Rivers Casino to face class action over January cyberattack
A federal judge has allowed a negligence claim to proceed.
US.- Judge Joshua D. Wolson of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has ruled that Rivers Casino Philadelphia must face a class action lawsuit filed by customers who say their personal information was not adequately protected. The case follows a cyberattack in January, during which customers allege that an unauthorised party accessed and potentially obtained files from the casino’s servers, exposing sensitive information.
The operator notified potentially affected customers after the incident, but customers argue that the full scope of the attack was not revealed. According to the lawsuit, the information potentially exposed included names, Social Security numbers and bank account details, raising concerns about possible attempts to use the data for identity fraud.
The plaintiffs argue that Rivers Casino failed to implement sufficient safeguards and, as a result, may have violated consumer protection and privacy laws. Law firm Levi & Korsinsky, LLP invited affected customers to join the class action without paying legal fees upfront.
The judge found that the operator had a duty to exercise reasonable care when protecting customers’ personal information and that the plaintiffs had plausibly alleged that it failed to meet that obligation. The court considered reports from several plaintiffs who said they experienced an increase in attempted fraudulent activity following the breach. According to Wolson, those allegations supported the plausibility of the negligence claim.
Rivers Casino’s motions to dismiss the negligence claim were denied. However, Wolson dismissed other claims, including breach of contract, unjust enrichment, invasion of privacy and breach of confidence. The judge determined that the plaintiffs had not provided sufficient grounds to support those allegations.
