Company Bought by Experian Needn’t Report Presale Data Breach

California law obliges only current owners of data
State’s interpretation could lead to ‘absurd results’
Court Ventures Inc. properly beat a suit alleging it failed to notify victims of a security breach that it became aware of only after its sale to Experian Data Corp., a California appellate court ruled.

Former owners of computerized data containing personal information aren’t required to provide notice of a breach under the California Consumer Records Act, Justice Thomas A. Delaney of the California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, said Friday.

Court Ventures was a collector and seller of criminal-history information, including address-trace data for Social Security numbers, sourced from public information. Former owner Robert Gundling sold the company ...