Ashley Madison Lawsuit
Ashley Madison Lawsuit
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Case Number:3:15-cv-2750
JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
Plaintiff bring this class action as a result of a breach of the security system
Members) names, addresses, credit or debit card number, the cards expiration date,
and/or the cards CVV (a three-digit security code), credit card transactions, users sexual
preferences and fantasies, and email addresses (Personal Information).
2.
were compromised, with the result that Personal Information of Plaintiff and Class Members
Personal Information was used or is at risk of use in fraudulent transactions around the world,
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Upon information and belief, the security breach and theft of Personal
Information was caused by Defendants violations of its obligations to abide by the best
practices and industry standards concerning the security of its payment processing systems and
the computers associated therewith as set forth, for example, in Payment Card Industry
Security Standards Council Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) and the decisions of the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) concerning protection of consumer financial information.
Upon information and belief, hackers deliberately targeted Defendants servers and collected
names, usernames, passwords, email addresses, phone numbers, mailing addresses, and credit
card numbers and expiration dates, credit card transactions, and other information.
Upon
information and belief, Defendant was also warned that the Personal Information would be
released:
4.
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After learning of the security breach, Defendant failed to notify Plaintiff and
the putative Classes in a timely manner and failed to take other reasonable steps to inform
them of the nature and extent of the breach. As a result, Defendant prevented Plaintiff and the
putative Class Members from protecting themselves from the breach and caused Plaintiff
and Class Members to suffer financial loss and emotional distress.
5.
Class Members was actually released to the public and was put on several websites. On or about
August 20 of this year, additional Personal Information of Plaintiff and Class Members was
similarly released. Despite being told that it could prevent the release of Personal Information of
Plaintiff and Class Members, Defendants allowed such Personal Information to be released to the
public and did not notify Plaintiff and Class Members about the threat of the release of Personal
Information or the actual release of Personal Information.
internal company file called Areas of concern customer data.docx, an unnamed employee at
the company lists technical issues that could lead to a data breach occurring, as well the legal
problems that may come with that. Under a section called Data leak/threft issues [sic], the
author lists customer data being exposed by phishing or SQL injection being a possible
problem, when malicious requests are punched into an entry field, typically in order to dump the
site database. Another employee worried about remote code executionwhen an attacker can
run code on a victims computer over the internetand yet another employee pointed to
employees being infected with malware, allowing hackers access to our user data.
6.
Plaintiff, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, asserts the
following claims: Violations of the Stored Communications Act (SCA), 18 U.S.C. 2702;
negligence; breach of implied contract; breach of contract, violations of the Texas Deceptive
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Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act (DTPA), under Section 17.45(4) of the Texas
Business and Commerce Code and the substantially similar statutes of the other states in which
Defendant conducts business, the Texas Identity Theft Enforcement Protection Act (TITEPA)
because it is a tie-in statute as provided under Section 521.152 of the Texas Business and
Commerce Code and the substantially similar statutes of the other states in which Defendant
conducts business, and intentional infliction of emotional distress and the substantially similar
statutes of the other states in which Defendant conducts business.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
7.
which confers upon the Court original jurisdiction over all civil actions arising under the
laws of the United States, and pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 2707. This Court has supplemental
jurisdiction over Plaintiffs and Class Members state law claims under 28 U.S.C. 1367.
8.
1332(d)(2)(A) because this case is a class action where the aggregate claims of all
Members of the putative Classes are in excess of $5,000,000.00, exclusive of interest and
costs, and many of the Members of the putative Classes are citizens of different states than
Defendant. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1332(d).
9.
since Defendant transacts business within this judicial district. Likewise, a substantial part
of the events giving rise to the claim occurred within this judicial district.
PARTIES
10.
and is a citizen of Texas. Plaintiff and Class members provided Personal Information to
Defendant with a heightened expectation of privacy due to the nature of Defendants products
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Canadian law with its headquarters and principal place of business in Toronto, Canada.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
12.
