Court Dismisses Data Privacy Litigation Alleging Defendant Failed to Maintain Reasonable Security Procedures in Wake of Data Breach

Kristin L. Bryan and Katie Sharpless of Squire Patton Boggs write: CPW has been covering data breach litigations, including instances in which meritless claims are kicked by courts at the pleading stage.  A recent decision from an Ohio district court is yet another example of this trend.  Newman v. Total Quality Logistics, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 60651 (S.D. Ohio Mar. 30, 2021).  Read on to learn more. First, some background.  Plaintiffs (various trucking companies) sued Totally Quality Logistics (a freight brokerage firm that connects its customers to freight carriers) in the wake of a data event.  In the course of providing its brokerage services, Defendant acquired personal and financial information on many of the carriers such as social security numbers, tax identification numbers, bank account numbers, and invoice information.  Plaintiffs brought a class action alleging negligence, breach of implied contract, and negligence per se.  At issue here is Plaintiffs’ claim that Defendant failed to implement and maintain reasonable security measures to protect and secure Plaintiffs’ and other carriers’ personal and financial information from unauthorized access.  Plaintiffs alleged that unauthorized individuals gained access to this private information and planned to use it for criminal or nefarious purposes, including identity theft and identity fraud. Read more on The National Law Review.DataBreaches.netRead More