In the recent and significant Warren v DSG Retail Ltd [2021] EWHC 2168 (QB) decision the High Court in England clarified the limited circumstances in which claims for breach of confidence, misuse of private information and the tort of negligence might be advanced by individuals for compensation for distress relating to a cyber-security breach where the proposed defendant was itself a victim of a third-party cyber-attack. The decision has made it harder to bring free standing/non-statutory cyber-security breach claims in England and Wales where the proposed defendant has not positively caused the breach, and has also brought into question how such claims may be funded going forward (particularly, via “After-the-Event insurance” (“ATE insurance”)).
data breach litigation
CJEU holds that mass surveillance must not be general and indiscriminate
By Kelly McMullon on
The CJEU (the European Union Court of Justice) has handed down a decision which makes clear that general and indiscriminate retention of electronic communications is unlawful. National legislation of each European Member State should ensure that mass surveillance only occurs where it is strictly necessary in order to combat serious crime as well as terrorism and meets other stringent requirements.
The references were made by the Swedish and UK courts and concerned the interpretation of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive (Directive 2002/58/EC, as amended by Directive 2009/136/EC) (the “Directive”), in light of the rights granted by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the “Charter”), particularly, the right to privacy (Article 7) and the right to protection of personal data (Article 8), and the decision of the CJEU in Digital Rights Ireland (C‑293/12 and C‑594/12).
Shareholders Denied Suit Against Home Depot Over Data Breach
By Om V. Alladi on
Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. of the U.S. District Court of Georgia permanently shelved a derivative suit brought by shareholders of Home Depot.
Home Depot is a multinational home improvement retailer. In September, 2014, Home Depot suffered a data breach that resulted in $192 million in net losses. This breach…
Attention Retailers: Target Data Breach Ruling Finds Duty Owed to Issuer Banks
By Margaret A. Dale on
The Court hearing the Target data security breach litigation issued a ruling on December 2, 2014, largely denying Target’s motion to dismiss the Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint in the Financial Institutions Cases. In his decision, Judge Magnuson found that Target owed the issuer banks a duty to protect customer…
Crime (Policy) Does Pay – Sixth Circuit Holds That Endorsement of Crime Policy Covers Losses From Hacker’s Data Breach*
By Proskauer Rose on
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a computer fraud rider to a “Blanket Crime Policy” covers losses from a hacker’s theft of customer credit card and checking account data.
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Michaels Stores Still PINned beneath Payment Card Skimming Lawsuit
Posted on
In May 2011, Michaels Stores reported that “skimmers” using modified PIN pad devices in eighty Michaels stores across twenty states had gained unauthorized access to customers’ debit and credit card information. Lawsuits soon splattered on the specialty arts and crafts retailer, alleging a gallery of claims under the Stored Communications Act (“SCA”), the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (“ICFA”), and for negligence, negligence per se, and breach of implied contract.
Late last month, U.S. District Court Judge Charles Kocoras dismissed some claims, but others survived. The opinion presents a broad-brush survey of potential data security breach claims, with some fine detail and local color particular to this variety of criminal data security breach.
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Judge Finds Injury-in-Fact Adequately Alleged in RockYou Data Breach Action
By Scott Carpenter on
Where others have failed, Alan Claridge did not. Recently, a Federal judge in the Northern District of California declined to dismiss Plaintiff Claridge’s claims arising from a data breach involving the social entertainment site RockYou. Arguing that the data breach harmed the value of his personal information, Plaintiff convinced the court not to dismiss his action for lack of standing.
Proskauer Litigators Notch Another Victory for The Bank of New York Mellon in “Identity Exposure” Lawsuit
By Proskauer Rose on
On June 25, 2010, Judge Richard Berman of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment to The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. in Hammond v. The Bank of New York Mellon Corp., dismissing in its entirety a putative class action lawsuit arising from the loss of backup tapes containing personal information in the spring of 2008. Judge Berman’s dismissal represents yet another in a long, and still growing, line of cases standing for the proposition that without more, the mere exposure of personal information is not an adequate basis for a lawsuit.
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