Ashley Madison Data Breach Sparks Suits

Infidelity website AshleyMadison.com and its parent company Avid Life Media Inc. have been hit with a pair of class actions in Los Angeles federal court stemming from the site's recent data breach.

The suits on behalf of unidentified site users join a wave of litigation in the U.S. and Canada accusing the company of failing to secure the private financial and personal information of its 37 million users.

Although some plaintiffs lawyers demurred when asked to represent presumed philanderers in the aftermath of the hack (see, “Courting Ashley Madison Cases? Some Plaintiffs Lawyers Demur,” National Law Journal), others have been less hesitant. Baltimore's HammondLaw sued Avid Life on behalf of a single John Doe plaintiff for negligence, emotional distress, invasion of privacy and breach of implied contract. The firm is seeking to certify a nationwide class of site users and a statewide class to pursue privacy claims under California state law.

“Defendants were aware or should have been aware of the need to secure users' information, especially in light of the recent rise of massive security breaches on the Internet and the fact that the information contained on its servers is particularly sensitive,” wrote attorney Julian Hammond in the complaint. See, http://bit.ly/1Jjc2IQ. The site's inadequate security, he wrote, led to users' addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and credit card numbers being made public along with their photos and details of their sexual interests. That suit has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez of the Central District of California.

The Ball Law Firm in Los Angeles and Oklahoma City's Federman & Sherwood sued Avid Life on behalf of a group of five “Doe” plaintiffs from California, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Minnesota. See, http://bit.ly/1Ek1rkn. In addition to pursuing claims under various, consumer protection and data breach notification laws, the suit seeks to certify a subclass of users who paid a fee to erase their information from the site but still had their personal information leaked as a result of the breach.

Beyond the two suits filed in California, Avid Life also reportedly faces class actions in Missouri, Georgia, Minnesota and Texas, as well as a $578 million class action filed last month in Canada, where the company is based. See, “Class Action Lawsuit Launching Against AshleyMadison.com,” CNW.

As of press time, no defense firm had made an appearance in either case filed in Los Angeles. But as previously reported by our ALM sibling, The Am Law Daily, Avid Life has turned to a trio of firms to help deal with breach-related issues. See, “Ashley Madison Owner Taps Am Law Firms Amid Massive Hack.” DLA Piper represents the company on cybersecurity, data protection and privacy issues. Barnes & Thornburg is providing corporate, technology and IP counsel. Canadian firm Stikeman Elliott is providing communications, privacy, and cross-border advice.

Avid Life's vice president and general counsel, Avi Weisman, didn't immediately respond to an e-mail message before press time.'

UPDATE: On Aug. 28, Avid Life announced that Ashley Madison CEO, Noel Biderman stepped down. No replacement was named. See,'http://media.ashleymadison.com/.

Ross Todd is a Senior Reporter with The Recorder , the San-Francisco-based ALM sibling of Internet Law & Strategy. He can be reached at [email protected].

Infidelity website AshleyMadison.com and its parent company Avid Life Media Inc. have been hit with a pair of class actions in Los Angeles federal court stemming from the site's recent data breach.

The suits on behalf of unidentified site users join a wave of litigation in the U.S. and Canada accusing the company of failing to secure the private financial and personal information of its 37 million users.

Although some plaintiffs lawyers demurred when asked to represent presumed philanderers in the aftermath of the hack (see, “Courting Ashley Madison Cases? Some Plaintiffs Lawyers Demur,” National Law Journal), others have been less hesitant. Baltimore's HammondLaw sued Avid Life on behalf of a single John Doe plaintiff for negligence, emotional distress, invasion of privacy and breach of implied contract. The firm is seeking to certify a nationwide class of site users and a statewide class to pursue privacy claims under California state law.

“Defendants were aware or should have been aware of the need to secure users' information, especially in light of the recent rise of massive security breaches on the Internet and the fact that the information contained on its servers is particularly sensitive,” wrote attorney Julian Hammond in the complaint. See, http://bit.ly/1Jjc2IQ. The site's inadequate security, he wrote, led to users' addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and credit card numbers being made public along with their photos and details of their sexual interests. That suit has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez of the Central District of California.

The Ball Law Firm in Los Angeles and Oklahoma City's Federman & Sherwood sued Avid Life on behalf of a group of five “Doe” plaintiffs from California, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Minnesota. See, http://bit.ly/1Ek1rkn. In addition to pursuing claims under various, consumer protection and data breach notification laws, the suit seeks to certify a subclass of users who paid a fee to erase their information from the site but still had their personal information leaked as a result of the breach.

Beyond the two suits filed in California, Avid Life also reportedly faces class actions in Missouri, Georgia, Minnesota and Texas, as well as a $578 million class action filed last month in Canada, where the company is based. See, “Class Action Lawsuit Launching Against AshleyMadison.com,” CNW.

As of press time, no defense firm had made an appearance in either case filed in Los Angeles. But as previously reported by our ALM sibling, The Am Law Daily, Avid Life has turned to a trio of firms to help deal with breach-related issues. See, “Ashley Madison Owner Taps Am Law Firms Amid Massive Hack.” DLA Piper represents the company on cybersecurity, data protection and privacy issues. Barnes & Thornburg is providing corporate, technology and IP counsel. Canadian firm Stikeman Elliott is providing communications, privacy, and cross-border advice.

Avid Life's vice president and general counsel, Avi Weisman, didn't immediately respond to an e-mail message before press time.'

UPDATE: On Aug. 28, Avid Life announced that Ashley Madison CEO, Noel Biderman stepped down. No replacement was named. See,'http://media.ashleymadison.com/.

Ross Todd is a Senior Reporter with The Recorder , the San-Francisco-based ALM sibling of Internet Law & Strategy. He can be reached at [email protected].