Upon information and belief, Defendants data breach has impacted millions of
any
information,
including
Personal Information,
in
Defendants
possession; in other words, Defendant promised to delete such information for a fee ($19,
on information and belief).
5
17.
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Defendant broke such promise to the Class Members, who also sought a
paid-delete.
18.
Upon information and belief, the Defendant accepts customer payments for
services through credit and debit cards issued by members of the payment card industry
(PCI) such as Visa or MasterCard.
19.
SSC) as a forum to develop PCI Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) for increased
security of payment processing systems.
20.
The PCI DSS provides, If you are a merchant that accepts payment cards,
you are required to be compliant with the PCI Data Security Standard. Defendant, or
course, is a merchant that accepts payment cards.
21.
business processes for payment card processing, and analyze them for vulnerabilities that
could expose cardholder data.
b.
c.
unless needed.
(if applicable) and submit compliance reports to the acquiring bank and card brands with
which a merchant does business.
22.
Additionally, since 1995, the FTC has been studying the manner in which
online entities collect and use personal information and safeguards to assure that online data
collection practice is fair and provides adequate information privacy protection. The result of
this study is the FTC Fair Information Practice Principles. The core principles are:
6
a.
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information practices before any personal information is collected from them. This requires that
companies explicitly notify of some or all of the following:
collected;
gathering sense means giving consumers options to control how their data is used with respect
to secondary uses of information beyond the immediate needs of the information collector
to complete the consumers transaction.
c.
Practice Principles includes not only a consumers ability to view the data collected, but also to
verify and contest its accuracy. This access must be inexpensive and timely in order to be
useful to the consumer.
d.
they collect is accurate and secure. They should improve the integrity of data by crossreferencing it with only reputable databases and by providing access for the consumer to
verify it. Information collectors should keep their data secure by protecting against both
internal and external security threats. They should limit access within their company to
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only necessary employees to protect against internal threats, and they should use encryption
and other computer- based security systems to stop outside threats.
e.
Fair Information Practice Principles, there must be enforcement measures. The FTC identifies
three types of enforcement measures: self-regulation by the information collectors or an
appointed regulatory body; private remedies that give civil causes of action for individuals
whose information has been misused to sue violators; and government enforcement, which can
include civil and criminal penalties levied by the government.
23.
computer systems for vulnerabilities that could expose cardholder data. Defendant further
failed to fix the vulnerabilities in its computer systems which allowed Plaintiffs and Class
Members Personal Information to become compromised.
24.
consumer financial data for marketing purposes beyond the needs of specific transactions,
in order to accrue financial benefit at the risk and likelihood of compromising consumers
Personal Information.
25.
were compromised, with the result that Personal Information of Plaintiff and Class Members
Personal Information was used or is at risk of use in fraudulent transactions around the world,
as well as other invidious exposure.
26.
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Upon information and belief, the security breach and theft of Personal
Information was caused by Defendants violations of its obligations to abide by the best
practices and industry standards concerning the security of its payment processing systems and
the computers associated therewith as set forth, for example, in Payment Card Industry
Security Standards Council Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) and the decisions of the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) concerning protection of consumer financial information.
Upon information and belief, hackers deliberately targeted Defendants servers and collected
names, usernames, passwords, email addresses, phone numbers, mailing addresses, and credit
card numbers and expiration dates, credit card transactions, and other information.
Upon
information and belief, Defendant was also warned that the Personal Information would be
released:
27.
