By Jessy Edwards  |  October 15, 2024

Category: Data Breach
Kohl's retail building representing the Kohl's class action.
(Photo Credit: ADXco/Shutterstock)

Kohl’s data breach class action overview: 

  • Who: A Kohl’s customer, plaintiff Michael Martinez, is suing the retailer.
  • Why: Martinez claims Kohl’s did not adequately protect customer information, leading to a data breach.
  • Where: The Kohl’s class action was filed in a Pennsylvania federal court.

Retail giant Kohl’s has been hit with a class action lawsuit after a data breach exposed the private information of more than 4 million of its customers.

Plaintiff Michael Martinez filed the class action complaint against Kohl’s Inc. on Oct. 9 in a Pennsylvania federal court, alleging negligence and violation of privacy laws.

Martinez claims in the lawsuit that Kohl’s neglected to secure personal information collected through its credit card services and shared with debt collection agency Financial Business and Consumer Solutions Inc. (FBCS), leading to the massive data breach.

The lawsuit claims that Kohl’s customers’ personally identifiable information (PII), including Social Security numbers, birth dates, and account details, was compromised in a breach reported by FBCS. 

According to court documents, the unauthorized access occurred between Feb. 14 and Feb. 26, 2024, and affected about 4.2 million individuals, the Kohl’s class action says. 

However, FBCS notified affected parties of the breach in August 2024, nearly six months after it was discovered, Martinez alleges.

Kohl’s was negligent in maintaining security measures for customer data, lawsuit alleges

Martinez’s complaint alleges that Kohl’s is responsible for failing to ensure that FBCS had robust security measures in place while managing collections for the retailer’s credit card services. 

This lack of due diligence allowed hackers to access unencrypted data, heightening the risk of identity theft for affected customers, he claims.

“Kohl’s was negligent in ensuring their vendors had appropriate safeguards in place,” the Kohl’s class action says.

As a result, Martinez is looking to represent anyone in the United States who had their private information exposed in the data breach. He is suing for negligence and invasion of privacy laws, and is seeking certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and an order forcing Kohl’s to improve its cybersecurity.

Martinez argues that Kohl’s should implement stronger security measures to protect customer data in future transactions and partnerships with third-party vendors. 

Last year, Kohl’s was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it failed to make its website fully accessible to and independently usable by individuals who are blind or visually impaired, as required by law.

Were you affected by the Kohl’s data breach? Let us know in the comments. 

The plaintiff is represented by Andrew W. Ferich of Hdoot & Wolfson PC, Jeff Ostrow of  Kopelowitz Ostrow P.A., Charles E. Schaffer of Levin Sedran & Berman LLP and John A. Yanchunis of Morgan & Morgan Complex Litigation Group.

The Kohl’s data breach class action is Michael Martinez v. Kohl’s Inc., Case No. 2:24-cv-05405-NIQA  in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.


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113 thoughts onKohl’s class action claims retailer affected by third-party data breach

  1. Sharon R says:

    This happened to me. Someone broke into my kohls account. Order 1600 worth of stuff forgot to change the shipping address and still ship it to my house. I called and reported it right away. I never put more then 300 on my account at a time. They changed the email too. I called and reported the items right away when they showed up. It was 4 bar stools. Our driveway was getting poured at the time and we have a really long driveway. Our contractors were nice and brought them up. Not knowing that I didn’t order them. So when I phone them and told them to pick them up. I left them outside my front door for them to pick up. Sadly NO one came to pick them up for 8 weeks. When I called them for a new card they they sent me a new card. I placed a order for shoes on this same card 2 months later. Not knowing that they never gave me a new account number just new 2 digits on the end of the numbers on the card. So they went ahead and charged me with fraud. It went on my credit until I pointed out that they never gave me a card with all new numbers. So of coarse I used the same account to order shoes because you never sent me a new card. So after months of going back and forth with them. I caught the error of them not giving me new a card with new account number. I called begged and pleaded with them. I shopped with them for 20 years. They ruined my credit until I convinced them that they made the mistake then they took it off my credit. Months of Hell for their mistake and someone being able to hack my account in their servers. Shame on them. I have never ever shopped with them again.

  2. Lorena says:

    Add me

  3. Judy Anderson says:

    Please add me

  4. Wendy says:

    Pls Add me

    1. Colleen Deldin says:

      Add me

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