Capital One class action claims bank responsible for data breach

Capital One data breach class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: A consumer has filed a class action lawsuit against Capital One Financial Corporation, Capital One N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA) N.A.
• Why: The plaintiff claims Capital One failed to protect the personal identifiable information (PII) of its customers, leading to a data breach.
• Where: The Capital One class action lawsuit was filed in Virginia federal court.

A new class action lawsuit alleges that Capital One failed to protect customers’ personal identifiable information from a data breach that occurred after one of its employees accessed its inadequately protected computer systems.

Plaintiff Andrew Willoughby filed the class action complaint against Capital One Financial Corporation, Capital One N.A. and Capital One Bank (USA) N.A., claiming that customers have had their information exposed due to Capital One’s alleged negligence.

According to the lawsuit, between Aug. 11, 2022, and May 22, 2023, a former employee of Capital One gained unauthorized access to the company’s inadequately protected computer systems. As a result, the PII of thousands of customers was exposed, the Capital One class action claims.

Willoughby argues that Capital One failed to protect and safeguard the PII of its customers, including names, Social Security numbers, addresses, email addresses, dates of birth, telephone numbers, credit card numbers, transaction history and other financial information.

“Due to Defendants’ negligence, cybercriminals obtained everything they need to commit identity theft and wreak havoc on the financial and personal lives of thousands of individuals,” the Capital One class action alleges.

Capital One delayed notifying customers of data breach, class action claims

Willoughby claims that Capital One failed to notify affected customers of the data breach in a timely manner, waiting until January 2025 to inform them of the breach.

“Defendants were negligent and failed to inform Plaintiff and the Class Members of the data breach in time for them to protect themselves from identity theft,” the Capital One class action says.

The Capital One data breach class action lawsuit alleges that for the rest of their lives, the affected customers will have to deal with the danger of identity thieves possessing and misusing their information. Willoughby claims he has already experienced an unauthorized charge on his Capital One credit account as a result of the data breach.

The lawsuit seeks to represent anyone whose information may have been accessed in the data breach. Willoughby demands a jury trial and requests compensatory damages, reimbursement of out-of-pocket costs, injunctive relief, reasonable attorney fees and costs.

In January, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit against Capital One over claims the company cheated consumers out of more than $2 billion in potential interest earnings on their savings accounts.

Have you been affected by the Capital One data breach? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Lee A. Floyd and Justin M. Sheldon of Breit Biniazan P.C. and William B. Federman and Jessica A. Wilkes of Federman & Sherwood.

The Capital One data breach class action lawsuit is Willoughby v. Capital One Financial Corporation, et al., Case No. 1:25-cv-00302, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division.

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