After learning of the security breach, Defendant failed to notify Plaintiff and
the putative Classes in a timely manner and failed to take other reasonable steps to inform
them of the nature and extent of the breach. As a result, Defendant prevented Plaintiff and the
putative Class Members from protecting themselves from the breach and caused Plaintiff
9
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Class Members was actually released to the public and was put on several websites. On or about
August 20 of this year, additional Personal Information of Plaintiff and Class Members was
similarly released. Despite being told that it could prevent the release of Personal Information of
Plaintiff and Class Members, Defendants allowed such Personal Information to be released to the
public and did not notify Plaintiff and Class Members about the threat of the release of Personal
Information or the actual release of Personal Information.
internal company file called Areas of concern customer data.docx, an unnamed employee at
the company lists technical issues that could lead to a data breach occurring, as well the legal
problems that may come with that. Under a section called Data leak/threft issues [sic], the
author lists customer data being exposed by phishing or SQL injection being a possible
problem, when malicious requests are punched into an entry field, typically in order to dump the
site database. Another employee worried about remote code executionwhen an attacker can
run code on a victims computer over the internetand yet another employee pointed to
employees being infected with malware, allowing hackers access to our user data.
29.
consumers credit cards and debit cards, including credit cards and debit cards of Plaintiff
and Class Members and personal information related to the same, to become compromised for a
period prior to July 15 of this year.
30.
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Plaintiff and Class Members are subject to continuing damage from having
Plaintiff brings this action on his own behalf and, pursuant to Rule 23 of
the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, on behalf of the following three (3) multi-state classes:
All persons in the United States who paid Defendant for paid-delete services
which were improperly performed.
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All persons in the United States whose Personal Information was subject to
Defendants security failures and who suffered damages and anticipate and/or
are in immediate danger of suffering damages in the amount of fraudulent
charges / unauthorized withdrawals made to their credit and/or debit cards or
suffered damages and anticipate and/or are in immediate danger of suffering
damages in the amount of overdraft charges made to their credit and/or debit
cards.
All persons in the United States whose Personal Information was subject to
Defendants security failures and who have suffered or anticipate and/or are in
immediate danger of suffering damages, loss, and/or expenses accruing due to
Defendants security failures.
Excluded from the Classes are Defendant and its affiliates, parents, subsidiaries,
employees, officers, agents, and directors.
34.
The Members of the Classes are so numerous that joinder of all Members
is impracticable. On information and belief, millions of credit and/or debit cards may have
been compromised, and the Members of the Classes are geographically dispersed.
Disposition of the claims of the proposed Classes in a class action will provide substantial
benefits to both the parties and the Court.
35.
similar fashion based upon Defendants uniform wrongful actions and/or inaction.
36.
The following questions of law and fact are common to each proposed
Class Member and predominate over questions that may affect individual Class Members:
a.
commercially reasonable methods to secure and safeguard its customers private financial and
personal information;
b.
measures to protect consumers private financial and personal information from unauthorized
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breach and its description of the breach and potential exposure to damages as a result of the
same was unreasonable;
f.
h.
Practices-Consumer Protection Act (DTPA), under Section 17.45(4) of the Texas Business and
Commerce Code, and the substantively similar statutes of the other states where Defendant
conducts business;
i.
Enforcement Protection Act (TITEPA) as a tie-in statute as provided under Section 521.152 of
the Texas Business and Commerce Code and the substantially similar statutes of the other states
in which Defendant conducts business;
j.
Plaintiff and Class Members, and the substantively similar statutes of the other states where
Defendant conducts business; and
k.
compensation, monetary damages, equitable relief and injunctive relief, and, if so, the nature
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brought individually, the claim of each Class Member would necessarily require proof of
the same material and substantive facts, and seek the same remedies.
38.
The Plaintiff is willing and prepared to serve the Court and the proposed
Classes in a representative capacity. The Plaintiff will fairly and adequately protect the interest
of the Classes and have no interests adverse to, or which directly and irrevocably conflicts
with, the interests of other Members of the Classes. Further, Plaintiff has retained counsel
experienced in prosecuting complex class action litigation.
39.
the proposed Classes, thereby making appropriate equitable relief with respect to the Classes.
40.
A class action is superior to other available methods for the fair and
efficient adjudication of this controversy because individual claims by the Class Members are
impractical, as the costs of prosecution may exceed what any Class Member has at stake.
41.
