PLAINTIFF HAS FILED 160 LAWSUITS ALLEGING WEBSITE CHATS VIOLATED FLORIDA WIRETAPPING LAW

Tonight in *** WPBF 25 news investigation, *** South Florida business owner says two simple questions asked through his company's AI chatbot turned into *** lawsuit alleging illegal wiretapping. However, as our investigative reporter Terry Parker dug deeper, she discovered it wasn't just one business being sued over their bot, it was dozens. The court records show one plaintiff has filed 160 similar lawsuits in less than *** year, sparking *** legal battle over whether Florida's wiretapping law applies to. AI chatbots. Terry joins us now from the newsroom. Terry, this case could affect just about any business that uses AI for customer service. That's right, Todd. Most of us don't think twice about asking *** question, typing into *** company's website chatbot, but these lawsuits are raising *** new question. Is that providing the chatbot simply being good customer service, or could it be illegal wiretapping? I talked to both sides in this growing legal fight. Good morning. When Aaron Menetoff got hit with *** lawsuit last October demanding at least $2500 from his Rivier Beach charcuterie company, he was shocked. I was kind of blindsided, and you know, I had heard that these types of things happen, but when it happens to you, you know, it makes your blood boil. Hand assemble it and it's going to arrive anywhere in the country the next day. Bordery ships charcuterie across the country. Customers order on the website, and if they have *** question, they can ask an AI-powered chatbot. That's what *** Broward County woman named Yesenia Muniz claims she did asked two questions about shipping, and we responded how we responded. And then she asked, Do we ship to Hawaii? And we responded that we did ship to Hawaii, and that was the end of all of the correspondence. But Munis' lawsuit claims that AI chat violated the Florida Security and Communications Act by intercepting the chat without prior consent and then. Saving the chat on *** computer server and if Aaron didn't pay up, he says Munis' lawyer told him he could be liable for damages and attorney fees and said, you know, basically you need to settle, otherwise you're going to have to pay all my attorney's fees. This is going to, you're going to have to pay your attorney's fees. This is gonna, this could be $500,000 to $100,000 and that intimidates defendants to just pay out because not only, but they're on the hook potentially. For real liability under *** law that was passed many years before there was even an internet. Aaron's attorney Dave Ehrenberg says the plaintiff is using pre-internet law to attack new technology, and judges now must wrestle with how to apply it. It's not spying. It's not interception. When you have two parties to the conversation and one of them is the business itself, so you can't spy on yourself. You can't intercept yourself. And so I don't think it's *** good legal argument, but because there are statutory damages here and lawyer fees involved, it's *** pot of gold for professional plaintiffs. I tried to track down plaintiff Yesenia Munez using public records, but because that's *** common name in Florida, I couldn't determine which Yesenia Muniz filed this lawsuit against Aaron. But I did find out that Aaron's business is not the only one being sued by Yesenia Muniz and her lawyers. Looking through court records, I found this one. And this one and this one. In fact, the more I reviewed the court records, the more lawsuits I found. Take *** look, these are just the 1st 30 or so lawsuits that Muniz filed starting back in July. In fact, these boxes hold only *** portion of the complaints that have been filed in Broward County Court. In order to save *** few trees, though, we decided not to print them all out. According to court records, since last July, attorneys Abdul Sumi Dalal and Veronica Balbazanova have filed 160 lawsuits on Muniz's behalf, once filing as many as 10 in *** single day. The complaints are very similar and use much of the same language, and in almost every case, the defendants closed out the claims without *** trial. These are, in my mind, strike suits. These are lawsuits that are designed. To get someone *** payday rather than to actually do justice rather than to right *** wrong. We went to Broward County Court where two other businesses being sued by Muniz were supposed to appear before the judge. Neither one showed. Neither did Muniz, but that's not required in preliminary hearings, so plaintiffs often don't. But Muniz's lawyer was there, so I ask her what is. Ms. Munis's stake in all this. Has she actually been harmed by all of these companies? Yeah, absolutely, and that's what we've alleged in all of the complaints as well, that there's actual damage and harm there. Veronica Baluzanova says judges have agreed with them in the past, and according to the law, businesses need to warn people they are being recorded before using the chatbots. I asked her if that's what her firm is doing, to go after privacy laws and to help consumers is. Because it's *** big payday for your firm with all these multiple lawsuits settling. Correct, we are just pursuing our clients' legal rights, and we believe that there is *** cause of action there that the Florida legislature has created, knowing that we're just going to settle, so they have *** payday. Aaron says rather than risk trial, he decided to settle. Meantime, Muniz and her attorneys are continuing to sue, adding 3 more lawsuits this week. The list of defendants keeps growing. In May, just weeks before the FIFA World Cup, Muniz and her attorney sued the United States Soccer Federation. Some would say that these just appear to be strike lawsuits, that you're really filing them in such *** volume in order to make people settle quickly, and you really have no interest in privacy. Well, I would say that that's incorrect. I mean, obviously we can agree to disagree on that, I'm sure, but You know, I don't agree with that characterization. Aaron Burke says there's nothing to stop these lawsuits now, and they're happening not just here in Florida but all over the country. What will happen is that this will continue until enough people get hurt by this, and then the legislature is going to act, and then it's going to kill the golden goose. And one more thing, while these lawsuits are being filed in Florida, many of the businesses that are being sued are headquartered in other states around the country. They simply have websites that customers can use here in Florida, and it's happening in other states too. And one thing you might note is that many businesses now are realizing what's happening, and you might notice if you go to *** website and you see the chatbot, there's often *** disclaimer now that says you are giving your consent to talk to that chatbot. Terry Parker, WPBF 25 news. *** reminder you can see Terry Parker's investigations every Thursday evening right here on WPBF 25 News at 6. You can also watch your past investigative reports anytime you like by going to our website WPBF.com or downloading our free WPBF 25 news app. Look under the Investigate tab.