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LEGAL VIEW WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD

Some Suicides Possibly Linked To Ashley Madison; Multiple Lawsuits Filed Against Ashley Madison; Ferguson Judge Wipes Out Old Warrants; Basketball Team Disqualified Over Female Player. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired August 25, 2015 - 12:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


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[12:33:19] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Some serious fall out from the Ashley Madison hack. It seems to be taking quite a dark turn as well. Police in Canada are investigating two suicides possibly linked to this massive data breach.

In the United States a San Antonio Police captain ended his life just days after his information was exposed.

In the mean time there are multiple lawsuits that have been filed against the online adultery site and its owners after the hackers exposed names, financial info and very sexy embarrassing details of millions of customers, tens of millions.

Joining me now, CNNMoney Tech Correspondent Laurie Segall, CNN Legal Analyst Paul Callan and CNN Legal Analyst Danny Cevallos.

So Laurie I want to start with you because you've been digging a new source of -- you come up with some information about these suicide, what do you know?

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY TECH CORRESPONDENT: I do know that San Antonio Police captain that ended his life, he was on a site. We're able to confirm that he was on the site, although, you know, it also appears that he didn't really use the site match we do know that the Toronto Police are investigating a suicide.

So, you know, we talked Ashleigh how this isn't a victim list crime this is seriously not a victim list crime and we are seeing that now more than ever, let's just hope there are no more suicides as part of this horrific backlash from that hack.

BANFIELD: I know we've been talking about lawsuits could've been launched to a big clash action in Canada with some action here in United States as well, but there's anybody at this point tieing those lawsuits to anything other than financial damages, embarrassment et cetera, are tying it to the death?

SEGALL: Not right now. At this point we're talking negligence, invasion of privacy. One very interesting tidbit from a Texas lawsuit, they said lead documents actually showed that employees actually knew that there was some kind of technical issue that cold lead to a breach. So they're talking about that.

[12:35:06] In Canada we're looking at $568 million in damages they say because of the emotional reputational and potential financial information that's been out there.

BANFIELD: OK, let me jump over to Paul. Just about the notion that tieing a suicide and trying to get some kind of relief if you are the surviving family member's children et cetera. A can you, B is there relief and C how far could that relief go?

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you could get relief, but it would be very, very difficult because bare in mid the person who committed suicide presumably if you can link it back to the site is doing this because he had engaged in active infidelity in the first place.

So of course defense lawyers will say well, it wasn't so much if you hadn't been unfaithful to his wife in the first place none of this would have happen. You can't blame the site.

But lawyers have a work around for that called class action lawsuits and what they do is they aggregate all of the claims and let's say hypothetically, you had a jury that just gave a $100 per victim, OK. And Ashley Madison has claimed $40 million people in their database, well that's $4 billion as much as Donald Trump is worth. So that's a big recovery.

BANFIELD: Do we know that all of those are paid, I mean there's lot to talk about phantom and I don't know if it can be a phantom without being you know, paying.

CALLAN: We don't know. And actually the talk is that is far less than that, but they have advertised repeatedly that their database had that many names in it.

BANFIELD: Danny Look there's a lot of things you can sue for. You can go after punitive, you can go after -- you can go after damages that you suffer financially, you can go after pain and suffering, go out through all sorts of things in the court of law when it comes to this are you seeing where the limitations are?

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: The largest barrier in this data breach is so far has been what we call standing. In other words the mere fact that your data is out there, have you suffered an actual harm sufficient enough to allow you to file a lawsuit in court. In other words has something bad actually happen to you yet? Or are you merely facing that threat of your data being out there.

Now we are certainly in new ground because it's not so much the data. But the fact that you were on the website in the first place that is causing this harm.

Earlier this year the seven circle court of appeals struck a massive blow for plaintiff attorneys in the class action context by saying that people who's data is put out there, data that has breached, the fact that they may suffer a potential injury by having that information out there is sufficient to allow a class action to move forward.

And I have to tell you in a world of data breaches and plaintiffs attorneys this is this is going to be a major sea change.

BANFIELD: Let me just pop up the disclaimer that's imbedded in all the fine print and all those websites that we all hook up with, you know, whether it's credit card or whether to Ashley Madison, this is what it says in fine print that you agree to, although, we strive to maintain unnecessary safeguards to protect your personal data, we cannot ensure the security or privacy of information you provide through the internet and your e-mail messages.

You agree to release us our parent, subsidiaries and then, you know, it can continue affiliated entities from all claims, demands, damages, lawsuits, liabilities of every kind known and unknown direct and contingence, disclosed and undisclosed arriving out of or in any way related to the release or use as such information by third parties, they though this through well, before hand.

