Home Depot Class Action Lawsuit: License-Plate Tracking & Data-Sale Claims
In 2026, Home Depot became the center of a national debate over retail surveillance: parking-lot license-plate cameras that critics say feed a nationwide vehicle-tracking network, and a retail-media business accused of selling shopper data without proper notice. Two separate federal class actions — one in California over the camera data, one in Virginia over data sales — are now working their way through the courts. As of August 2026, neither case has settled, and there is no claims process or payout to apply for.
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Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated
What's Alleged: License-Plate Tracking and Data Sales
Two 2026 lawsuits target different pieces of how Home Depot collects and uses customer data. In Schmierer v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. (filed May 1, 2026), five California shoppers allege the company installed automated license-plate-recognition (ALPR) cameras — reportedly supplied by security-camera company Flock Safety — in store parking lots, capturing every visitor's plate number, vehicle make, model and color, and feeding that data into law-enforcement databases without customer consent, in violation of California's ALPR Privacy Act. In Wright v. The Home Depot, Inc. (filed July 2026), a Virginia customer alleges the company separately sells shoppers' personal information to advertisers through its retail-media arm, Orange Apron Media, using a LiveRamp "clean room" to build enhanced ad profiles — without the notice Virginia privacy law requires. Both lawsuits sit against the backdrop of a wider controversy: since a January 2026 Reuters report, investors and lawmakers in several states have pressed Home Depot on whether U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other agencies can access its parking-lot camera data — a question Home Depot's board declined to submit to an independent audit.
Case Details
Two separate federal lawsuits are pending: Schmierer, et al. v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., et al., Case No. 3:26-cv-03967, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California; and Wright v. The Home Depot, Inc., Case No. 2:26-cv-00683, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. No settlement administrator exists because no settlement has been reached — both cases remain active litigation.
Current Status: Two Active Lawsuits, No Settlement
Who's Affected — and Can You Join?
There is no claims process to sign up for yet — both proposed classes are still awaiting certification by a judge. The Schmierer case seeks to represent anyone whose vehicle was captured by Home Depot's ALPR cameras at a California store parking lot. The Wright case seeks a nationwide class of Home Depot customers whose personal information was allegedly collected and sold through Orange Apron Media, plus a Virginia subclass under state law. If you shopped at a Home Depot with a visible parking-lot camera system — reporting has documented Flock Safety cameras at stores in California, Texas, Connecticut, North Carolina, Montana and other states — your plate was very likely captured, whether or not you end up part of either lawsuit.
How Much Could You Get? Nobody Knows — There's No Settlement
Timeline: From Investor Questions to Two Lawsuits
- 1
January 16, 2026 — Investors publicly question the surveillance program
Reuters reports that Home Depot investors are pressing the company on how law enforcement — including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — accesses vehicle data captured by Flock Safety license-plate cameras in store parking lots, putting the program in the national spotlight for the first time.
- 2
March 23, 2026 — Home Depot's board opposes an independent audit
Ahead of its annual meeting, Home Depot's board recommends shareholders reject a proposal demanding an independent audit of how license-plate and surveillance data is shared with government agencies.
- 3
May 1, 2026 — First lawsuit filed: Schmierer v. Home Depot (N.D. Cal.)
Five California consumers led by William Schmierer sue Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. (Case No. 3:26-cv-03967), alleging its ALPR cameras captured vehicle data without consent and shared it with federal law-enforcement databases in violation of California's ALPR Privacy Act.
- 4
Late May 2026 — Annual shareholders' meeting
At Home Depot's annual meeting, shareholders vote on several governance proposals, including calls for more transparency on the surveillance-data program; Home Depot has not published a confirmed breakdown of that specific vote's outcome.
- 5
July 2026 — Second lawsuit filed: Wright v. Home Depot (E.D. Va.)
Virginia resident William E. Wright sues The Home Depot, Inc. (Case No. 2:26-cv-00683), alleging the company sells customers' personal information through its Orange Apron Media ad network and a LiveRamp "clean room," seeking a nationwide class plus a Virginia subclass.
