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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