Ads placed in BMV notices spark suits in several states

Imagitas told the court it wants the nine lawsuits consolidated into one.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Motorists in several states are suing a company that sends advertising in vehicle registration notices, saying it violates a federal law that protects their personal information.
Massachusetts-based Imagitas Inc., under contract in Ohio and other states to mail vehicle registration notices, inserts an advertisement before sending the notices to millions of drivers.
The practice is an apparent loophole in Ohio's 2000 Driver Privacy Protection Act, which allows drivers to shield personal data, such as names and addresses, from being disclosed by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles to commercial mailers for surveys, marketing or solicitations. Ohio's law mirrors laws in other states prompted by federal privacy legislation in 1994.
Lawsuits have been filed against Imagitas in Ohio, Massachusetts, Missouri, Florida, Minnesota and New York regarding the marketing that's done with the vehicle registration notices. Imagitas has asked that the nine lawsuits be consolidated into one.
Motorists in Cuyahoga, Medina, Geauga and Franklin counties sued Imagitas last September. The lawsuit contends that they never gave the BMV permission to release their personal information.
Here's the concern
"This creates a dangerous situation," said John R. Climaco, a Cleveland attorney for the motorists. "The state should be controlling the names of drivers."
Imagitas has had the contract to send the notices since 2005. To do the mailings, the company receives drivers' names and addresses.
Imagitas pays the state to do the mailing and receives a fee from the advertisers. Ohio drivers cannot decline to receive the information, said Alfie Charles, company vice president.
The company does not sell or share the driver information it receives from the Ohio BMV, Charles said.
Ohio has saved more than 2.2 million in postage and more than 3.5 million in printing expenses since signing the contract, Charles said.
What's in Fla. suit
A lawsuit filed in federal court in Florida notes that drivers sent renewal notices in December and January received an advertisement for Ford's F Series Super Duty trucks.
"Although this arrangement may be profitable for Imagitas, and may be cost-effective for the state DMVs, it is flatly impermissible under federal law," the lawsuit states. "Congress has decided that drivers' privacy should come before these corporate profits and before even cost savings for states."
The lawsuit seeks an order stopping Imagitas from using drivers' personal information as well as 2,500 for each vehicle owner whose information has been used by the company to mail advertisements.
The nation's privacy laws were triggered by the 1989 California slaying of actress Rebecca Schaeffer, who was tracked by a stalker through her California driver's license records.
State Sen. Patricia Clancy, a Republican from Cincinnati who sponsored the Ohio bill, said legislators are concerned about Imagitas' mailings. She plans to look into the loophole.
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