Updates to our Terms of Use

We are updating our Terms of Use. Please carefully review the updated Terms before proceeding to our website.

Thursday, March 14, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Privacy Policy

This policy describes how Courthouse News Service (“Courthouse News”) collects, uses, discloses, and safeguards personal information in various contexts, both online and offline, including when you access or use our websites, or any other services that link to this privacy policy, or communicate with us. This Privacy Policy also tells you about your rights and choices with respect to your personal information, and how you can reach us to get answers to your questions.

You can jump to particular topics by going to the headings below:

Types Of Information We Collect

Sources of Information

Use And Processing Of Information

Disclosure Of Information

Your Rights & Choices

How We Protect Personal Information

How Long We Retain Personal Information

Authorized User Accounts

Other Important Information

Contact Information

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Types Of Information We Collect

“Personal information” refers to information that identifies, relates to, describes, or can be associated with you. The following provides examples of the type of information that we collect, and have collected in the preceding 12 months, and how we use that information.

Context Types of Data Primary Purpose for Collection and Use of Data
CasePortal Registration We collect basic identifying and contract information, such as your name, phone number (optional), profile photo (optional), and contact information when you register as an authorized user of CasePortal. We also collect information relating to the actions that you perform while logged into your account. We have a legitimate interest in providing account-related functionalities to our users and performing our contract with you for the provision of our services.
Browsing Activity and Website Usage When you visit our websites, we collect certain information about how you use and navigate our websites, such as which links you click on, which pages or content you view, and other similar information or statistics. We also collect technical and identifying information about your device, operating systems, Internet Protocol (IP) address (a number that is automatically assigned to a computer when the Internet is used), domain name, click-activity, referring website, and/or a date/time stamp for visitors, and web browser type. We have a legitimate interest in making our websites operate efficiently and monitoring our networks and the visitors to our websites. Among other things, it helps us understand which of our services is the most popular. We also have an interest in detecting and preventing fraud.
Subscriber Information We collect basic identifying and contact information, such as the name and contact information of our subscribers and their employees with whom we may interact. We also collect billing information. We use this information to perform our contract with you to provide you with the products and/or services you request. We have a legitimate interest in contacting our subscribers and communicating with them concerning normal business administration such as subscription services and billing.
Correspondence with Customer Service If you contact our customer service team, such as by email or phone, we generally collect basic identifying and contact information, such as your name, employer, email address, telephone number, and any other information you choose to provide. We have a legitimate interest in managing customer relations with respect to any requests for information or complaints that we receive. We also have a legitimate interest in responding to inquiries related to support, employment opportunities, and other requests.
Cookies and first party tracking We use cookies, web beacons, clear GIF, pixels, internet tags, and other similar tracking technologies (collectively “tracking technologies”) to monitor how you interact with our websites. This may include which links you click on or identifying information about your device or browser. See our Cookies and Similar Tracking Technologies section below for more information. We have a legitimate interest in making our websites operate efficiently, providing account related functionalities, understanding how you interact with our websites to better improve them, and maintaining security standards. We also have an interest in detecting and preventing fraud.
Cookies and Third-Party Tracking We collect information about your internet activity and certain device identifiers so that we can provide advertising about products and services tailored to your interests on our websites, or on other websites. See our Cookies and Similar Tracking Technologies section below for more information.. We have a legitimate interest in engaging in behavior-based advertising and capturing website analytics. Where required by law, we will obtain your consent for the deployment of cookies on our websites.
Feedback/Support If you provide us feedback or contact us for support we will collect your name and e-mail address, as well as any other content that you send to us, in order to reply. We have a legitimate interest in receiving, and acting upon, your feedback or issues.
Mobile Devices We collect information from your mobile device such as unique identifying information broadcast from your device when visiting our website. We have a legitimate interest in identifying unique visitors, and in understanding how users interact with us on their mobile devices.
Newsletters and Communications When you subscribe to our newsletter or sign up to receive special alters, we collect your email address. We may also collect certain information about how you interact with the emails and promotional messages we send you. We share information with individuals that consent to receive such information. We also have a legitimate interest in sharing information about our reporting, as well as understanding how users interact with our communications.
Surveys When you participate in a survey we collect information that you provide through the survey. If the survey is provided by a third party service provider, the third party’s privacy policy applies to the collection, use, and disclosure of your information. We have a legitimate interest in understanding your opinions, and collecting information relevant to our organization.

