A federal judge recently held that mere allegations that a healthcare provider’s patient information portal failed to utilize sufficient security measures, without allegations of an actual breach, were insufficient to confer standing on the plaintiff. The case, Williams-Diggins v. Mercy Health—which was pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of
William Daley
William Maxwell Daley focuses his practice on insurance coverage litigation and business litigation. Read his full rc.com bio here.
Bitcoin Firm Alleges Manipulation of the Bitcoin Cash Network that is Alleged to Have Resulted in a $4 Billion Industry Meltdown
United American Corp., operating as UnitedCorp, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida last Thursday alleging that several prominent figures in the Bitcoin cryptocurrency market essentially “hijack[ed] the Bitcoin Cash network” causing widespread harm to U.S. Bitcoin holders. In the twenty-seven page, and one hundred and twenty-two paragraph complaint, UnitedCorp takes aim at bitcoin miner Bitmain Inc. and its owner Jihan Wu, well-known bitcoin investor Roger Ver and his company Bitcoin.com, and the Kraken Bitcoin Exchange, among others, claiming that they attempted to “centraliz[e] what is intended to be a decentralized transactional system enabling the corruption of the democratic and neutral principles of the Bitcoin Cash network.”
Continue Reading Bitcoin Firm Alleges Manipulation of the Bitcoin Cash Network that is Alleged to Have Resulted in a $4 Billion Industry Meltdown
Parties Seek to Settle Yahoo Data Breach Class Action for $50M
We previously wrote about the Yahoo data breaches, subsequent class action pending in California, and the company’s estimate of potential settlement costs. Based on the Plaintiffs’ recent Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement, filed on October 22, 2018, the parties have tentatively agreed to settle the case for $50,000,000 in settlement funds, $35,000,000 in attorneys’ fees, and $2,500,000 in expenses. Additionally, class members will be able to avail themselves of various credit monitoring services, and the class representatives who filed the action will be entitled to between $7,500 and $2,500 each, exclusive of the settlement funds, depending on the nature of their involvement. The settlement would apply to both the pending federal class action—before District Judge Lucy H. Koh—and similar state court litigation.
Continue Reading Parties Seek to Settle Yahoo Data Breach Class Action for $50M
Facebook Acknowledges Breach of Sensitive Data for Nearly 30 Million Users
As we previously noted, Facebook originally announced a breach late last month, in which hackers took advantage of a code vulnerability in the website’s “View As” feature, to access user’s data. However, on October 12, 2018, Facebook stepped back the number of affected accounts from 50 to roughly 30 million, and it acknowledged that hackers were able to view varying levels of information for different accounts.
Continue Reading Facebook Acknowledges Breach of Sensitive Data for Nearly 30 Million Users
Will Insurance Provide Coverage for GDPR Fines?
As many of our readers know, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) imposes significant obligations and responsibilities on entities with regard to data protection and privacy for all individuals within the European Union and the European Economic Area. Violations of GDPR can result in fines up to €20 million, or up to 4 percent of…
Adidas Removes Putative Class Action Suit Arising Out of the Data Breach Announced Earlier this Year
On June 28, 2018, Adidas released a statement announcing that it recently “became aware that an unauthorized party claims to have acquired limited data associated with certain Adidas consumers.” Adidas believed the breach was limited to contact information, usernames and encrypted passwords, and not any stored credit card or fitness information, relating to millions of…
Plaintiffs Seek Class Certification in Yahoo Data Breach Class Actions
We previously noted that in late 2016, Yahoo disclosed that it had experienced multiple data breaches relating to what turned out to be roughly three billion of its accounts. At that time, the initial breach, which was reported in September of 2016, had already resulted in several proposed class action complaints. Now, United States District…
Parties Seek to Centralize Saks/Lord & Taylor Data Breach Litigation
As we noted earlier this year, Saks Fifth Avenue LLC, Saks Incorporated, and Lord & Taylor previously disclosed, on April 1, 2018, that some of their customers’ personal information may have been compromised in a data breach. Those companies all share the Canadian business group Hudson’s Bay Company (collectively with Lord & Taylor LLC,…
Massachusetts PATCH Act, Requires Additional Protection for Certain Confidential Health Care Information
Earlier this year, Governor Charlie Baker signed into law an Act to Protect Access to Confidential Healthcare (the PATCH Act), which prevents information regarding “sensitive health care services” from being shared with anyone other than the patient in the form of Explanation of Benefits (EOB) and Summary of Payment (SOP) forms. When more than one person is covered by the same medical insurance plan, sensitive health care information can be disclosed through the use of these common forms, sometimes including information on sexual assault, domestic violence, mental health disorders, or sexual and reproductive health. When the EOB or SOP is provided to the named policyholder—rather than the specific beneficiary that the services described therein relate to—the beneficiary’s confidentiality can be compromised.
Continue Reading Massachusetts PATCH Act, Requires Additional Protection for Certain Confidential Health Care Information
Wyoming Enacts Comprehensive Blockchain Legislation
As numerous states propose and enact legislation focused on blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, in 2018, no state has been more aggressive in this space than Wyoming. In March, the state legislature passed several bills impacting cryptocurrency businesses, each of which is designed to position Wyoming as a blockchain-friendly environment for businesses.
- B. 0019: This bill
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