A Seattle-based appellate judge ruled that the practice does not meet the threshold for an illegal privacy violation under state law, handing a big win to automakers Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen and General Motors.
Appellate court (appellate judge) aka second instance court. So while not the end of discussion, that is quite absurd.
I’m short of time so I haven’t found the original complaint but according to the appeals court ruling, the plaintiffs never claimed any actual damages. The heading of the law in question is “Violating right of privacy—Civil action—Liability for damages.”
Is this a privacy violation? Yes. Did these people suffer any actual damages under the law? Evidently not.