I need just a one word answer from my two lawyers I'll start with you Paul.

Does that absolve them of anything?

CALLAN: It depends on the state. The lawsuit is brought in, the rule is different in every state and this is a Canadian company, so you're going to have Canadian, U.S. and many State cases.

BANFIELD: That's more than one word, what do you think Danny? Is it a good defense?

CEVALLOS: It's a -- it depends there's my lawyer answer, it depends, you know, it's a rule of contract law that that you cannot take a ticket and absolve yourself of all liability in the fine print.

However courts have been upholding these click rapt agreements as their goal.

BANFIELD: Well, we'll continue to watch and I think it's just so tragic that we're now talking about suicide. Of course we we're concerned about people overseas who are executed for certain kinds of relationships, contempt summarily in the street without any adjudication -- I mean this is a really sad and ugly story all around.

Laurie Segall, thank you, Danny Cevallos, Paul Callan as always thank you.

Coming up next, if you have an arrest warrant in your name in Ferguson Missouri you might not be having to worry about it today and you may be getting one whopper of a break. I'm going to tell you why. Next.

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[12:43:24] BANFIELD: If you have an a outstanding arrest warrant in Ferguson Missouri and that warrant was issued before this year -- before 2015, you might just be able t kick back and relax a little. Ferguson's new municipal court judge is wiping every warrant dated 2014 or earlier off of the book. Why? Its part what he calls a "Fresh start" in response to scathing report from the U.S. Justice Department that's accusing Ferguson Police a policing for profit.

That is flooding the streets with citations for trivial offenses and wrecking in the revenues from offenders who either pay or risk arrest.

I'm joined now by CNN Correspondent Sara Sidner.

I don't know if this is in reaction to the justice department and its overseers if they actually made this happen or if the judge decided that this should happen, but effectively what's the net effective what's going on there?

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I want to run down for you Ashleigh just as a few of the things that were put in that order.

One of those was that warrants before 2015 are withdrawn and that's all warrants not just ones for things like missing court or not paying traffic fine, but all warrants have been wiped out from 2015 before December 31st 2014.

So warrants over five years that's another one, those are thrown out completely and then failure to appear that was one of the big things were people would get all these fines on top of fines, on top of fines and not be able to pay and then have not want to go to court because they couldn't pay knowing that they might be arrested.

So failure to appear is no longer going to be a reason to actually put out a warrant for you and have you arrest and put in jail.

[12:45:04] So those are the three big main points of this particular order that the judges put. And remember these judges put in place after the prior judge was really slammed by DOJ from some of the work that he was doing there that was negatively affecting the community, Ashleigh.

BANFILED: Yeah, so the question I think a lot of people have is what? I mean just everything just goes away, you get a complete fresh start, it's all disappear, it's not that simple, is it Sara?

SIDNER: It is absolutely not. You instruct the exact right tone there, basically what they're saying is yes, the warrants are gone. But the cases are not gone and those still must be resolve.

It's almost like you get us clean slate but you're not starting from zero, you still have to go back to court and try to resolve these cases.

And some of the ways, they're doing that and say look, we know that some of the people who were given all of these fines on top of their tickets, on top of that and each time they missed the date or each time they did not complied, they get another fine that they may not have the money to pay. So they doing things like, you can be a community service, you can go on a payment plan. And if you are considered indigent, we may wipe those fees out all together and then you do get start from zero, no arrest warrant, the case away but you have to work it out to the court, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: And then you really exactly what you just said, you have to work it out to the court.

You got to show up. But those people that didn't show up, they got a warrant this time, they get a second chance, they got to show up.

All right, Sara Sidner keep tracking it for us, thank you ma'am, it's good to see you.

Coming up next, a boy's basketball team gets booed. When they've made it to the national tournament and they were climbing in the ranks and all because this girl was part of their team.

Boy team, girl player, nope, not allowed. So guess what? Not all bad news, it was a consolation price, in fact the New York City to play at Madison Square Garden and meet these two ladies. I just have to stand up so you can see what a (inaudible) I have, next of them. WNBA players bring those kids up the MSG to play a game, I already love you, you had me a hello and you have and it was still hello.

We're going to talk about this, coming up after the break.

BANFIELD: Hello ladies. Nice to meet you.

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[12:50:55] BANFIELD: I bet you've never heard of Kymora Johnson, fifth grader, Charlottesville Virginia, basketball player, adorable and also really good at sports and there's nothing like telling your mom.

We have made it to the national championship tournament. And there's nothing like tell her -- we got to the semi finals in the tournament and there is nothing like telling your mom.

They disqualified slam (ph) because I'm a girl. Because the NTBA's rules say that a girl can't play on a boy's team in the national championship.

