Facts

Evelia Davila and Larry Wade were employed by ABM Industries, Inc. from 1999 through 2018. In 2018, plaintiffs were informed by ABM that as of August 2017, ABM knew it suffered a data breach that allowed third parties to access plaintiffs' Private Identifiable Information. Plaintiffs were informed that the third parties obtained their PII through a "phishing" attack, where unauthorized individuals infiltrate unsecure networks by sending malware through email servers to obtain valuable information, install dangerous software, and/or accomplish other nefarious objectives. The following year, ABM suffered another similar data breach. Plaintiffs brought a class action against ABM.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS: Plaintiffs contended defendants were negligent and reckless by allowing a "phishing" attack, resulting in third parties accessing plaintiffs' PII. Plaintiffs contended defendants violated their privacy because they entrusted defendants with their personal, financial and other confidential information and defendant failed to protect that information from the unauthorized third parties. Plaintiffs contended their PII was stolen and misappropriated, exposing them to fraud, identity theft, and other harms.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS: Defendant denied all of the contentions.

Result

The case settled for $407,500 which consisted of $300,000 in attorneys fees/costs and $7,500 each for the class representative. Class Members are entitled to one or two years of credit monitoring, free fraud consultation, and identity theft restoration.