S&C litigation partner Sharon Nelles and co-counsel Roberta Kaplan of Kaplan, Hecker & Fink LLP were named Litigators of the Week by The American Lawyer. Recognized for their work on behalf of Airbnb, the pair obtained a preliminary injunction preventing New York City from enforcing a new ordinance intended to collect personal data about the users of short-term rental platforms.
As described by The American Lawyer in the January 11 story, Ms. Nelles and Ms. Kaplan secured the injunction by pressing “a novel Fourth Amendment theory” that not only may save Airbnb billions of dollars, but has “significant implications for the protection of consumer information in the digital age.”
Airbnb hailed the January 3 decision as “a huge win for Airbnb and its users,” including “thousands of New Yorkers at risk of illegal surveillance.” Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York agreed that Airbnb is likely to prevail on its claim that the City’s demand for such a “breathtaking” amount of information violates the United States Constitution, and for that reason he issued the preliminary injunction enjoining the ordinance from taking effect.