Class Action Filed Against Internet Giant Yahoo

Tech Firm Revealed Massive Data Breach Last Week

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – San Diego-based CaseyGerry has filed a class action lawsuit against Yahoo – the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based technology giant which recently revealed a massive data breach – alleging that the company put users at risk for identity theft and failed to notify them in a timely fashion about the unprecedented hack, which occurred in 2014 and impacted 500 million customers.

According to CaseyGerry partner David S. Casey Jr., the lawsuit seeks damages sustained by members of the class resulting from Yahoo’s failure to securely store and maintain highly personal data. “We believe the company failed to properly safeguard sensitive private information. In addition, it took the company two years to reveal the hack – a huge problem, as the longer a breach goes undisclosed the greater the harm to individuals,” Casey Jr. said. “Also concerning is the fact this data breach occurred at all. A sophisticated, multinational company like Yahoo certainly should have the state-of-the-art systems in place necessary to avoid this type of hacking.”

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court in San Diego on behalf of San Diego residents Jennifer J. Myers and Paul Dugas, also alleges deception, negligence, misrepresentation and invasion of privacy on the part of Yahoo.

In a recent statement, Yahoo said user information – including names, email addresses, telephone numbers, birth dates, encrypted passwords and, in some cases, security questions – of millions of users was hacked in 2014 by what it believed was a “state-sponsored actor,” meaning an individual acting on behalf of a government.

The hack – believed to be one of the largest cyber security breaches in history – was damaging on many levels, Casey Jr. said.  “In addition to compromising existing accounts, the class members’ personal information can be used by identity thieves to open new financial accounts, incur charges in the name of class members, take out loans, clone credit and debit cards and other unauthorized activities. This highly sensitive information can also be used to blackmail or embarrass class members in person or online.”

Yahoo, which is one of the Internet’s oldest emails services, has more than one billion monthly users.

To date, class suits have been filed against Yahoo in California and New York, and the lawsuits are expected to mount.

About CaseyGerry

CaseyGerry was established in 1947, and is the longest-standing plaintiffs’ law firm in San Diego. The firm’s 15 attorneys practice in numerous areas, including serious personal injury, product liability, aviation, pharmaceutical, mass tort and class action litigation. Headquartered at 110 Laurel St. in the Banker’s Hill neighborhood of San Diego, the firm also has an additional office in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Calif.  For more information, call 619-238-1811.

Wendy M. Behan, Jeremy K. Robinson, Gayle M. Blatt