University of Tennessee Medical Center & Margaret Mary Community Hospital Settle Meta Pixel Lawsuits
University of Tennessee Medical Center and Margaret Mary Community Hospital have both agreed to settle class action lawsuits over the use of tracking tools such as Meta Pixel on their websites.
University of Tennessee Medical Center
University of Tennessee Medical Center (UTMC) in Knoxville, Tennessee, has agreed to a settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit that alleged UTMC violated the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act by adding tracking technologies to its website, resulting in the unauthorized disclosure of patients’ personally identifiable health information to Meta, Google, and other third parties.
The lawsuit – Geoffrey Cavalier v. University Health Systems, Inc. d/b/a The University of Tennessee Medical Center – was filed in the Chancery Court for Knox County, Tennessee, and alleged that UTMC used tracking technologies such as Meta Pixel on its websites between January 1, 2015, and September 30, 2023. The plaintiffs allege that the tracking technologies collected and transmitted their personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI) to third parties without their knowledge or consent.
The lawsuit asserted claims of negligence, negligence per se, invasion of privacy-intrusion upon seclusion, breach of implied contract, unjust enrichment, and violations of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-101, et seq., and Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-601. UTMC denies all claims in the lawsuit, maintains there was no wrongdoing, and contends that no tracking code was added to its patient portal and no protected health information was disclosed to any third party via the utmedicalcenter.org website. After considering the costs and risks associated with continuing with the litigation and a jury trial, UTMC agreed to settle the lawsuit. The plaintiffs believe that the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate, and settling is in the best interests of all class members.
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All class members, individuals who had a patient portal account between January 1, 2015, and September 30, 2023, may submit a claim for a cash payment of $25.00. All individuals who submit a timely and valid claim for a cash payment will also be provided with a complimentary Privacy Shield Pro membership, which includes dark web monitoring, a VPN, data broker opt-out, and other privacy services. The deadline for submitting a claim is December 9, 2025, and the final fairness hearing has been scheduled for December 8, 2025.
Margaret Mary Community Hospital
Margaret Mary Community Hospital in Batesville, Indiana, has settled a class action lawsuit that alleged unlawful use of tracking technologies on its website. The lawsuit claims that Meta Pixel and other tracking tools were used on its website between 2020 and 2023 without users’ knowledge or permission. The lawsuit alleges that adding those tools to the website caused patients’ personally identifiable information to be transferred to Meta and others.
The lawsuit asserted claims of negligence, negligence per se, invasion of privacy, breach of implied contract, unjust enrichment, breach of fiduciary duty, and violation of the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act. Margaret Mary Community Hospital disagrees with all claims and contentions in the lawsuit and maintains that there was no wrongdoing; however, a settlement was agreed to avoid the costs and risks associated with a trial and related appeals.
All class members, individuals who logged into the Margaret Mary Community Hospital patient portal between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2023, may claim a cash payment of $25.00 and a complimentary membership to a Privacy Shield Pro product. Individuals wishing to opt out of or object to the settlement must do so by November 15, 2025. Claims must be submitted by December 1, 2025, and the final fairness hearing has been scheduled for December 18, 2025.
