Business stories

Meet the business owners responding to website privacy claims, in their own reported accounts.

Tami Goldsmith Brandon Phipps Belinda Gutierrez

The documented owner accounts here concern California businesses.

Folsom Lake Heating & Air · CapRadio, June 18, 2026

Tami Goldsmith’s website lawsuit

Tami Goldsmith and her husband started their HVAC business in May 2025. Six months later, she left horse training to handle its administration full-time, according to CapRadio.

The business used Housecall Pro for repair-appointment bookings. CapRadio reported that the service was named in a website-related privacy suit. A summons arrived in February 2026, during a quieter season for the business.

“We’re not IT people. It’s totally out of our spectrum of things that we know about.”
Tami Goldsmith, speaking to CapRadio

Goldsmith told the reporter she contacted Housecall Pro and the suit was settled.

Read CapRadio’s full account See what analytics and booking tools do

Reporting by Ruth Finch, CapRadio, June 18, 2026. Settlement amount and payer were not reported.

The article also reports privacy advocates’ concerns about broad exemptions from CIPA. Coverage does not imply that CapRadio or the owner endorses this coalition.

Second Star Technologies · Bakersfield, California

Brandon Phipps’s reported costs

Brandon Phipps runs an IT business with his wife. He told KERO/23ABC that the business paid more than $20,000 in combined legal fees and settlement costs.

He also described the pressure of discovery and scrutiny of personal finances.

Read KERO/23ABC’s reporting

$20,000+

Combined fees and settlement costs.
Owner-reported, May 2026.

Separate court record naming Second Star Technologies: Los Angeles Superior Court, 24STCV17428.

Elk Grove Plumbing, Drain, Heating and Air

Belinda Gutierrez’s decision

Belinda Gutierrez’s family business began in 2018. She told the Elk Grove Citizen that a November 2025 demand letter about its website surprised her.

In a May interview, Gutierrez described a $15,000 settlement option and a $20,000 estimate to contest the claim. September reporting says she intends to defend the business.

Owner’s estimates, not reported payments · May 2026 interview, published June 9; follow-up September 23.

Read the June report Read the September update

Why a claim can carry substantial exposure

California’s civil-remedy provision permits $5,000 per violation or three times actual damages, whichever is greater, without requiring proof of actual damages. A plaintiff still must establish a qualifying violation. Read §637.2.

A court-imposed filing restriction documents one response to a specific litigant; settlement costs alone do not establish abuse.

What would the HAIL Act change?Read the quick overview

Business stories

Tami Goldsmith’s website lawsuit

Brandon Phipps’s reported costs

Belinda Gutierrez’s decision

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