlines Privacy Litigation
United States District Court for the District of Minnesota
2004 WL 1278459 (2004)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Northwest Airlines, Inc. (Northwest) (defendant) posted its privacy policy on its website. The privacy policy stated that Northwest did not share its customers’ personal information unless such sharing was necessary for travel arrangements. Specifically, the policy stated that Northwest shared “only the relevant information required by” any “involved third party to ensure” the success of the travel arrangements. The National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) asked Northwest to turn over certain passenger information to allow NASA to study ways to make air travel safer. Northwest complied and turned over certain passenger records that included passengers’ names, flight numbers, and credit-card information, among other data. Some of Northwest’s customers (plaintiffs) sued Northwest, alleging that Northwest’s privacy policy constituted a unilateral contract and that the disclosure to NASA constituted a breach of that contract. Northwest filed a motion to dismiss the claim.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Magnuson, J.)
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