Sources of Information

We collect your personal information in the following ways, pursuant to applicable law:

  • Directly From You, when you engage with our websites, register for an account, contact us, respond to a survey, sign up to receive emails, text messages, and/or postal mailings.
  • Through Our Use of Cookies and Other Automatic Data Collection Technologies, when you visit our websites, open or click on emails we send you, or interact with our advertisements. We or third parties we work with automatically collect certain information using technologies such as cookies, web beacons, clear GIF, pixels, internet tags, web server logs, and other data collection tools. For more information, please see the “Cookies and Similar Tracking Technologies” section below.
  • From Our ThirdParty Partners, including from third parties that we have partnered with to provide you the products and services that you have requested from us.
  • Other Sources, including data analytics providers or publicly available sources.

Cookies & Similar Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies, including pixel tags or web beacons (collectively “cookies”), to collect certain information on our websites, and through our services. We also permit certain third parties to use cookies and similar tracking technologies to collect information about your use of our websites. The information collected by these tracking technologies may include (a) your internet protocol (IP) address, unique device identifiers, location, browser type, and Internet service provider information; (b) information about when and how you access and use our websites, such as the domains you visit, what features you used and for how long, the website that referred you to us, and date/time stamps associated with your usage; (c) information about the device you use to access the websites such as device type, device ID, and device/browser settings; and (d) location of the device used to access the websites derived from GPS or WiFi use.

We differentiate between cookies that are essential for the technical features of our services and optional analytics and advertising cookies.

Cookie Type Description
Essential Cookies These are cookies that our websites need in order to function, and that enable you to move around our websites and features. Without these essential cookies, our websites will not perform as smoothly for you as we would like them to and we may not be able to provide certain services or features you request. Examples of where these cookies are used include to determine when you are signed in, to determine when your account has been inactive, and for other troubleshooting and security purposes.
Analytics Cookies Analytics cookies allow us to understand more about how many visitors we have to our websites, how many times they visit us, and how many times a user viewed specific pages within our websites. Although analytics cookies allow us to gather specific information about the pages that you visit and whether you have visited our websites multiple times, we cannot use them to find out details such as your name or address. We use Google Analytics. For more information about Google Analytics, please refer to “How Google Uses Information From Sites or Apps that Use Our Services,” which can be found at www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/, or any other URL Google may provide from time to time.
Advertising Cookies Depending on your location and in certain circumstances, we may work with thirdparty online or mobile network advertisers that use cookies to help us manage advertising and measure its effectiveness. These cookies enable third-party ad networks to recognize a unique cookie on your computer or mobile device and may be placed by us or our network advertising firm that works with our third-party network advertiser. The information that is collected and shared by cookies may be linked to the device identifier of the device you are using to allow us to keep track of all the sites you have visited that are associated with the ad network. This information may be used for the purpose of targeting advertisements on the our websites and thirdparty sites based on those interests.

Depending on your location and applicable laws, we may give you the option of adjusting your preferences with regard to the advertising cookies we use. Where this option is available, you can configure your personal settings by clicking the “Do Not Share or Sell or Share My Personal Information” link (discussed below in the Your Rights & Choices section), or via other options that may be available on the relevant website in your specific locations.

Use And Processing Of Information

In addition to the purposes and uses described above, we use information in the following ways:

  • To identify you when you visit our website.
  • To provide products and services.
  • To administer, maintain, evaluate, and improve our websites and services, and to develop new products and services.
  • To streamline the subscription process.
  • To conduct research and analytics, including improving our services and product offerings.
  • To respond to inquiries related to support, employment opportunities, or other requests.
  • To send marketing and promotional materials, including information relating to our products and services.
  • To detect security incidents, and to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding possible malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, including attempts to manipulate or violate our policies, procedures, and terms and conditions.
  • To comply with legal obligations, to establish or exercise our rights, and to defend against a legal claim.
  • To provide and maintain the functionality of our website, including identifying and repairing errors or problems.
  • For internal administrative purposes, to manage our business operations, to perform our obligations and exercise our rights under any agreement that you or your organization has with us.

Although the sections above describe our primary purpose in collecting your information, in many situations we have more than one purpose. Our collection and processing of your information is based in different contexts upon your consent, our need to perform a contract, our obligations under law, and/or our legitimate interest in conducting our business.