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consumers with redress if a company mishandles their electronically stored information. The
SCA was designed, in relevant part, to protect individuals privacy interests in personal
and proprietary information. S. Rep. No. 99-541, at 3 (1986), reprinted in 1986 U.S.C.C.A.N.
3555 at 3557.
45.
an electronic communication service to the public shall not knowingly divulge to any
person or entity the contents of a communication while in electronic storage by that service.
18 U.S.C. 2702(a)(1).
46.
provides to users thereof the ability to send or receive wire or electronic communications. Id.
at
2510(15).
47.
Through
its
payment
processing
equipment,
Defendant
provides
an
electronic communication service to the public within the meaning of the SCA because it
provides consumers at large with credit and debit card payment processing capability that
enables them to send or receive wire or electronic communications concerning their private
financial information to transaction managers, card companies, or banks.
48.
private financial information, even after Defendant was aware that customers Personal
Information had been compromised, Defendant has knowingly divulged customers private
financial information that was communicated to financial institutions solely for customers
payment verification purposes, while in electronic storage in Defendants payment system.
15
49.
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providing remote computing service to the public shall not knowingly divulge to any person
or entity the contents of any communication which is carried or maintained on that service on
behalf of, and received by means of electronic transmission from (or created by means of
computer processing of communications received by means of electronic transmission from), a
subscriber or customer of such service. 18 U.S.C. 2702(a)(2)(A).
50.
The SCA defines remote computing service as the provision to the public
computer processing services for consumer credit and debit card payments, which are used
by customers and carried out by means of an electronic communications system, namely the
use of wire, electromagnetic, photooptical or photoelectric facilities for the transmission of
wire or electronic communications received from, and on behalf of, the customer concerning
customer private financial information.
53.
private financial information, Defendant has knowingly divulged customers private financial
information that was carried and maintained on Defendants remote computing service solely
for the customers payment verification purposes.
54.
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Section 2702(a)(1) and (2)(A), Plaintiff and putative Class Members have suffered injuries,
including lost money and the costs associated with the need for vigilant credit monitoring to
protect against additional identity theft. Plaintiff, on her own behalf and on behalf of the
putative Classes, seek an order awarding themselves and the Classes the maximum statutory
damages available under 18 U.S.C. 2707 in addition to the cost for 3 years of credit
monitoring services.
WHEREFORE Plaintiff and Class Members pray for Judgment in their favor and
against Defendant on this Count I of their Complaint; for actual and compensatory damages;
for punitive or exemplary damages; for punitive or exemplary damages; for punitive or
exemplary damages; for injunctive relief; for costs, expenses and attorney fees as allowed by
law; and for such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.
COUNT II NEGLIGENCE
55.
Information, i.e., private, non-public, sensitive financial information, Defendant had (and
continues to have) a duty to exercise reasonable care in safeguarding and protecting the
information from being compromised and/or stolen.
57.
Defendant also had a duty to timely disclose to Plaintiff and Class Members that
a breach of security had occurred and their Personal Information pertaining to their credit
cards and/or debit cards had been compromised, or was reasonably believed to be
compromised.
58.
Defendant also had a duty to put into place internal policies and
procedures designed to detect and prevent the theft or dissemination of Plaintiffs and
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Defendant, by and through its above negligent acts and/or omissions, breached
its duty to Plaintiff and Class Members by failing to exercise reasonable care in protecting
and safeguarding their Personal Information which was in Defendants possession, custody,
and control.
60.
further breached its duty to Plaintiff and Class Members by failing to put into place internal
policies and procedures designed to detect and prevent the unauthorized dissemination of
Plaintiff and Class Members Personal Information.
61.
Defendant, by and through its above negligent acts and or omissions, breached
its duty to timely disclose the fact that Plaintiff and Class Members Personal Information had
been or was reasonable believed to be have been compromised.
62.
and Class Members, their Personal Information would not have been compromised.
63.
and/or stolen as a direct and proximate result of Defendants breach of its duties as set forth
herein.
