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.
A data breach class action lawsuit accuses Dickey’s Barbecue of failing to protect consumer information in a 13-month security incident.
According to plaintiff Latorsha Adams, Dickey’s failed to respond to a massive data breach affecting millions of consumers until the incident was revealed by several third-parties. Adams contends that Dickey’s negligence caused injury to herself and other customers who were denied the ability to respond to the breach in a timely fashion.
On Oct. 20, KrebsOnSecurity revealed that more than 3 million stolen credit card records had been listed on the dark web. These listings were reportedly advertised with “valid rates” of between 90% and 100%. According to KrebsOnSecurity, these high rates indicated that the breach was undetected by the merchant or that the merchant’s response was still in its early stages.
After these listings were posted, Gemini Advisory revealed the common thread between the millions of cards: they had all been used at Dickey’s BBQ locations over the course of a 13 to 15 month period. Multiple sources have reported that the breach occurred from around May 2019 to September 2020.
The exact mechanism of the data breach isn’t known, but Gemini Advisory theorized that the breach could be linked to malware on a “single central processor” as opposed to several different point of sale processors.
The cybersecurity company noted that this could be possible due to the widespread nature of the breach. Between May 2019 and September 2020, as many as 156 locations across 30 states were reportedly impacted by the data breach. Most of the affected locations were reportedly in California and Arizona.
KrebsOnSecurity allegedly reached out to Dickey’s on Oct. 13. On Oct. 20 – the same day KrebsOnSecurity publicized the issue – the company reportedly shared a statement hoping to assure customers that they were “taking this incident very seriously” and “utilizing the experience of third parties who have helped other restaurants address similar issues and also working with the FBI and payment card networks.”
Although KrebsOnSecurity and other third-parties revealed the breach to the public, Adams argues that Dickey’s should have responded to the breach and revealed it to customers earlier.
The plaintiff also contends that the breach should not have happened in the first place. Instead of complying with reasonable expectations that consumer information would be protected by the franchise, Dickey’s allegedly opted to save money by failing to properly protect consumer data.
“The data breach was caused and enabled by [Dickey’s] knowing violation of their obligations to abide by best practices and industry standards in protecting customers’ PII and financial information,” Adams contends in her data breach class action lawsuit.
“Dickey’s grossly failed to comply with standard security protocols and allowed their customers’ personal and financial information to be compromised, all in an effort to save money by cutting corners on security measures that could have prevented or mitigated the Data Breach that occurred.”
Adams argues that she and other consumers have been injured in several ways as a result of the Dickey’s data breach. Not only have their payment cards been impacted by the data breach, they have also been denied the ability to promptly respond to the breach, according to Adams.
The Dickey’s data breach class action lawsuit notes that promptly responding to a data breach by getting new cards and monitoring for fraud can help mitigate the impact of a breach. Because they were unable to respond to the breach in a timely fashion, Adams and other consumers will allegedly be forced to take additional measures for years to protect themselves from fraud.
This is not the first time that Dickey’s has faced legal action over the massive data breach. In November, two California customers filed their own data breach class action lawsuit against the barbecue restaurant chain. According to these plaintiffs, Dickey’s negligence and failure to protect consumer information contributed to the scope of the breach.
Were you affected by the Dickey’s data breach? Let us know in the comment section below.
Adams and the proposed Class are represented by Bruce W. Steckler and Austin P. Smith of Steckler Wayne Cochran PLLC; Paul D. Stinkey; John A. Yachunis, Ryan J. McGee, and Francesca Kester of Morgan & Morgan Complex Litigation Group; Brian P. Murray of Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP; and Paul C. Whalen of the Law Office of Paul C. Whalen PC.
The Dickey’s Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit is Latorsha Adams v. Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants Inc., et al., Case No. 3:20-cv-03603, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:
42 thoughts onClass Action Lawsuit Claims Dickey’s Didn’t Protect Customers From Data Breach
Please add me
Please add me
Pls Add Me-I’m Outraged!
Add me
Please add me.
Please add me
Please add me.
Please add me.
Please add me.
Please add me.