Disclosure Of Information

In addition to the specific situations discussed elsewhere in this policy, we disclose information in the following situations:

  • Acquisitions. If another company acquires, or plans to acquire, our company, business, or our assets, we will disclose information to that company, including at the negotiation stage.
  • Other Disclosures With Your Consent. We may ask if you would like us to disclose your information to other unaffiliated third parties who are not described elsewhere in this policy.
  • Compliance with Law or Other Legal Process. We may disclose personal information to third parties in response to subpoenas, warrants, court orders, or other requests from legal or regulatory authorities; in connection with any legal process; or to comply with relevant legal, regulatory or treaty obligations. We may also disclose your personal information in order to establish or exercise our rights, to defend against a legal claim, to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding possible illegal activities, suspected fraud, safety of person or property, or a violation of our policies.
  • Public Forums. Some of our websites may provide the opportunity to post comments in a public forum. If you decide to submit information on these pages, that information may be publically available.
  • Service Providers. We may disclose your information to service providers. Among other things service providers may help us to administer our website, provide technical support, process payments, and assist in the fulfillment of services.
  • De-identified Personal Information. We may disclose or use aggregated or de-identified data for any lawful purpose. De-identified information is generally not considered to be Personal Information under applicable laws.

Your Rights & Choices

Pursuant to applicable data protection law, you can make the following choices regarding your personal information:

  • Access to Your Personal Information. You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you, along with other information such as the purposes of the processing, the recipients or categories of recipients to whom the personal information has been or will be disclosed, the sources of the personal information, retention, and transfers of personal information. If required by law, upon request, we will grant you with reasonable access to the personal information that we have about you. Where required by law, we may also transfer a machine-readable copy of your personal information to you or a third party of your choice. Note that California residents may be entitled to ask us for a notice describing the personal information (if any) we share with third parties or affiliates for direct marketing.
  • Changes to Your Personal Information. We rely on you to update and correct your personal information. Our websites allow you to modify your account profile. If our websites do not permit you to update or correct certain information contact us at the address described below in order to request that your information be modified. Note that we may keep historical information in our backup files as permitted by law.
  • Deletion of Your Personal Information. Typically we retain your personal information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. You may, however, request information about how long we keep a specific type of information, or request that we delete your personal information by contacting us at the address described below. If required by law we will grant a request to delete information. However, when we delete personal information it will be removed from our active database, but it may remain in archives where it is not practical or possible to delete it. In addition, in many situations we must keep your personal information to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce our agreements, or for another one of our business purposes. Please note that in many situations we must keep your personal information to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce our agreements, or for another one of our business purposes.
  • Objection to Certain Processing. In certain situations, you may object to our use of your personal information by contacting us at the address described below. We do not knowingly sell the personal information of consumers under 16 years of age.
  • Online Tracking. Some web browsers incorporate a “Do Not Track” (DNT) or similar feature that signals to websites that a visitor does not want to have his/her online activity and behavior tracked. Not all browsers offer a DNT option and there is currently no industry consensus for how to recognize or respond to a DNT signal. CNS will endeavor to recognize commercially recognized opt out signals (e.g., Global Privacy Control). Recognition of this signal will only take place with respect to the device and/or browser that communicates the signal.
  • Revocation Of Consent. If you revoke your consent for the processing of personal information then we may no longer be able to provide you services. In some cases, we may limit or deny your request to revoke consent if the law permits or requires us to do so, or if we are unable to adequately verify your identity. You may revoke consent to processing (where such processing is based upon consent) by contacting us at the address described below.
  • SMS/Text Messages. If you have opted-in to receive text message alerts from us you can opt-out of receiving future text messages by following the “STOP” instructions in the message or by updating your subscription settings in CasePortal.
  • Restriction of Processing of Sensitive Personal Information: You have the right to request the restriction of processing of your sensitive personal information. Where applicable, the respective sensitive personal information will be marked accordingly and may only be processed by us for certain purposes. At the current time, however, we do not use or disclose sensitive personal information for purposes other than those expressed in this Policy or otherwise permitted by applicable law, and these uses cannot be limited under California law.
  • Automated Processing: Under certain circumstances, you have the right to object to a significant decision based solely on automated processing (i.e., without human intervention) unless that decision is required or authorized by law.
  • Right of Non-Discrimination/Retaliation: We do not discriminate against individuals who exercise any of their rights described in this Privacy Policy, nor do we retaliate against individuals who exercise these rights.
  • Opt-Out of “Sale” or “Sharing” of Personal Information. Our use of certain cookies or other tracking technologies is deemed a “sale” or “sharing” under California law (in this context “sharing” means cross contextual behavioral advertising) of personal information. As such, you can opt out of our use of certain tracking technologies and cookies by clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” button at the bottom of our websites or by clicking here.