64.
Plaintiff and Class Members have suffered actual damages including, but
not limited to, having their personal information compromised, incurring time and expenses in
cancelling their debit and/credit cards, activating new cards and re-establishing automatic
payment authorizations from their new cards, and other economic and non-economic
damages, including irrecoverable losses due to unauthorized charges on their credit/debit cards.
WHEREFORE Plaintiff and Class Members pray for Judgment in their favor and
against Defendant on this Count II of their Complaint; for actual and compensatory damages;
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for punitive or exemplary damages; for punitive or exemplary damages; for punitive or
exemplary damages; for injunctive relief; for costs, expenses and attorney fees as allowed by
law; and for such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.
COUNT III -- BREACH OF IMPLIED CONTRACT
65.
Plaintiff and Class Members were required to provide Defendant with their
Personal Information in order to facilitate their credit card and/or debit card transactions.
67.
reasonable efforts to safeguard this information and promptly notify Plaintiff and Class
Members in the event their information was compromised.
68.
Similarly, it was implicit that Defendant would not disclose Plaintiffs and
and protect Plaintiffs and Class Members Personal Information. To the contrary, Defendant
allowed this information to be disseminated to unauthorized third parties.
70.
contracts with Plaintiff and Class Members, which in turn directly and/or proximately caused
Plaintiff and Class Members to suffer substantial injuries.
WHEREFORE Plaintiff and Class Members pray for Judgment in their favor and
against Defendant on this Count III of their Complaint; for actual and compensatory
damages; for punitive or exemplary damages; for punitive or exemplary damages; for
punitive or exemplary damages; for injunctive relief; for costs, expenses and attorney fees as
allowed by law; and for such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.
19
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COUNT IV VIOLATION OF TEXAS DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICESCONSUMER PROTECTION ACT (DTPA), OF THE TEXAS BUSINESS AND
COMMERCE CODE, AND SIMILAR STATUTES OF
THE OTHER STATES WHERE DEFENDANT DOES BUSINESS
71.
Act (DTPA), under Section 17.45(4) of the Texas Business and Commerce Code, and the
substantially similar statutes of the other states in which it conducts business by failing to
properly implement adequate, commercially reasonable security measures to protect
customers private financial information, and by failing to immediately notify affected
customers of the nature and extent of the security breach.
73.
regarding
information and the extent of the breach of those security measures were intended to
deceive and induce Plaintiff and the putative Class Members reliance on Defendants
misrepresentations that their financial information was secure and protected when using
debit and credit cards to shop at Defendant stores.
74.
because Plaintiff and the other putative Class Members, if they had known the truth, would
not have risked compromising their private financial information by using their debit or
credit cards at Defendant stores. Plaintiff and the other putative Class Members would
consider the omitted and misrepresented material facts important in making their purchasing
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decisions.
76.
and the other putative Class Members because Plaintiff and Class Members would not have
chosen to expose their private financial information to a security breach and subsequent
exploitation by the defrauders.
77.
actions, inaction and/or omissions and the resulting data breach of Personal Information,
Defendant knowingly and intentionally violated Section 17.50(a)(3) of the Texas Business and
Commerce Code by engaging in the above-described unconscionable actions and/or
unconscionable course of action; to wit, despite knowing of the security issues present in
Defendants systems, failing to identify, implement, maintain and monitor the proper data
security measures, policies, procedures, protocols, and software and hardware systems to
safeguard and protect Plaintiffs and Class Members Personal Information data which, as a
direct and/or proximate result, was stolen and compromised in the Data Breach.
78.
resulting Data Breach unfairly took advantage of the lack of knowledge, ability, and experience
of Plaintiff and Class Members to a grossly unfair degree regarding Defendants computer
system and servers and Defendants inability to safeguard and protect their Personal Information
data; to wit, at the time Plaintiff and Class Members gave Defendants their Personal Information
data in connection with purchasing of access and services, Plaintiff and Class Members did not
know, and had no way of knowing, that Defendant was incapable of safeguarding and protecting
their Personal Information data.
