Stanley Steemer, Mr. Cooper, other companies face data breach class action lawsuits

Data breach class action lawsuits overview: 

• Who: Consumers recently filed class action lawsuits against Columbia University, Northwell Health, Stanley Steemer, Pathward, AutoZone, Postmeds, Dollar Bank and Mr. Cooper, among others. 
• Why: The class action lawsuits involve data breach claims. 
• Where: The data breach lawsuits affect consumers nationwide. 

Consumers recently filed class action lawsuits against a number of companies and a private research university over claims they failed to protect private information during their respective data breaches. 

The entities, including Stanley Steemer, Mr. Cooper, AutoZone and Columbia University, among others, are accused of bearing responsibility for the data breaches by allegedly failing to properly safeguard and secure private information.  

Columbia University failed to protect sensitive information during data breach, class action says

An alumna filed a class action lawsuit against Columbia University last month, arguing the university failed to protect sensitive information, which allegedly left it vulnerable to a data breach in May 2023. 

The alumna argues Columbia University failed to adhere to its own cybersecurity protocols and protections that were meant to protect sensitive information and failed to notify students and employees who were impacted by the data breach in a timely manner. 

The former student claims she was the victim of fraud in the wake of the data breach, which she argues was caused by a hack of the MOVEit file transfer system. 

Northwell Health waited 6+ months to inform patients about breach, class action claims

A pair of individuals filed a class action lawsuit against Northwell Health and medical vendor Perry Johnson & Associates last month, arguing the companies failed to safeguard health and other sensitive patient data during a data breach. 

The data breach affected nearly 4 million individuals and occurred after Perry Johnson & Associates’ network was potentially breached from March 27-May 2, according to the class action lawsuit. 

The individuals behind the complaint claim Northwell and Perry Johnson & Associates also took more than six months after learning about the data breach to notify potentially impacted patients about the incident. 

Stanley Steemer class action claims company did not protect consumer data

A consumer filed a class action lawsuit against Stanley Steemer in November, arguing it failed to protect the Personally Identifiable Information (PII) of the company’s current and former customers during a data breach it disclosed earlier in the month. 

The consumer behind the complaint claims Stanley Steemer broke its legal and equitable duty to protect the PII. 

“Defendant failed to adequately protect Plaintiff’s and Class Members PII — and failed to even encrypt or redact this highly sensitive information,” the Stanley Steemer class action states. 

Pathward failed to secure sensitive customer data, class action alleges

A consumer filed a class action lawsuit against Pathward NA and two companies behind the MOVEit file transfer system last month, arguing they failed to safeguard and secure sensitive customer data prior to a data breach in May 2023. 

The consumer claims the data breach led to the unauthorized access of files containing the PII of nearly 800,000 of Pathward’s customers and argues the incident was the result of a hack on the MOVEit file transfer system. 

IPswitch Inc. and Progress Software Corporation, who produce the MOVEit file transfer system, are also named in the complaint and accused of failing to have adequate safeguards in place to protect sensitive data from unauthorized access and disclosure. 

AutoZone class action claims company waited to inform potential data breach victims

A consumer filed a class action lawsuit against AutoZone last month over claims the company failed to properly protect the personal information of its customers during a data breach that occurred as early as Aug. 15. 

The consumer claims AutoZone also waited until Nov. 21 to notify potential victims about the data breach, which he argues exposed those impacted to a substantial risk of fraud and identity theft, among other things. 

Postmeds failed to properly safeguard patient information prior to August data breach, says class action

A class action lawsuit was filed against Postmeds last month by a group of consumers arguing the company — which does business as Truepill — failed to properly safeguard the sensitive information of its patients prior to a data breach between Aug. 30 and Sept. 1. 

The group claims Postmeds did not have proper systems in place to prevent a data breach or the theft of its patients’ medical information and prescriptions. 

“Plaintiffs and ‘Class Members’ were, and continue to be, at significant risk of identity theft and various other forms of personal, social, and financial harm,” the Postmeds class action states. 

Dollar Bank left sensitive customer data vulnerable during breach, class action says

A consumer filed a class action lawsuit against Dollar Bank last month, arguing the bank failed to adequately protect the sensitive data of its customers, allegedly leaving it vulnerable to bad actors who may have accessed it between March 24, 2021, and Feb. 4, 2023. 

“In collecting and maintaining the PII, (Dollar Bank) agreed it would safeguard the data in accordance with its internal policies, state law and federal law,” the Dollar Bank class action states. 

The data breach may have affected more than 13,000 current and former customers of Dollar Bank, according to the Dollar Bank class action. 

Mortgage lender Mr. Cooper failed to protect customer information, class action alleges

A consumer filed a class action lawsuit against Mr. Cooper, a mortgage lender and servicer, last month, arguing the company failed to protect the PII of its customers during a data breach it says it discovered at the end of October. 

“The security incident was wide-reaching, impacting a number of the Defendant’s computer systems and compromising the PII of millions of people,” the Mr. Cooper class action states. 

The consumer claims Mr. Cooper also failed to provide timely, accurate and adequate notice about the data breach to those who were affected by it. 

Have you been affected by a recent data breach? Let us know in the comments.

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