Fenwick privacy and cybersecurity lawyer Hanley Chew was quoted in a Law360 article about how data breach suits could find an easier path with a D.C. Circuit court ruling.
The D.C. Circuit ruled unanimously that great probability of future harm meets the standards of negligence or similar claims in regards to data security.
As data security becomes more at risk, many courts are holding companies to a stricter standard than in the past. The D.C. Circuit held that there should be less of a burden on consumers to prove they are at risk, and referenced a Seventh Circuit data breach class action suit of similar nature.
This ruling acknowledged that harm is substantially likely in cases of data theft because there are no positive outcomes from this type of breach.
Chew told Law360, “This is another significant implication of the CareFirst case, where the panel appears to be expanding the type of information that could lead to future identity theft beyond simply credit card information and Social Security numbers.”
Read the full article on the Law360 website (subscription required).