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Macmillan data breach class action lawsuit overview:
- Who: Victoria Batchelor filed a class action lawsuit against Macmillan Publishers Inc.
- Why: Batchelor claims Macmillan failed to protect the highly sensitive personal identifiable information of its current and former employees during a data breach it disclosed in December 2022.
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in New York federal court.
Macmillan failed to protect the highly sensitive personal identifiable information (PII) of current and former employees during a data breach disclosed by the international publishing company in December of last year.
Plaintiff Victoria Batchelor claims Macmillan failed to have effective means to “prevent, detect, stop, or mitigate breaches of its systems,” which, she argues, gave cybercriminals “unrestricted access to employee PII.”
Batchelor argues cybercriminals were ultimately able to infiltrate Macmillan’s systems because the company “failed to adequately train its employees on cybersecurity and failed to maintain reasonable security safeguards or protocols.”
“In short, Defendant’s failures placed the Class’s PII in a vulnerable position — rendering them easy targets for cybercriminals,” the Macmillan class action states.
Batchelor wants to represent a nationwide class of individuals who had their PII compromised in the data breach disclosed by Macmillan in December 2022.
Macmillan data breach has caused lost time, anxiety, emotional distress, class action says
Individuals affected by the data breach have suffered and will continue to suffer damages such as monetary loss, lost time, anxiety and emotional distress, the Macmillan class action alleges.
“It can take victims years to discover such identity theft and fraud. This gives criminals plenty of time to sell the PII far and wide,” the Macmillan class action states.
Batchelor claims Macmillan is guilty of unjust enrichment, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of implied contract, negligence and negligence per se.
Plaintiff is demanding a jury trial and requesting declaratory and injunctive relief along with an award of compensatory, exemplary, punitive and statutory damages for herself and all class members.
Macmillan was named as a defendant in a separate class action lawsuit brought in 2021 over claims the company colluded with four other book publishers — along with Amazon — to create a monopoly in the e-book market.
Amazon would later ask a federal judge in New York to dismiss an amended version of the class action lawsuit, arguing it failed to plead facts showing it knowingly was given an unlawful and discriminatory price discount on books.
Were you affected by the data breach disclosed by Macmillan in December 2022? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiff is represented by James J. Bilsborrow of Weitz & Luxenberg PC, and Samuel J. Strauss and Raina Borrelli of Turke & Strauss LLP.
The Macmillan data breach class action lawsuit is Batchelor, et al. v. Macmillan, et al., Case No. 1:23-cv-01217, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
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