Anne Bucher  |  April 8, 2016

Category: Consumer News

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Ashley Madison data hackEarlier this week, a Missouri federal judge ruled that plaintiffs seeking to act as Class representatives in the Ashley Madison data breach class action lawsuit cannot use pseudonyms and must disclose their real names.

U.S. District Judge John A. Ross said that Class Members may use pseudonyms, but that anyone who wants to act as a Class representative must publicly disclose their identity.

“Given the importance of the role of class representative, the Court will require Plaintiffs to disclose their identities so that the public, including the putative class members they seek to represent, know who is guiding and directing the litigation,” the judge wrote.

Avid Dating Life Inc., the owner and operator of the AshleyMadison.com dating site, was hit with several data breach class action lawsuits after the names of the site’s users were posted on a public website last year. Because this website is marketed to people seeking extramarital affairs, most plaintiffs opted to keep their true identities a secret “to reduce the risk of potentially catastrophic personal and professional consequences that could befall them and their families.”

Last August, Avid confirmed the data breach, which was allegedly initiated by a hacking group known as the Impact Team. This hacking group had reportedly warned Avid that it would release users’ information if the Ashley Madison and Established Men websites were not shut down.

The Ashley Madison class action lawsuits were centralized in multidistrict litigation (MDL) in Missouri federal court last December. The Ashley Madison MDL, titled In re: Ashley Madison Customer Data Security Breach, alleges Avid failed to adequately secure users’ personal and financial information, marketed a “Full Delete Removal” service that did not work as advertised, and used an extensive network of “fembots” to induce users to make purchases.

In his Wednesday order, Judge Ross acknowledged that disclosing the Class representatives’ true identities could subject them to unwanted scrutiny and the possibility of personal humiliation and extortion. However, he was persuaded by Avid’s argument that other plaintiffs had filed their class action lawsuits using their real names, a fact that weakens the anonymous plaintiffs’ arguments.

The judge also found that Class Members will be able to remain anonymous, so plaintiffs who do not wish to disclose their identities could benefit from participating in the Class.

“Before the consolidated complaint is filed, Plaintiffs currently proceeding under pseudonym who are seeing to serve as class representatives must decide whether to proceed using their real names or dismiss their complaints and proceed, without publicly disclosing their names, as class members – if and when a class is certified,” Judge Ross wrote in his order. “The Court believes this balancing of the equities does not deny a remedy to those Plaintiffs wishing to remain anonymous.”

Judge Ross indicated that he would be open to revisiting the order if some plaintiffs drop their claims and leave subclasses without a representative, but he said that this possibility is “purely speculative at this stage of the proceedings.”

The plaintiffs are represented by The Driscoll Firm PC, Dowd & Dowd PC, Whitfield Bryson & Mason LLP, Heninger Garrison Davis LLC, The Rosen Law Firm PA, Federman & Sherwood, Baddley & Mauro LLC and Siprut PC, among others.

The consolidated Ashley Madison Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit is In re: Ashley Madison Customer Data Security Breach, Case No. 4:15-md-02669, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

UPDATE: On Apr. 18, 2016, the makers of the Ashley Madison dating website, Avid Dating Life Inc., argued that the Class should not be able to use private information even though it has been leaked to the press.

UPDATE 2: On June 24, 2016, in response to a recent federal court ruling, 18 plaintiffs who have filed suit against Ashley Madison over the highly-publicized data breach have amended their complaint to include their own names.

UPDATE 3: On Aug. 29, 2016, the companies behind the extramarital dating website Ashley Madison asked a federal judge to halt litigation over last summer’s data breach and refer the plaintiffs’claims to private arbitration.UPDATE 4: On July 14, 2017, Ashley Madison’s parent company agreed topay $11.2 million to settleclaims arising from a data breach that revealed personal information about those using the adultery dating website. UPDATE 5: The Ashley Madison data breach class action settlement is now open.

 Click here to file a claim. 

UPDATE 6: On Jan. 31, 2018, Top Class Actions viewers who filed a valid claim for the Ashley Madison data breach class action settlement started receiving checks worth as much as $2,915. Congratulations to everyone who got PAID!

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4 thoughts onAshley Madison MDL Class Reps Can’t Use Pseudonyms, Judge Rules

  1. Top Class Actions says:

    UPDATE 4: On July 14, 2017, Ashley Madison’s parent company agreed to pay $11.2 million to settle claims arising from a data breach that revealed personal information about those using the adultery dating website.

  2. Top Class Actions says:

    UPDATE 3: On Aug. 29, 2016, the companies behind the extramarital dating website Ashley Madison asked a federal judge to halt litigation over last summer’s data breach and refer the plaintiffs’ claims to private arbitration.

  3. Top Class Actions says:

    UPDATE 2: On June 24, 2016, in response to a recent federal court ruling, 18 plaintiffs who have filed suit against Ashley Madison over the highly-publicized data breach have amended their complaint to include their own names.

  4. Top Class Actions says:

    UPDATE: On Apr. 18, 2016, the makers of the Ashley Madison dating website, Avid Dating Life Inc., argued that the Class should not be able to use private information even though it has been leaked to the press.

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