79.
Concurrent with filing this Class Action Complaint, Plaintiff served a 60-day
demand letter on Defendant under Section 17.505 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code.
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Should this matter not be resolved to the satisfaction of Plaintiff, on behalf of himself and all
Class Members, within the 60-day period, Plaintiff intends to amend this Class Action
Complaint and formally assert this cause of action.
80.
requiring Defendant to pay: monetary and punitive damages for the conduct described herein;
three years of credit card fraud monitoring services for Plaintiff and Members of the putative
Classes; and the reasonable attorneys fees and costs of suit of Plaintiff and Class Members;
together with all such other and further relief as may be just.
WHEREFORE Plaintiff and Class Members pray for Judgment in their favor and
against Defendant on this Count IV of their Complaint; for actual and compensatory
damages; for punitive or exemplary damages; for punitive or exemplary damages; for
punitive or exemplary damages; for injunctive relief; for costs, expenses and attorney fees as
allowed by law; and for such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.
COUNT V BREACH OF CONTRACT
81.
any
Plaintiffs/Class
Members
personal
information,
including
Personal
On information and belief, Defendant broke such promise, and did not
Plaintiff have been damage thereby in the amount paid to the Defendant
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WHEREFORE Plaintiff and Class Members pray for Judgment in their favor and
against Defendant on this Count V of their Complaint; for actual and compensatory
damages; for punitive or exemplary damages; for punitive or exemplary damages; for
punitive or exemplary damages; for injunctive relief; for costs, expenses and attorney fees as
allowed by law; and for such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.
COUNT VI INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS
85.
and Class Members Personal information despite knowing that there were security problems
and failures and did nothing to remedy those problems and failures despite being aware of them.
Moreover, despite being warned that Personal Information was compromised through a breach,
Defendants intentionally or recklessly failed to mitigate such breach causing millions of users
Personal Information to be released to the public. Such conduct was extreme and outrageous,
especially in light of the confidential nature of the products and services that Defendant provides.
87.
directly related to their actions in the form of extreme and severe emotional distress over their
marital relationship, societal status, reputation in the community, and other general distress
resulting from Defendants actions and inactions.
WHEREFORE Plaintiff and Class Members pray for Judgment in their favor and against
Defendant on this Count VI of their Complaint; for actual and compensatory damages; for
punitive or exemplary damages; for punitive or exemplary damages; for punitive or
exemplary damages; for injunctive relief; for costs, expenses and attorney fees as allowed by
law; and for such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.
23
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As plead in Count IV above, Plaintiff and Class Members are protected under the
DTPA and Defendant is subject to the DTPA and subject to the provisions of the Texas Identity
Theft Enforcement Protection Act (TITEPA) because it is a tie-in statute as provided under
Section 521.152 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code.
90.
Defendant stored Plaintiffs and the Classs Personal Information, including but
not limited to sensitive personal information and personal identifying information such as their
names, dates of birth, sometimes mothers maiden names, account numbers, credit card
numbers, physical conditions, and/or mental conditions, sexual preferences, sexual fantasies,
physical addresses, and other information.
91.
Plaintiff and the Class Members are victims under this act because their
Personal Information is available on the internet and being perused by unauthorized individuals.
Upon information and belief, Plaintiff and the Class Members information is also being used
for profit and for blackmail purposes.
92.
implement and maintain reasonable procedures around the Personal Information, including
taking protective actions when it knew the personal information was vulnerable, to protect the
data from unlawful use.
93.
Defendant also failed to destroy or arrange for the destruction of the personal
information in a safe and secure manner in violation of this act. Further, Class Members who
affirmatively paid Defendant to remove their personal data and received a guarantee that it was
24
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removed were harmed. Defendant actually failed to safely and securely destroy that data and
permitted it to be stolen by unauthorized users.
