Accounting firm hit with class action over data breach affecting 1M+

Accounting firm class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Plaintiff Laura Russell filed a class action lawsuit against Berry Dunn McNeil & Parker LLC.
• Why: Russel claims the accounting firm failed to take measures to protect sensitive data from being compromised in a data breach announced in April.
• Where: The accounting firm data breach class action lawsuit was filed in Maine federal court.

The accounting firm Berry Dunn McNeil & Parker LLC is facing a class action lawsuit after it was hit with an accounting firm data breach affecting more than 1 million consumers.

Plaintiff Laura Russell says she received notice of the accounting firm data breach in April 2024, nearly seven months after the breach was detected. She says she was notified that her personal identifying information — including her name, address, birthdate, Social Security number and health insurance policy number — may have been accessed.

The accounting firm data breach was initially discovered in September 2023 when one of the defendant’s vendors told the firm it “discovered suspicious network activity” on the firm’s systems, Russell says.

Berry Dunn allegedly enlisted the help of cyber security experts to investigate the situation and determine whether data was compromised. This review and investigation wrapped up on April 2, and Berry Dunn concluded an unauthorized actor accessed and took some of the accounting firm’s files, according to the accounting firm class action lawsuit.

As many as 1.1 million people may have been affected by the accounting firm data breach.

Berry Dunn failed to adequately protect sensitive data, accounting firm class action claims

Russell alleges that Berry Dunn breached its obligations to protect sensitive data. She claims the accounting firm failed to implement reasonable safeguards, failed to comply with industry-standard data security practices, failed to properly train its employees on data security protocols, and failed to detect that unauthorized third parties accessed its systems in a timely manner.

“In this day and age of regular and consistent data security attacks and data breaches, in particular the financial industries, and given the sensitivity of data entrusted to defendant, this data breach is particularly egregious and foreseeable,” the accounting firm class action lawsuit alleges.

Berry Dunn is just one of many companies that are facing legal action in the wake of a data breach. AT&T, Change Healthcare and other companies were all recently hit with data breach class action lawsuits claiming they failed to adequately safeguard customer data.

Were you affected by the accounting firm data breach? Tell us about your experience in the comments.

Russell is represented by David E. Bauer, Gary M. Klinger of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman PLLC, and Jeff Ostrow of Kopelowitz Ostrow PA.

The accounting firm data breach class action lawsuit is Laura Russell v. Berry Dunn McNeil & Parker LLC, Case No. 2:24-cv-00148-JAW, in the U.S. District  Court for the District of Maine.

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