Kathryn Rattigan

Kathryn Rattigan

Kathryn Rattigan is a member of the Business Litigation Group and the Data Privacy and Security Team. She concentrates her practice on privacy and security compliance under both state and federal regulations and advising clients on website and mobile app privacy and security compliance. Kathryn helps clients review, revise and implement necessary policies and procedures under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). She also provides clients with the information needed to effectively and efficiently handle potential and confirmed data breaches while providing insight into federal regulations and requirements for notification and an assessment under state breach notification laws. Prior to joining the firm, Kathryn was an associate at Nixon Peabody. She earned her J.D., cum laude, from Roger Williams University School of Law and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Stonehill College. She is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Read her full rc.com bio here.

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Judge Rejects $4 Million TCPA Settlement

By Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Enforcement + Litigation, Websites
This week, a Pennsylvania federal judge refused to approve a proposed $4 million settlement for violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) because it would provide the 67,000 class members with only $35 each. In the 50-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson said that Flagship Credit Acceptance LLC (Flagship) ought to be able … Continue Reading

Antwork Uses Drones in China to Assist in Transport During Coronavirus Outbreak

By Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Coronavirus, Drones
Last week, a medical delivery drone flying from the People’s Hospital of Xinchang County to the disease control center there successfully completed the air transport of needed medical quarantine supplies and patient samples in the coronavirus outbreak. This is the first launch of Antwork’s “urban air transportation channel” to help fight the coronavirus outbreak in … Continue Reading

U.S. Interior Department Grounds DJI Mavic Pro Drone for Cybersecurity Reasons

By Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Drones
Last week, the U.S. Interior Department (the Department) grounded its fleet of over 800 DJI Mavic Pro drones, citing potential cybersecurity risks and the desire to support U.S. drone production. This suggests that the Department is at least in part concerned with the manufacture of the DJI drones in China. While Interior Secretary David Bernhardt … Continue Reading

Proposed Safety Standards for Drone Package Delivery

By Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Drones
This week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued proposed safety standards for specific drones for package deliveries. This is a big step toward allowing routine package delivery by drones. This proposal marks the first time the FAA has presented a formal policy that addresses certain safety and airworthiness requirements for drones making package deliveries. The … Continue Reading

Super Bowl LIV—No Drone Zone

By Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Drones
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), along with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is informing drone operators of the restrictions on drone flights before, during and after Super Bowl LIV on Sunday, February 2 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The FAA expects more than 2,500 additional take-offs and landings and almost … Continue Reading

GAO Says FAA Could Leverage Drone Test Site Data for More Effective Integration

By Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Drones
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) wrote in a report published last week that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has facilitated approximately 15,000 drone research flights since 2015, but that the FAA could make better use of the data it collects from these drone test flights. Since 2015, both public and private entities have used … Continue Reading

FAA’s Proposed Rule for Drone Remote Identification

By Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Drones
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released its unmanned aircraft system (UAS or drone) remote identification Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Proposed Rule) on December 31, 2019. This is a huge step toward the integration of drones into the national airspace and an effective unmanned traffic management system. There is a 60-day public comment period; if you … Continue Reading

CCPA Recap for the New Year

By Linn Foster Freedman, Deborah George and Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Data Privacy, New + Now, Websites
After much anticipation and trepidation, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) went into effect on January 1, 2020. Many companies are understandably still grappling with the details of the law, the amendments, and the proposed regulations and how to comply with them. If you have not determined whether the CCPA applies to your company, and … Continue Reading

FAA Announces Details about the Recreational Drone Flyer Test

By Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Drones
This week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced more details about its new recreational drone flyer test, which will be an opportunity to educate recreational flyers about the rules of flying a drone in national airspace. An FAA law passed in 2018 requires recreational drone flyers to pass an online aeronautical knowledge and safety test, … Continue Reading

On the Border Restaurant Suffers Data Breach

By Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Data Breach
Last week, the Tex-Mex restaurant chain On the Border suffered a data breach that impacted its payment acceptance systems in 27 states. The restaurant says that some credit card information of customers who visited the chain between April and August 2019 may have been compromised. In a press release, On the Border representatives said, “Our … Continue Reading

