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URGENT REMINDER- You Must Act Now to Protect Your Right to Sue Over the DOJ Data Leak!

December 20, 2022

URGENT REMINDER THAT TODAY, DEC 20th IS THE DAY TO GET IN YOUR GOVERNMENT CLAIM FORMS IN ORDER TO PRESERVE YOUR RIGHT TO SUE THE CALIFORNIA DOJ LATER. More information from our November 18th notice below.

 

 

To preserve your right to sue the DOJ for leaking your personal information, you should file a claim form right now. Doing this now will preserve your option to decide to sue later. Details below.

Several months ago, CRPA broke the news that the California DOJ leaked the private personal information of hundreds of thousands of gun owners. The CRPA team immediately started gathering information about the leak and researching possible legal remedies that could be used to hold Attorney General (AG) Bonta and the DOJ accountable for this outrageous mishandling of gun owners’ private and confidential information.

As we explored the potential legal pathways that could be used to hold the DOJ accountable, our researchers concluded that a class action was not viable because the damages from the leak could be so different among individuals.

Nonetheless, another 2A advocacy group rushed to file a class action against the DOJ over the leak, saying they would pursue claims against the DOJ for all victims of the leak. So, there was no urgent need to act at the time.
We’ve now been informed that the group that filed that class action has decided not to pursue it. Whatever their reason for this, it means that there is CURRENTLY NO CLASS ACTION in place that we are aware of.

This is an embarrassing political issue for AG Bonta, and DOJ’s taxpayer paid lawyers will do everything they can to protect AG Bonta from liability. DOJ will likely argue that before anyone can sue the AG they need to first file an administrative claim form with the state. This is called “exhausting administrative remedies.”

That means you need to decide NOW whether you MIGHT want to pursue a claim or lawsuit individually or take other action later.

While we do not think that an administrative claim being submitted is completely necessary in every case, the best way to avoid the expense of litigating this particular issue is to file the form. It is a simple form that can be found here: Government Claim Form. The fee for filing the form is $25.00, but submitting the form avoids a legal fight about your ability to sue later.

After you file the form, your claim will likely be rejected, or ignored. That’s okay. According to the California Courts website the government has 45 days to respond. If the government denies your claim during the 45-day period, then you have 6 months to file a lawsuit. If the government does not respond at all to your claim, you have 2 years to file a lawsuit against DOJ without running into this exhausting administrative remedies issue.

CRPA is urging anyone who might possibly want to file a lawsuit later to file that claim form NOW.
There is a limited amount of time to act! YOU NEED TO FILE AN ADMINISTRATIVE CLAIM FORM BY DECEMBER 20TH!
CRPA’s lawyers have filed a claim form for a case that CRPA is supporting in order to address how this really happened and what damages could be available to victims. You can use this sample claim form to help complete your own claim form. The sample claim form can be found HERE

We encourage every gun owner affected by this data leak to file an administrative claim form right away.  Flood the state with these forms for damages. SHARE this information with other gun owners.

This is not legal advice. Consider consulting an attorney to assist you with the claim form and/or to file a lawsuit. CRPA has released a detailed memo to help!   In our memo, CRPA provides information about filing a lawsuit, and even a sample complaint from our lawsuit that anyone can review.

Also, PLEASE SHARE this guidance with anyone you know that may have been impacted by the data leak.  Send it to your family and friends, post it on your social media, share it with any ranges or clubs you might belong to.  Make sure that anyone affected knows their options!For more information on the DOJ Leak and what CRPA has been doing about it, please visit the DOJ Leak Resource Page