Mason Companies Sold, Rented Customer Information Without Consent, Class Actions Allege

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At least five proposed class action lawsuits allege Mason Companies, Inc. has unlawfully sold and rented mailing lists containing personal customer information to “anyone interested in purchasing them.” 

The cases, filed this week in Wisconsin, allege that the multi-brand apparel retailer has shared and thus monetized customer information ranging from age, gender and income to religion and product purchase details with data miners, aggregators, appenders and cooperatives, in addition to list brokers, aggressive marketing companies and various other parties. Mason Companies, under whose umbrella exist the B.A. Mason, ShoeMall, Stoneberry, K. Jordan, Maryland Square, Fifth & Glam and Wissota Trader brands, among others, “did not ask for much less obtain consent” from any customer before selling and/or renting lists of customer information, the suits allege. 

The lawsuits respectively look to represent residents of Puerto Rico, California, Ohio, Illinois and South Dakota who’ve allegedly had their names appear on or in a mailing list sold or rented, or offered for sale or rent, by Mason Companies. According to the complaints, Mason’s customer data sharing is both illegal in Puerto Rico and the four states and problematic given the risk it might pose to certain populations. 

“Mason’s practice of monetizing its customers’ names and likenesses for commercial purposes without their consent is not only unlawful, but also dangerous because it allows any member of the public willing to purchase or rent this data to target particular customers, including vulnerable members of society, using their identities, interests and other demographic data,” the cases argue. 

According to the filings, Mason, either directly or through one or more intermediaries such as NextMark, has sold and rented to other parties customer information in a “Mason Companies Enhanced Masterfile Mailing List” at a base price of “$105.00/M [per thousand],” or 10.5 cents apiece. Generally, the right of publicity laws of Puerto Rico, California, Ohio, Illinois and South Dakota prohibit the use of a person’s name, identity or likeness (or, in South Dakota, personality) in connection with a product, good, piece of merchandise or service without the person’s prior consent to do so, the lawsuits say. 

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