Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Home Depot sued over license plate reader use in parking lots
A class action alleges Home Depot used license plate readers in California parking lots without proper notice or safeguards, sharing data with law enforcement in violation of state privacy laws.
Amid ongoing litigation over law enforcement agencies' use of license plate readers, Home Depot now faces a lawsuit for allegedly using the technology in its store parking lots.
A recent class action claims the company installed license plate cameras made by Flock Safety without obtaining consent from customers or putting proper guardrails in place. The lawsuit was moved from Contra Costa County Superior Court to Northern California federal court on Friday.
"Defendant Home Depot implemented and maintained, without proper notice, Automated License Plate Recognition ("ALPR") systems that captured the license plate information, location, date, and time as Plaintiff and the Class Members entered and exited any of Home Depot's California-based locations.... Defendant Home Depot also did not maintain proper security procedures, practices or safeguards to protect ALPR information from unauthorized access or disclosure. The information collected by the ALPR systems constitutes [personally identifiable information] and therefore is entitled to specific protections under the laws of California," the complaint states.
The complaint, filed by Philip L. Fraietta of Bursor & Fisher, P.A., takes issue with Flock's database of license plate information, which is shared with law enforcement agencies that purchase the service. They allege that the data collected by the Home Depot cameras can be accessed by law enforcement agencies.
"Thus, the ALPR data taken of Plaintiff's vehicle was transmitted to federal and state law enforcement authorities without a search warrant and not for legitimate purposes," the complaint states. *McGinity v. The Home Depot*, Inc., 4:26-cv-03103 (N.D. Cal., filed April 10, 2026).
Home Depot is represented by Jones Day, according to court documents.
The complaint cites several news reports saying that local law enforcement agencies shared data from the Flock database with federal immigration officers.
"Because Flock works with troves of Americans' sensitive data, and because Flock's track record of data security is already questionable, an ALPR operator or ALPR end-user like Defendant Home Depot is obligated to implement and maintain its own security procedures and safeguards to further protect ALPR information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure," the complaint says.
"Defendant Home Depot has not done so. Instead, since at least March 2025, Home Depot has been sharing camera feeds or footage from its Flock cameras with law enforcement."
Plaintiffs allege that the actions violate state law regulating the use of automated license plate readers, outlined in California Civil Code Section 1798.90. The section states that automated license plate reader operators must maintain "reasonable security procedures" and "implement a usage and privacy policy."
Flock is currently facing a lawsuit of its own in the district, alleging it violates California law when it shares license plate data across state lines.
A recent class action claims the company installed license plate cameras made by Flock Safety without obtaining consent from customers or putting proper guardrails in place. The lawsuit was moved from Contra Costa County Superior Court to Northern California federal court on Friday.
"Defendant Home Depot implemented and maintained, without proper notice, Automated License Plate Recognition ("ALPR") systems that captured the license plate information, location, date, and time as Plaintiff and the Class Members entered and exited any of Home Depot's California-based locations.... Defendant Home Depot also did not maintain proper security procedures, practices or safeguards to protect ALPR information from unauthorized access or disclosure. The information collected by the ALPR systems constitutes [personally identifiable information] and therefore is entitled to specific protections under the laws of California," the complaint states.
The complaint, filed by Philip L. Fraietta of Bursor & Fisher, P.A., takes issue with Flock's database of license plate information, which is shared with law enforcement agencies that purchase the service. They allege that the data collected by the Home Depot cameras can be accessed by law enforcement agencies.
"Thus, the ALPR data taken of Plaintiff's vehicle was transmitted to federal and state law enforcement authorities without a search warrant and not for legitimate purposes," the complaint states. *McGinity v. The Home Depot*, Inc., 4:26-cv-03103 (N.D. Cal., filed April 10, 2026).
Home Depot is represented by Jones Day, according to court documents.
The complaint cites several news reports saying that local law enforcement agencies shared data from the Flock database with federal immigration officers.
"Because Flock works with troves of Americans' sensitive data, and because Flock's track record of data security is already questionable, an ALPR operator or ALPR end-user like Defendant Home Depot is obligated to implement and maintain its own security procedures and safeguards to further protect ALPR information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure," the complaint says.
"Defendant Home Depot has not done so. Instead, since at least March 2025, Home Depot has been sharing camera feeds or footage from its Flock cameras with law enforcement."
Plaintiffs allege that the actions violate state law regulating the use of automated license plate readers, outlined in California Civil Code Section 1798.90. The section states that automated license plate reader operators must maintain "reasonable security procedures" and "implement a usage and privacy policy."
Flock is currently facing a lawsuit of its own in the district, alleging it violates California law when it shares license plate data across state lines.
