Class Action Lawsuit Filed On Behalf Of Plaintiffs Whose Private Sensitive Information Was Stolen In Breach Of Equifax Servers

BALTIMORE, Sept. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On Wednesday, September 13, Murphy, Falcon & Murphy filed a national class action lawsuit against Equifax Inc., one of three major credit reporting agencies, on behalf of over 143 million consumers whose personal information, social security numbers, birth dates, names, addresses, driver's license information and credit loan balances, were stolen in May and July 2017.  Hackers also accessed credit card account numbers and loan balances and credit report dispute histories. Reports also indicate that residents in the United Kingdom and Canada were affected.

This massive and brazen cyber-breach occurred in mid-May and again in early July 2017, when cybercriminals broke into one or more of Equifax's servers and stole the personal identifying information of Equifax consumers.  The identity of the cybercriminals is still unknown.  Equifax discovered the breach at least as early as July 29, 2017. Inexplicably, Equifax chose not to notify consumers of the breach but instead simply contracted with an undisclosed third party cybersecurity firm to determine the scope of the hack, including the identification of the specific data impacted. The investigation remains incomplete despite the fact that over six weeks have elapsed since Equifax discovered the breach. 

Equifax failed to properly safeguard consumers' personal sensitive information.  It then chose to conceal the breach from consumers so that three (3) Equifax executives, including the Chief Financial Officer, John Gamble, could sell shares of Equifax stock worth a combined $1,800,000.  On September 7, 2017, major news outlets began reporting about the July 29, 2017 incident. These news stories were the first time that consumers had been informed that their information secured by Equifax had been compromised.  Only after these news stories broke did Equifax confirm that one or more of its servers had been breached. 

The lawsuit alleges that Equifax failed to ensure the integrity of its file storage system and to properly safeguard consumers' highly sensitive and confidential information.  Equifax knew or should have known that its failure to protect consumers' personal identifying information from unauthorized access would result in a massive data breach and expose consumers to serious harm.  Furthermore, Equifax's delay in disclosing the breach deprived its consumers of the opportunity to take timely responsive action, such as attempting to prevent further dissemination of their private information.  Equifax's conduct violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Maryland Consumer Protection Act and was grossly negligent, reckless, willful, and intentional. 

Hassan Murphy, Managing Partner at Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, said today, "It is incomprehensible that Equifax, a major credit reporting company, would fail in its obligation to protect the personal and private information of consumers, leaving 143 million consumers susceptible, damaged and at risk for identity theft and fraud. And now a group of cyberthieves have the holy grail of consumer identification – aggregated information on consumers packaged in a neat little bow.  The value of this package far exceeds the sum of each individual piece of information and further exacerbates the seriousness of this matter." Murphy added, "In the past, Equifax has been subject to numerous allegations regarding potential data breaches.  In light of Equifax's continual failure to ensure the integrity of its file storage systems, Equifax failed to use reasonable care to ensure consumer reports were properly protected from access by unauthorized third parties.  Equifax should have implemented appropriate and adequate technological safeguards to prevent such a massive cyberbreach from occurring and should have immediately notified its consumers after learning of the breach.  For that, Equifax is  responsible for the harm already sustained by its consumers, as well as the harm they will continue to suffer into the future."

"But as is the case all too often, alerting consumers immediately after the breach would have cost Equifax and its executives money and reputation, and that was ultimately more important to them than protecting its consumers' private information.  We will continue working until Equifax fixes this problem and these victims receive the compensation they deserve," Murphy added.

About Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, P.A.
Murphy, Falcon & Murphy, P.A. is a Baltimore-based law which specializes in complex civil, criminal and civil rights litigation. Our powerhouse legal team has a history of unrelenting dedication to its clients in Baltimore and across the country. Our team of seasoned trial lawyers have extensive experience in a wide variety of cases with success rates that dwarf national averages and are dedicated to providing smart strategies and creative approaches to complex litigation. Our team is driven and strategy-focused— characteristics that have helped us secure more than $700 million in verdicts and settlements, and our attorneys have won some of the largest verdicts in high-profile, high-stakes cases in some of the toughest jurisdictions around the country. Recently, the firm filed a class-action regarding the tragic Chattanooga school bus crash in which six children died. That matter is currently pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Learn more at www.murphyfalcon.com.  

*Each case is different. Past success does not guarantee a favorable result in any future case.

Contact: Hassan Murphy
[email protected]
(410) 539-6500

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