94.
Defendant further violated this act by failing to notify Plaintiff and the Class
immediately upon learning of the breach. Notice, if any, was given to Plaintiff and Class
Members too late and not in accordance with this act.
95.
and the Class Members were harmed and will continue to be harmed.
WHEREFORE Plaintiff and Class Members pray for Judgment in their favor and against
Defendant on this Count VII of their Complaint; for actual and compensatory damages; for
punitive or exemplary damages; for punitive or exemplary damages; for punitive or
exemplary damages; for injunctive relief; for costs, expenses and attorney fees as allowed by
law; and for such other and further relief as this Court deems just and proper.
the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and order that notice be provided to all Class Members;
B.
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D.
E.
Award Plaintiff and the Classes appropriate injunctive and/or declaratory relief;
F.
Award Plaintiff and the Classes their costs, prejudgment interest, and
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27
JS 44 (Rev. 12/12)
Page 1 of 2 PageID 28
The JS 44 civil cover sheet and the information contained herein neither replace nor supplement the filing and service of pleadings or other papers as required by law, except as
provided by local rules of court. This form, approved by the Judicial Conference of the United States in September 1974, is required for the use of the Clerk of Court for the
purpose of initiating the civil docket sheet. (SEE INSTRUCTIONS ON NEXT PAGE OF THIS FORM.)
I. (a) PLAINTIFFS
DEFENDANTS
Travis Co., TX
Toronto, Canada
U.S. Government
Plaintiff
Federal Question
(U.S. Government Not a Party)
U.S. Government
Defendant
Diversity
(Indicate Citizenship of Parties in Item III)
DEF
1
Citizen or Subject of a
Foreign Country
Foreign Nation
TORTS
110 Insurance
120 Marine
130 Miller Act
140 Negotiable Instrument
150 Recovery of Overpayment
& Enforcement of Judgment
151 Medicare Act
152 Recovery of Defaulted
Student Loans
(Excludes Veterans)
153 Recovery of Overpayment
of Veterans Benefits
160 Stockholders Suits
190 Other Contract
195 Contract Product Liability
196 Franchise
REAL PROPERTY
210 Land Condemnation
220 Foreclosure
230 Rent Lease & Ejectment
240 Torts to Land
245 Tort Product Liability
290 All Other Real Property
PERSONAL INJURY
310 Airplane
315 Airplane Product
Liability
320 Assault, Libel &
Slander
330 Federal Employers
Liability
340 Marine
345 Marine Product
Liability
350 Motor Vehicle
355 Motor Vehicle
Product Liability
360 Other Personal
Injury
362 Personal Injury Medical Malpractice
CIVIL RIGHTS
440 Other Civil Rights
441 Voting
442 Employment
443 Housing/
Accommodations
445 Amer. w/Disabilities Employment
446 Amer. w/Disabilities Other
448 Education
FORFEITURE/PENALTY
PERSONAL INJURY
365 Personal Injury Product Liability
367 Health Care/
Pharmaceutical
Personal Injury
Product Liability
368 Asbestos Personal
Injury Product
Liability
PERSONAL PROPERTY
370 Other Fraud
371 Truth in Lending
380 Other Personal
Property Damage
385 Property Damage
Product Liability
PRISONER PETITIONS
Habeas Corpus:
463 Alien Detainee
510 Motions to Vacate
Sentence
530 General
535 Death Penalty
Other:
540 Mandamus & Other
550 Civil Rights
555 Prison Condition
560 Civil Detainee Conditions of
Confinement
BANKRUPTCY
422 Appeal 28 USC 158
423 Withdrawal
28 USC 157
PROPERTY RIGHTS
820 Copyrights
830 Patent
840 Trademark
LABOR
710 Fair Labor Standards
Act
720 Labor/Management
Relations
740 Railway Labor Act
751 Family and Medical
Leave Act
790 Other Labor Litigation
791 Employee Retirement
Income Security Act
SOCIAL SECURITY
861 HIA (1395ff)
862 Black Lung (923)
863 DIWC/DIWW (405(g))
864 SSID Title XVI
865 RSI (405(g))
OTHER STATUTES
IMMIGRATION
462 Naturalization Application
465 Other Immigration
Actions
2 Removed from
State Court
Remanded from
Appellate Court
4 Reinstated or
Reopened
5 Transferred from
Another District
(specify)
6 Multidistrict
Litigation
Cite the U.S. Civil Statute under which you are filing (Do not cite jurisdictional statutes unless diversity):
18 USC 2702
DEMAND $
DOCKET NUMBER
08/21/2015
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RECEIPT #
AMOUNT
APPLYING IFP
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Page 2 of 2 PageID 29
(b)
(c)
Plaintiffs-Defendants. Enter names (last, first, middle initial) of plaintiff and defendant. If the plaintiff or defendant is a government agency, use
only the full name or standard abbreviations. If the plaintiff or defendant is an official within a government agency, identify first the agency and
then the official, giving both name and title.