It really happened. You know, what the boy did? They stood in solidarity with her on the sidelines at that championship. And then, you know, what happened? Some even bigger, something even bigger happened when the New York liberty, the NBA, WBNA. They heard about this. And they said, "Get yourself on in airplane, we're flying you up to New York City and you are going to play in the big leagues at Madison Square Garden," and that exactly what this team did.

That's Kymora, over on the right that's her in the center at MSG under the spotlight, pretty good consolation price. And there is nothing like talking to Candice Wiggins and Swin Cash about what they did to organize this.

Ladies, this is amazing Swin how did you even find out about it, how does this whole plan get orchestrated, to have that team come to New York City and show their stuff with the big league?

SWIN CASH, PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER, NEW YORK LIBERTY: Well, you know, now a days with social media, everything just takes off. But once we heard about Kymora situation, I think the New York Liberty stepped up so they played. I mean they've doing in all season longest story helping young girls how to get in to the game of basketball.

But, really together the New York Liberty, the sponsors brought this team here to watch them play after our game was so exciting. They were so happy to this be in that environment and Candice and I, we're really be a part of that with the treat (ph).

BANFIELD: Oh so Candice this is so wonderful. Did this seem to make things better? I mean obviously these kids were crashed. Did this change the occasion for them to have this opportunity?

CANDICE WIGGINS, PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER, NEW YOEK LIBERTY: Absolutely, I mean this is an experienced, it was an opportunity for, you know, them to kind of rearrange just, you know, everything that was going on. And, you know, the priority is the kids, you know, because they are the ones who are really impacted and it was just so special, special for all of us, people watching. It was really amazing.

CASH: And, you know, Candice and I both played when we were younger on boy's team.

BANFIELD: You did.

CASH: So for us that kind of really hit a core. Yeah, my first sporting activity was baseball and I played on all boys team.

BANFIELD: You never had this happened.

CASH: And I never had this happen.

BANFIELD: So let me read the NTBA's rules because they do clearly state that the girls can't play on boys team, boys also can't play on girls team and they along with the Charlottesville Cavaliers basketball team which is there, their team said in a press release, So I'm just going to read it.

"CCB and the NTBA are both committed to offering equal competition opportunities to boys and girls for the basketball, in an effort to ensure that nothing similar happened in the future, the NTBA is examining each rule policies."

Do you even understand why there would be rule like this in the first place? We're talking about fifth graders we're not talking about potentially the liability of smaller girls getting hurt by 17 year old boys, that's my guess as a lay person. But this is your world. Why would they have the rule in first place?

CASH: Well, I don't understand why they would have the rule. But I understand in our society today. I mean you look at even (inaudible) 40 years ago, for the 40 plus years ago, we have to fight for this right in high school or in college.

You never think that it would get all the way down to like the middle school level even at this grade. I mean that is the age where boys and girls should be playing together, learning how to play with the boys and the girls before you start having a divisiveness in separating them.

BANFIELD: I want to play a little moment with Kymora Johnson and her supporters just so we can hear from her and then I want to ask you something about it in a moment, take a look.

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KYMORA JOHNSON: When they told me we are coming to Madison Square Garden, I thought it was just like not real.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Madison Square Garden, I want to bring the team out, he's like what?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't believe it either. I still don't believe it.

[12:55:05] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was just looking at the stadium and how big the Madison Square and just how cool.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They going to remember this forever. And it will help them change the way things have seen in the future as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Oh my Lord, this is just the adorable. You got the shirt with you that she was wearing in the video girls don't sit on the bench. And they're all wearing pink shorts.

CASH: Yeah.

BANFIELD: Tell me a little bit about how they got custom like those for the game?

CASH: Well, I'm not really sure, but I was really digging that.

WIGGINS: You know, when I played on a boy's team too. It's a very similar situation, I played in San Diego Rising Stars. And we actually got disqualified in playing A.U.'s in similar circumstances end up to having the VCI's end up winning the championship.

And so, just kind of being in Kymora's situation, you know, it's hard to really understand that but when the guys like their actions, I was so impressed with them.

You know, the whole time their character and you just see these young boys, they're going to become the most distinguish men.

BANFIELD: So they already are.

WIGGINS: Yeah. BANFIELD: There on CNN. There we go wearing the pink shorts.

WIGGINS: Yeah, yes.

BANFIELD: I love that. Hey guys, thank you so much, Candice Wiggins and Swin Cash, nice to meet you both. And it's really great what you all did, thanks for that I appreciate it. Now I'll say thanks for Kymora as well.

And thank you everyone for watching. It's been nice to have you with us.

My colleague Wolf starts right after this quick break.

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