Aviation Groups Urge House and Senate Committees to Reject Drone Legislation

By Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Drones
In a letter submitted last month to the chairmen and ranking members of the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and its aviation subcommittee, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and other aviation industry groups urged the panels to oppose the Drone Integration and Zoning Act, S.2607. This Act “proposes enabling thousands … Continue Reading

Consumer-Facing DNA Testing Company Suffers Data Breach

By Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Data Privacy
Last week, Veritas Genetics, a consumer-facing DNA testing company, suffered a security breach affecting customer information in its database. Veritas offers whole-genome sequencing to consumers for $599. The security incident affected its customer portal, which Veritas said does not contain genetic data, DNA test results or health records. How did that information remain protected from … Continue Reading

Cybersecurity Considerations for Drones

By Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Drones
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) estimates that by 2023 there will be more than 835,000 commercial drones in the United States. As the use of drones for many commercial purposes (such as aerial inspections, utility projects, monitoring real estate and construction activities) increases, more and more organizations will consider how to integrate these devices into … Continue Reading

Medical Prescription Delivered by Drone

By Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Drones
Last week, UPS and CVS completed the first commercial medical prescription drone delivery in the United States under a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) program. The deliveries were made in North Carolina via a cable that lowered the prescriptions to the ground as the drone hovered about 20 feet above each destination. One of the packages … Continue Reading

Introducing the New York SHIELD Act

By Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Enforcement + Litigation
The New York “Stop Hacks and Improve Electronic Data Security Act” (SHIELD Act), N.Y. Gen Bus. Law§ 899-bb, requires businesses that collect private information on New York residents to implement reasonable cybersecurity safeguards to protect that information. While this is a new law in the State of New York, it is simply joining other states, … Continue Reading

UPS Receives FAA Approval for Drone Deliveries

By Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Drones
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted UPS Flight Forward, Inc. (UPS) a Part 135 air carrier and operator certification for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS or drone) delivery. The certification was granted through the FAA’s UAS Integration Pilot Program and will allow UPS to perform revenue-generating package-delivery activities using drones. As a Part 135 operator, … Continue Reading

Another Delay in Issuance of UAS Remote Identification Regulations

By Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Drones
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced that the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for remote identification of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS or drones) has been delayed – again. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is now scheduled for release in December 2019. These rules will address remote identification, which is the ability of a drone to … Continue Reading

New Delivery Drone Unveiled

By Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Drones
Last week, Reno, Nevada-based Flirtey introduced its new delivery drone – the Flirtey Eagle. This new drone was created to deliver packages to customers in less than 10 minutes, operate in 95 percent of potential wind speeds and weather conditions, and deliver its contents by lowering a tether while the drone is suspended in air. … Continue Reading

Drone Completes 115-Mile Trial for Offshore Methane Detection

By Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Drones
Last week, British Petroleum’s (BP) North Sea business completed its pilot project to remotely monitor methane emissions of its offshore assets by using an unmanned aerial system (UAS or drone). BP used a fixed-wing UAS with sensor technology originally designed by NASA for the Mars Curiosity Rover. The UAS circled one of BP’s offshore platforms … Continue Reading

$267 Million Judgment Against Debt Collector for TCPA Violations

By Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Enforcement + Litigation, Websites
On September 10, 2019, California federal judge, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, entered a $267 million judgment against a debt collection agency, Rash Curtis & Associates (Rash Curtis), for its violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for over 534,000 unsolicited robocalls. This judgment comes after a May jury trial in which the … Continue Reading

FAA Demonstrates Successful UAS Traffic Management

By Kathryn Rattigan on Posted in Drones
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and industry partners in the unmanned aerial systems (UAS or drone) traffic management system pilot successfully demonstrated how multiple drones can function safely in the national airspace. During the demonstrations, conducted at three separate test sites, multiple beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations were conducted at … Continue Reading
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