Court Denies Certification In Privacy Class Action: Personal Information Is Not Necessarily Private Information

Broutzas, 2018 ONSC 6315

A recent Ontario court decision clarifies the distinction between personal information and private information and confirms that the wrongful disclosure of personal information may not always amount to a violation of privacy. In Broutzas, 2018 ONSC 6315, the court refused to certify a proposed privacy class action involving the sale of new mother contact information to company sales representatives of Registered Education Saving Plans (RESPs).

Facts

This is a case about wrongful disclosure of contact information. In separate incidents, three hospital employees allegedly accessed the names and contact information of patients who had recently given birth at the hospital. The first employee allegedly used the information to contact patients to sell them RESPs. The other two employees sold the contact information to RESP sales representatives. Importantly, the employees did not access or disclose the patients' confidential medical information, but only their contact information. The employees were terminated and the situation reported to the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC), the College of Nurses and the police.

The hospital chose to notify thousands of patients of the incident because it was unable to identify the specific patients who were affected. The incident received significant media attention following the notices. The IPC reviewed the case and ultimately issued findings in PHIPA Order HO-013. Police conducted an investigation that led to criminal charges against...