Girard Gibbs LLP Files Home Depot Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit
San Francisco, California (PRWEB) September 29, 2014 -- On September 24, 2014, the law firm of Girard Gibbs LLP filed a federal class action lawsuit against Home Depot on behalf of all customers nationwide whose personal information was compromised as a result of the data breach announced in September 2014. The lawsuit alleges that Home Depot failed to take reasonable security measures to adequately protect its customers’ personal data. It also asserts that Home Depot failed to disclose the data breach in a timely manner to its customers.
In an official statement on September 18, 2014, Home Depot stated that an estimated 56 million credit and debit cards were exposed during a five-month-long attack on its payment terminals. As reported by the New York Times on September 19, 2014, in “Ex-Employees Left Home Depot Data Vulnerable,” former employees of Home Depot who have asked to remain anonymous have alleged that the retailer’s network was protected with outdated software, and that some cyber security team members left after managers allegedly dismissed their concerns. In the same article, the New York Times also stated that the breach may result in up to $3 billion in fraudulent charges.
“Retailers have a duty to protect their customers’ data by complying with basic industry security standards,” said Eric Gibbs, a founding partner at Girard Gibbs LLP. “This case alleges that Home Depot failed to properly encrypt its customers’ personal information or adequately monitor its systems for security breaches. Home Depot put its customers at unnecessary risk by exposing their data.”
The Home Depot data breach class action lawsuit is entitled Earls v. The Home Depot Inc., No. 3:14-cv-4315, and is currently pending in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
Girard Gibbs is a national litigation firm with a consumer protection group that has represented millions of individuals in class action lawsuits and delivered significant recoveries and benefits for them. The firm also represents a proposed class of individuals whose data was exposed in the In re Adobe Systems, Inc. Privacy Litigation, No. 13-CV-05226-LHK, where Judge Lucy H. Koh of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California recently ruled that the plaintiffs had standing to sue based on an increased risk of future harm from the data breach. Girard Gibbs founding partner Daniel C. Girard was also appointed to the Consumer Cases Steering Committee in the pending class action lawsuit concerning the Target data breach.
If you believe your personal information was compromised in the Home Depot data breach and would like to learn more about this lawsuit, please contact a Girard Gibbs consumer attorney toll-free at (866) 981-4800.
Kristen M. Boffi, Girard Gibbs LLP, http://www.girardgibbs.com/, +1 (415) 544-6454, [email protected]
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