During these challenging times, Severson & Werson remains open and in full operation, consistent with the firm’s previously established contingency planning. While many of our attorneys and staff will be working remotely, as a firm, we continue in full operation. We are here to help, as always.
In Kylie S. v. Pearson Plc, No. 19 C 5936, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133299 (N.D. Ill. July 28, 2020), Judge Lee dismissed a data breach class action for absence of Article III standing. The facts were as follows: Sometime in late 2018, hackers penetrated AIMSweb's defenses and gained access to the data stored on the platform. Am. Compl. ¶… Read More
In Jantzer v. Elizabethtown Cmty. Hosp., No. 8:19-cv-00791 (BKS/DJS), 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83207 (N.D.N.Y. May 12, 2020), Judge Sannes dismissed a data breach class action for lack of standing. The facts were as follows: UVM Health is Vermont Corporation headquartered in Burlington, Vermont that consists of a "six-hospital and home health & hospice system" located in "Vermont and northern… Read More
In Stasi v. Inmediata Health Grp. Corp., No. 19cv2353 JM (LL), 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79303, at *1-4 (S.D. Cal. May 5, 2020), Judge Miller dismissed a nationwide identity theft/data breach class action. The facts were as follows: Plaintiffs allege that in January of 2019, Inmediata learned it was experiencing a large "data security incident" resulting in the exposure of… Read More
In Holly v. Alta Newport Hosp., Inc., No. 2:19-cv-07496-ODW (MRWx), 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64104, at *1-3 (C.D. Cal. Apr. 10, 2020), Judge Wright held that a data breach victim, on behalf of a putative class, did not plead enough. The facts were as follows: On October [*2] 18, 2019, Plaintiff Sallie Holly filed her First Amended Complaint ("FAC"). (FAC,… Read More
In Campbell v. Facebook, Inc., __ F.3d __, 2020 WL 1023350, The Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit held that violations of the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2510, et seq. (ECPA) and the California Invasion of Privacy Act, Cal. Pen. Code § 630, et seq. (CIPA) are, in and of themselves sufficient, without further allegations… Read More
In Adkins v. Facebook, Inc., No. C 18-05982-WHA, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 206271 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 26, 2019), Judge Alsup granted in part and denied in part a data breach class. This is a putative class action by plaintiff Stephen Adkins against defendant Facebook, Inc. Plaintiff asserts a claim for negligence based on Facebook's alleged faulty security practices in collecting… Read More
In Steven v. Carlos Lopez & Assocs., No. 18-CV-6500 (JMF), 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 203621 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 22, 2019), Judge Furman declined to approve settlement of a data breach class due to the absence of Art. III standing. In June 2018, an employee of Defendant Carlos Lopez & Associates, LLC ("CLA"), a provider of mental and behavioral health services to… Read More
In In re Facebook, Inc., No. MDL No. 2843, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 153505 (N.D. Cal. Sep. 9, 2019), Judge Chhabria allowed some claims to proceed against Facebook arising out of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Facebook's motion to dismiss is littered with assumptions about the degree to which social media users can reasonably expect their personal information and communications to… Read More
In re Brinker Data Incident Litig., No. 3:18-cv-686-J-32MCR, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128573 (M.D. Fla. Aug. 1, 2019), Judge Corrigan allowed a data-breach class action to proceed. Hackers accessed Brinker's data network and installed malware on point-of-sale ("POS") systems at many Chili's restaurants, which Brinker owns, develops, operates, and franchises. Brinker publicly announced the breach on May 12, 2018, stating: ”On May… Read More