County of Residence. For each civil case filed, except U.S. plaintiff cases, enter the name of the county where the first listed plaintiff resides at the
time of filing. In U.S. plaintiff cases, enter the name of the county in which the first listed defendant resides at the time of filing. (NOTE: In land
condemnation cases, the county of residence of the "defendant" is the location of the tract of land involved.)
Attorneys. Enter the firm name, address, telephone number, and attorney of record. If there are several attorneys, list them on an attachment, noting
in this section "(see attachment)".
II.
Jurisdiction. The basis of jurisdiction is set forth under Rule 8(a), F.R.Cv.P., which requires that jurisdictions be shown in pleadings. Place an "X"
in one of the boxes. If there is more than one basis of jurisdiction, precedence is given in the order shown below.
United States plaintiff. (1) Jurisdiction based on 28 U.S.C. 1345 and 1348. Suits by agencies and officers of the United States are included here.
United States defendant. (2) When the plaintiff is suing the United States, its officers or agencies, place an "X" in this box.
Federal question. (3) This refers to suits under 28 U.S.C. 1331, where jurisdiction arises under the Constitution of the United States, an amendment
to the Constitution, an act of Congress or a treaty of the United States. In cases where the U.S. is a party, the U.S. plaintiff or defendant code takes
precedence, and box 1 or 2 should be marked.
Diversity of citizenship. (4) This refers to suits under 28 U.S.C. 1332, where parties are citizens of different states. When Box 4 is checked, the
citizenship of the different parties must be checked. (See Section III below; NOTE: federal question actions take precedence over diversity
cases.)
III.
Residence (citizenship) of Principal Parties. This section of the JS 44 is to be completed if diversity of citizenship was indicated above. Mark this
section for each principal party.
IV.
Nature of Suit. Place an "X" in the appropriate box. If the nature of suit cannot be determined, be sure the cause of action, in Section VI below, is
sufficient to enable the deputy clerk or the statistical clerk(s) in the Administrative Office to determine the nature of suit. If the cause fits more than
one nature of suit, select the most definitive.
V.
VI.
Cause of Action. Report the civil statute directly related to the cause of action and give a brief description of the cause. Do not cite jurisdictional
statutes unless diversity. Example: U.S. Civil Statute: 47 USC 553 Brief Description: Unauthorized reception of cable service
VII.
Requested in Complaint. Class Action. Place an "X" in this box if you are filing a class action under Rule 23, F.R.Cv.P.
Demand. In this space enter the actual dollar amount being demanded or indicate other demand, such as a preliminary injunction.
Jury Demand. Check the appropriate box to indicate whether or not a jury is being demanded.
VIII. Related Cases. This section of the JS 44 is used to reference related pending cases, if any. If there are related pending cases, insert the docket
numbers and the corresponding judge names for such cases.
Date and Attorney Signature. Date and sign the civil cover sheet.