    The following categories of personal information disclosed are considered “sale”/ “sharing” under California law: direct identifiers, device information, internet/electronic activity, and geolocation data.

    The following categories of third parties to whom personal information was disclosed are considered “sale”/ “sharing” under California law: social media platforms, and ad networks.

Please note that many of the above rights are subject to exceptions and limitations. Your rights and our responses will vary based on the circumstances of the request. If you choose to assert any of these rights under applicable law, we will respond within the time period prescribed by such law.

In the State of California, a person authorized to act on your behalf may make a verifiable request related to your Personal Information. If you designate an authorized person to submit requests to exercise certain privacy rights on your behalf, we will require verification that you provided the authorized agent permission to make a request on your behalf. In any circumstance, your request must: (i) provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify that you are the person about whom we collected Personal Information or an authorized representative of that person; and (ii) describe the request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it. We will only use Personal Information provided in a verifiable consumer request to verify the requestor’s identity or authority to make the request.

To exercise your rights, please call us at (909) 483-6165, or submit your request via the Privacy Request Form. In certain jurisdictions, you may appeal our decision to your request regarding your personal information.  To do so, please contact us as described in the “Contact Information” section.  We respond to all appeal requests as soon as we reasonably can, and no later than legally required.

How We Protect Personal Information

No method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is fully secure. While we use reasonable efforts designed to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information. In the event that we are required by law to inform you of a breach to your personal information we may notify you electronically, in writing, or by telephone, if permitted to do so by law.

How Long We Retain Personal Information

We retain information about you and your relationship with us for as long as is needed to fulfill our legitimate business purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy. The specific periods for which we keep information about you vary depending on the nature of the information, why we need it, and whether the personal information is de-identified. We also consider the minimum necessary retention period prescribed by applicable laws, recommended by industry standards, and stated in contracts and other legal obligations.

Authorized User Accounts

If your organization subscribes to a CNS service and you are an authorized user you will be required to create an account to access those services. When you do you will be prompted to create a password. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password, and you are responsible for any access to or use of your account by someone else that has obtained your password, whether or not such access or use has been authorized by you. You should notify us of any unauthorized use of your password or account, at [email protected].

Other Important Information.

The following additional information relates to our privacy practices:

  • Transmission Of Information To Other Countries. Your information may be processed in a foreign country where privacy laws may be less stringent than the laws in your country. By submitting your personal information to us you agree to the transfer, storage and processing of your information in a country other than your country of residence including, but not necessarily limited to, the United States. If you would like more information concerning our attempts to apply the privacy principles applicable in one jurisdiction to data when it goes to another jurisdiction you can contact us at the address below.
  • Third Party Applications/Websites. Our websites may include links to websites or applications that are owned or operated by third parties. Please note that any personal information that you provide to such third parties will be governed by their privacy policies, and we have no control over or responsibility for their privacy practices. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party website or application for details about what information is collected and how it is used and/or shared prior to providing any personal information.
  • Changes To This Privacy Policy. We may change our privacy policy and practices over time. To the extent that our policy changes in a material way, the policy that was in place at the time that you submitted personal information to us will generally govern that information unless we receive your consent to the new privacy policy. We will note the effective date of the latest version at the end of the Privacy Policy.
  • Children’s privacy. We will not knowingly collect any personally identifiable information from children under the age of 13 and our websites and our services are not directed to children under the age of 13. If a child under 13 submits personal information to CNS and we learn that the information is from a child under 13, we will attempt to delete the information as soon as possible. In addition, we do not knowingly sell the personal information of minors under the age of 16.

Contact Information

If you have any questions, comments, or complaints concerning our privacy practices please contact us at [email protected]. We will attempt to respond to your requests and to provide you with additional privacy-related information.

If you are not satisfied with our response, and are in the European Economic Area, you may have a right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.

  • Last Updated: April 19, 2023
  • Effective Date: March 23, 2020

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