Indianapolis Housing Authority class action claims agency failed to safeguard user data

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Indianapolis Housing Authority data breach class action overview: 

• Who: A recipient of services through the Indianapolis Housing Authority sued the organization.
• Why: Plaintiff Richard Lilly says the housing authority did not properly safeguard its service users’ information, which were exposed in a ransomware attack.
• Where: The Indianapolis Housing Authority data breach class action was filed in an Indiana county court.

The Indianapolis Housing Authority failed to safeguard the personal identifiable information of its service recipients, allowing their information, including names, addresses and Social Security numbers, to be exposed in a data breach, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiff Richard Lilly filed the class action lawsuit against the Indianapolis Housing Agency on Feb. 3 in an Indiana county court, alleging violations of contract law.

According to the lawsuit, the Indianapolis Housing Authority provides housing services through a number of programs. As a condition for receiving services, applicants are required to provide sensitive information, including names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers.

The Indianapolis Housing Authority had a duty to safeguard that information, the lawsuit states. However, it allegedly did not, leading to a Sept. 23, 2022, ransomware cyberattack. 

Approximately 212,910 people’s private information was exposed in the breach, the Indianapolis Housing Authority lawsuit states.

Agency took more than three months to notify affected parties,  Indianapolis Housing Authority lawsuit states

Despite learning of the Indianapolis Housing Authority breach around Oct. 4, 2022, the housing authority did not notify those who were affected until Jan. 23, 2023, the lawsuit states.

While the Indianapolis Housing Authority offered affected parties free IDX credit monitoring and identity protection, this is insufficient to compensate those whose information was exposed for the harm caused to them by the data breach, Lilly alleges.

“The value of Plaintiff’s PII on the black market is considerable,” the data breach lawsuit states. “Stolen PII trades on the black market for years, and criminals frequently post stolen private information openly and directly on various ‘dark web’ internet websites, making the information publicly available, for a substantial fee of course.”

Lilly says he has confirmed his information is available on the dark web.

He’s looking to represent anyone whose personal information was compromised in the Indianapolis Housing Authority data breach and suing for breach of contract and unjust enrichment. Lilly seeks certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.

In 2016, two residents shed the West Calumet Public Housing Complex in East Chicago, Indiana, claiming nearby industrial sites exposed their entire neighborhood to lead and arsenic. Some of those claims were settled in 2020 and the rest dismissed in 2021.

What do you think of the allegations in this Indianapolis Housing Authority data breach lawsuit? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Cohen & Malad LLP and Branstetter Stranch & Jennings PLLC.

The Indianapolis Housing Authority class action lawsuit is Richard Lilly, et al. v. Indianapolis Housing Agency, Case No. 49D01-2302-PL-004890, in the Marion Superior Court. 

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