Kyle Corrigan, et al. v. City of Oshkosh, et al.

Summary

The court dismissed Bright Line Investigations, LLC, as a plaintiff because it failed to obtain counsel, and dismissed Kyle Corrigan’s action without prejudice. The court held that an Oshkosh police officer’s access to vehicle-registration information while investigating a suspicious vehicle was a permissible law-enforcement use under the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act. The court also concluded that information identifying an LLC was not protected personal information under the Act and that Corrigan failed to state plausible federal or state claims.

Holdings

1. A limited liability company may not proceed pro se and must proceed through licensed counsel; because no counsel appeared for Bright Line Investigations, LLC, it was dismissed as a plaintiff.
2. The officer's access to the vehicle's motor-vehicle record was a permissible use under the Driver's Privacy Protection Act because it was undertaken by a law enforcement agency in carrying out its functions.
3. The DPPA does not protect information concerning an artificial entity such as a limited liability company because the statute's protection applies to personal information belonging to an individual.
4. The complaint failed to state a plausible claim under the DPPA, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985, or 1986, or any asserted state law, and the action was dismissed without prejudice.

Questions Presented

1. Whether an LLC may proceed as a plaintiff without representation by licensed counsel.
2. Whether a law enforcement officer's access to a vehicle registration record while responding to a suspicious-vehicle report is a permissible use under the Driver's Privacy Protection Act.
3. Whether the Driver's Privacy Protection Act protects information identifying a limited liability company as the registrant of a vehicle.
4. Whether the complaint stated plausible claims under the Driver's Privacy Protection Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985, and 1986, state law, or Monell against the City of Oshkosh.

Disposition

dismissed