Ashley Milano  |  June 28, 2016

Category: Consumer News

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Ashley Madison data hackIn 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.

Last summer’s hack of extramarital affair site Ashley Madison data produced a series of federal proposed class action lawsuits, which were consolidated in Missouri federal court with U.S. District Court Judge John Ross overseeing the multidistrict litigation.

According to the now named 18 MDL Class Representatives, Ashley Madison ignored security risks and believe that the company failed to protect site users who purchased “paid delete” services.

“Paid Delete” netted Ashley Madison $1.7M in revenue in 2014. “It’s also a complete lie,” the data hackers wrote in their manifesto. “Users almost always pay with credit card; their purchase details are not removed as promised, and include real name and address, which is of course the most important information the users want removed.”

The plaintiffs originally filed the proposed class action lawsuits using pseudonyms to protect their identities, but in May, Judge Ross sided with arguments presented by Avid Life Media, the parent company of Ashley Madison, in barring litigation by people using aliases and ruled that in order to proceed with litigation, the plaintiffs and future Class Members must reveal their identities.

Although the requirement could “exacerbate the privacy violations underlying their lawsuit,” the judge wrote in his ruling. “There is a compelling public interest in open court proceedings, particularly in the context of a class action, where a plaintiff seeks to represent a class of consumers who have a personal stake in the case and a heightened interest in knowing who purports to represent their interests in the litigation.”

Judge Ross also granted Ashley Madison’s request to block plaintiffs from citing any hacked and stolen material in their class action lawsuit.

Responding to Judge Ross’ ruling, the plaintiffs submitted their amended complaint to include their own names instead of pseudonyms.

Last July, hackers made public the private information of millions of users of Ashley Madison, which promotes itself as the go-to website for infidelity. Its motto: “Life is short. Have an affair.” Ashley Madison users state that this could have been avoided if the company “encrypted the data entrusted to it by its users on a database level so that any information hacked and downloaded appeared in the encrypted format.”

In the aftermath, the exposed named plaintiffs’ lives were allegedly upended, leading to personal and professional ruin including potential identity theft and fraud as well as financial loss.

Many of the plaintiffs paid for a specific service known as “paid delete,” where they were required to provide their full name, street address, and credit and/or debit card number and CVV code with the promise that the option would remove all traces of usage.

Specifically, the joined plaintiffs claim that they have been harmed by the alleged fraudulent nature of the “paid delete” service, stating that Ashley Madison accepted payments for the “paid delete” option but they were instead harmed by the public disclosure of their highly sensitive financial and personal information.

“Indeed, for many of the website’s members, the fact that this information has been made public has caused and will continue to cause irreparable harm, including public humiliation, ridicule, divorce, extortion, loss of employment, and increased substantial risk of identity theft and other types of fraud, among other catastrophic personal and professional harm,” the amended complaint states.

The Ashley Madison consolidated class action complaint seeks certification for a nationwide Class of consumers who paid Ashley Madison for “paid-delete” services prior to July 19, 2015, and whose highly-sensitive personal, financial and identifying information was released due to the hack and who suffered or anticipate suffering damages, loss, and/or other expenses accruing as a result of the defendants’ security failures.

The plaintiffs are represented by John J. Driscoll, Christopher J. Quinn and Gregory G. Pals of The Driscoll Firm P.C.; W. Lewis Garrison Jr., Christopher B. Hood, Taylor C. Bartlett and James F. McDonough III of Heninger Garrison Davis LLC.

The Ashley Madison Data Hack MDL is In Re: Ashley Madison Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL No. 2669, in the U.S. District Court for the Easter District of Missouri, Eastern Division.

UPDATE: 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 2: 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.

 UPDATE 3: The Ashley Madison data breach class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim. 

UPDATE 4: 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!

We tell you about cash you can claim EVERY WEEK! Sign up for our free newsletter.

5 thoughts onAshley Madison Class Action Plaintiffs Identify Themselves

  1. Verne Mckneely says:

    Please add me I was on the website

  2. John Parker says:

    Keep me posted.

  3. Top Class Actions says:

    UPDATE 2: 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.

    1. Mike Anello says:

      Add me mike anello Anelloshardwood@gmail.com

  4. Top Class Actions says:

    UPDATE: 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.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. By submitting your comment and contact information, you agree to receive marketing emails from Top Class Actions regarding this and/or similar lawsuits or settlements, and/or to be contacted by an attorney or law firm to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you if you qualify. Required fields are marked *

Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.