- 6
August 2026 — Scrutiny keeps growing, no rulings yet
Local reporting — including advocates' claims tied to an ICE detention near Houston — and continued state-level coverage of Flock Safety's spread keep the story in the news. Both lawsuits remain in early pretrial stages, with no confirmed motion-to-dismiss ruling, class certification, or settlement in either case.
Scam Alert: There's No Home Depot Settlement to Claim Yet
Because this story has been covered by dozens of outlets since January 2026, it's exactly the kind of headline scammers exploit. Three patterns to watch for:
"Claim your Home Depot settlement payment" texts and emails
No settlement has been reached in either lawsuit, so there is nothing to claim and no legitimate email, text, or website can pay you a cent right now. Delete messages claiming otherwise and never click their links.
Fake "join the class action" forms harvesting your data
Some social posts and ads invite you to "register" for the lawsuit by submitting your name, address, driver's license number or bank details. Real class actions don't require pre-registration before certification, and no legitimate law firm needs your bank login to add you to a case.
Misleading posts that distort what the lawsuits actually say
Fact-checkers at Snopes reviewed viral claims about the parking-lot surveillance lawsuit in July 2026 and found some posts overstated or misquoted the actual allegations. Read the source filings or a reputable legal-news outlet before sharing, and treat any post promising a fast payout as false.
Home Depot Class Action FAQ
Is there a Home Depot class action settlement I can file a claim for right now?
No. As of August 2026, there are two active, unresolved lawsuits — Schmierer v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. (N.D. Cal.) and Wright v. The Home Depot, Inc. (E.D. Va.) — but neither has reached a settlement, and no class has been certified. There is no claim form, no administrator, and no payout to apply for.
What are the lawsuits actually about?
Two different but related privacy claims. Schmierer alleges Home Depot's automated license-plate-recognition (ALPR) cameras — installed in parking lots and supplied by Flock Safety — captured customers' plate and vehicle data without consent and shared it with law-enforcement databases, violating California's ALPR Privacy Act. Wright alleges Home Depot sold customers' personal information to advertisers through its Orange Apron Media network and a LiveRamp "clean room" without proper notice, violating Virginia privacy law.
Does Home Depot really share license-plate data with ICE?
That's the core of the public controversy, not a settled fact we can confirm either way. Since a January 2026 Reuters report, investors, state lawmakers (including in Connecticut and North Carolina) and advocacy groups have pressed Home Depot for details on how law enforcement — including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — accesses the Flock Safety camera data. Home Depot's board opposed a shareholder proposal for an independent audit in March 2026. The company has not published a detailed public accounting of every agency that has received the data.
Can I sign up or register to join the lawsuit?
Not yet in any formal sense — both cases are pre-certification, meaning no judge has approved a defined "class" that people can opt into. The safest way to stay informed is to follow the case dockets or contact the plaintiffs' law firms directly (Emery Reddy P.C. and Milberg PLLC for Schmierer; Consumer Litigation Associates P.C. and Bursor & Fisher P.A. for Wright), not third-party sign-up pages.
How much money could I get if these lawsuits succeed?
Unknown, and anyone quoting you a number today is guessing. The Schmierer complaint asks for a statutory minimum of $2,500 per class member plus punitive damages; the Wright complaint seeks statutory damages under Virginia law plus disgorgement of Home Depot's ad profits. Both are demands in a complaint, not court-ordered amounts — actual recoveries, if any, depend on rulings, possible settlement, and how a judge or jury calculates per-person damages.
Is this the same as the old Home Depot data breach settlement?
No. Those are unrelated, closed matters: Home Depot's 2014 payment-card breach was resolved years ago with a $17.5 million consumer settlement and a separate $25 million payment to financial institutions. The 2026 lawsuits are new cases about license-plate tracking and data sales to advertisers — unrelated to the 2014 breach.
What should I do if I shop at Home Depot regularly?
Nothing is required today — there's no claim to file and no form to submit. If you want to limit your ALPR exposure, some state laws (including the one cited in the Schmierer complaint) give you the right to ask what vehicle data has been collected about you; check Home Depot's privacy policy or your state attorney general's office for how to submit that request. We'll update this page if either case reaches a settlement.
Separate from this case: were you injured in the last 2 years?
Class-action payouts are fixed amounts through an administrator. A personal injury claim is a different case — and often worth far more. Free estimate, no obligation.
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