Main Line Fertility Center Settles Tracking Technology Lawsuit
Main Line Fertility Center in Pennsylvania will pay cash payments to individuals whose sensitive data may have been disclosed to third parties via website tracking technologies. Like many healthcare providers, Main Line Fertility Center deployed third-party tracking tools and analytics code on its public website, including Meta Pixel. While these tools can provide valuable data to website owners, their use is problematic in healthcare due to the potential for sensitive data to be transferred to the providers of those tools. Depending on how and where these tools are deployed, they can potentially transfer personally identifiable and health information to those third parties.
In the case of Main Line Fertility Center, it was alleged to have used these tools without patients’ knowledge or consent, resulting in individually identifiable information being transferred to third parties, such as Meta. Anonymous plaintiff Jane Doe filed a lawsuit – Jane Doe v. Main Line Fertility, Ltd. – in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, alleging the use of these tools without the knowledge or consent of patients amounted to negligence and violated the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices Act. The lawsuit also asserted claims of invasion of privacy, breach of implied contract, and unjust enrichment.
Main Line Fertility Center maintains that there was no wrongdoing and filed its preliminary objections to the complaint on September 19, 2024; however, the court overruled the objections and ordered Main Line Fertility Center to file its answer to the plaintiff’s complaint, which was filed on February 6, 2024. Following substantive discovery efforts and extensive settlement discussions, Main Line Fertility Center agreed to participate in private mediation, and the material terms of a settlement were agreed upon. The full terms of the settlement have now been finalized, and the settlement has received preliminary approval from the court.
Similar to several other pixel-related settlements in recent months, class members will be provided with a cash payment and membership to a Privacy Shield Pro product. Class members wishing to submit a claim can elect to receive a one-time cash payment of $35, and if they submit a valid and timely claim, they will receive a code to enroll in the PRivacy Shield Pro product. Main Line Fertility Center has also agreed to pay attorneys’ fees and expenses, settlement administration costs, and service awards for the class representatives.
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The deadline for opting out of and objecting to the settlement is December 1, 2025, and claims must be submitted by December 29, 2025. The final fairness hearing has been scheduled for January 6, 2026.
