Home Depot Flock Camera Lawsuit: One California Case, No Payout Yet
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The Home Depot Flock camera lawsuit going around social media is real, but it is narrower than the posts say. It is one consolidated federal case, In re: Home Depot ALPR Litigation, about license plate cameras in the parking lots of California stores. It is not about face scans. As of October 13, 2026 there is no settlement, no claim form and no deadline, and the jury trial is scheduled for May 2029.
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Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated
What the Lawsuit Claims
Home Depot operates 233 stores in California. According to the complaint, cameras supplied by Flock Safety at the entrances and exits of those parking lots capture the license plate, make, model and color of every vehicle, log it with time and location, and feed it into a database that law enforcement agencies can search.
The plaintiffs allege Home Depot ran these automated license plate recognition (ALPR) systems without proper notice and without the security safeguards and privacy policy that California's ALPR law, Civil Code Section 1798.90 and following, requires of operators. The complaint also alleges that since at least March 2025 Home Depot has shared camera feeds or footage with law enforcement.
Home Depot's position, on its own ALPR page: it uses the systems in select lots to prevent and investigate theft, fraud and organized retail crime, they do not use facial recognition, and only authorized local and in-state law enforcement get access — not federal agencies and not immigration enforcement. These are competing claims; no court has ruled on them.
Case Details
The case is In re: Home Depot ALPR Litigation, No. 3:26-cv-03103, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, before Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim. It began as McGinity v. The Home Depot, Inc. in Contra Costa County Superior Court (No. C-26-00794); Home Depot removed it to federal court on April 10, 2026. A second suit, Schmierer v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., No. 3:26-cv-03967, was filed on May 1, 2026. The two were related on May 26, the case was reassigned to Judge Kim on May 28, and the court approved consolidation on June 16, 2026. Bursor & Fisher filed the original complaint; Jones Day represents Home Depot. Our longer case file is on the Home Depot Flock lawsuit page.
Status: Early Pretrial, Trial Set for 2029
The court's scheduling order of September 1, 2026 runs long: fact discovery closes September 2, 2028, dispositive motions are heard January 22, 2029, and the jury trial is set to begin May 22, 2029. Dates like these often move. No class has been certified.
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There's no claim deadline yet. We'll email you if a settlement opens a claim period.
Who the Case Is About
The proposed class is people whose vehicles were captured by ALPR cameras at Home Depot's California stores. Shoppers in other states are not covered by this case, because it is built on a California statute.
There is nothing to sign up for. You do not join a class action by registering anywhere; if a class is certified or a settlement is reached, a court-appointed administrator gives notice and explains what to do. A site asking you to “sign up” for this case today is not the court.
Is There a Payout?
How cases like this one end
Our copy of the federal courts’ own case database covers 83,315 other statutory actions casesclosed in U.S. federal district courts between 2015 and 2026, 11.8% of them filed as class actions:
- 25.6% ended in a settlement recorded by the court. Another 22.4% were dismissed voluntarily, which often follows a private settlement — so the real settlement share sits between 25.6% and 47.9%.
- 7.4% were decided on a motion before any trial.
- 1 in 156 reached a trial (0.6%), after a median of 21.8 months.
- Median time from filing to the end of the case: 4.9 months.
- Only 1,756 of them (2.1%) record a money award at all; the median of those is $199,500.
These are base rates for this type of case (federal other statutory actions cases) — not a prediction about this lawsuit, and not legal advice. Source: Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (civil), analysed by Settlement Insight. Cases heard in state courts are not included.
Home Depot Flock Camera Lawsuit Timeline
- 1
April 10, 2026 — Moved to Federal Court
Home Depot removes the McGinity complaint from Contra Costa County Superior Court to the Northern District of California, No. 3:26-cv-03103.
- 2
May 1, 2026 — Second Suit Filed
Schmierer v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., No. 3:26-cv-03967, is filed in the same court with the same core claims.
- 3
June 16, 2026 — Cases Consolidated
Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim approves consolidation. A consolidated class action complaint follows on June 30, 2026.
- 4
August 14, 2026 — Home Depot Moves to Dismiss
Home Depot asks the court to dismiss the consolidated complaint. The docket originally set a hearing for October 19, 2026; an amended complaint followed on September 14, 2026.
- 5
September 1, 2026 — Trial Date Set
The scheduling order sets fact discovery to close September 2, 2028 and a jury trial to start May 22, 2029.
- 6
October 2026 — Pretrial, No Settlement
The effect of the September 14 amended complaint on the dismissal motion is unconfirmed. No class is certified; no settlement, fund, claim form or deadline exists.
Three Things to Watch For
Snopes found that the viral posts about this case mostly ended with pitches for apps or websites. Watch for these:
“Claim your $2,500 from Home Depot”
No one is paying $2,500, or anything else. The number is a statutory minimum the plaintiffs are asking for. A form that collects your plate number, address or bank details to “secure your share” is collecting data, not filing a claim.
“Sign up for the Home Depot class action” apps
Some popular videos, one with over 1 million views, closed with pitches for settlement-tracking apps or sites. You cannot register for a class that has not been certified, and no administrator exists yet.
Posts saying Home Depot scanned your face
The Flock complaint is about license plates, not faces, and Flock says its products have no facial recognition. Posts that blend this case with an older face-scan case are usually selling something.
Home Depot Flock Camera Lawsuit — Questions People Ask
Is the Home Depot Flock camera lawsuit real?
Yes. It is In re: Home Depot ALPR Litigation, No. 3:26-cv-03103, in federal court in Northern California. What is not real is the claim that you can collect $2,500 now, or that the case is about face scans.
Is there a Home Depot Flock camera lawsuit payout?
No. As of October 13, 2026 there is no settlement, no fund and no claim form. Home Depot has moved to dismiss, and the jury trial is set for May 2029. If money is ever available, a court-appointed administrator will announce it.
Who can be part of the case?
The proposed class covers people whose vehicles were recorded by ALPR cameras at Home Depot stores in California. Nothing needs to be done now; if a class is certified you are included unless you opt out.
Why do Home Depots have so many Flock cameras?
Home Depot says it uses automated license plate recognition in select parking lots to prevent and investigate theft, fraud and organized retail crime. The lawsuit's concern is what happens to the data afterward and who can search it.
Does Home Depot share the data with police or ICE?
Home Depot says only authorized local and in-state law enforcement get access, and that it has not given federal agencies or immigration enforcement access. 404 Media reported records showing a Texas sheriff's office could tap Flock cameras at dozens of Home Depot stores in Texas. The lawsuit alleges sharing since at least March 2025; that is disputed.
Are people suing Flock cameras directly?
Yes, separately. Flock Group itself faces lawsuits in California, including Lance Dutcher v. Flock Group Inc., removed to federal court on March 20, 2026. Those cases are covered on our Flock Safety lawsuit page.
What about the Home Depot face-scan lawsuit?
That was a different case: an Illinois biometric privacy suit over self-checkout cameras, filed August 1, 2025. The plaintiff dropped it, and the court dismissed it without prejudice. It has nothing to do with the Flock case.
Is the Home Depot breach settlement the same thing?
No. The data breach litigation over Home Depot's 2014 payment-card breach, MDL 1:14-md-02583 in Georgia, was closed on September 22, 2017. It is unrelated to Flock cameras and pays nothing for parking-lot surveillance.
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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