Live Nation faces class actions over breach of Social Security and health data
Live Nation faces at least three proposed class-action lawsuits over a data breach involving Social Security numbers, government ID numbers and health records.
The complaints were filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California. Amanda Fraga filed on 6 October. Toby Gosman and Isiah Ramos filed on 7 October, according to Music Business Worldwide.
Live Nation is the live-entertainment group that owns Ticketmaster. Fraga and Gosman say they are former employees who gave the company personal information in connection with their jobs. Ramos says he provided his information in connection with obtaining services.
The breach was reported to the Vermont Attorney General's office on 1 October. That report appears on the office's public log of security breach notices. The log lists two Vermont residents as affected.
All three cases were filed by different law firms but are almost word-for-word identical. Fraga, a Brooklyn, New York resident, is represented by Scott Edelsberg of Edelsberg Law. Ramos, of Champaign, Illinois, is represented by John J. Nelson of Milberg. Gosman, described as a Minnesota resident, is represented by Kristen Lake Cardoso of Kopelowitz Ostrow.
What stands out on paper is the overlap. Gosman's complaint uses the same wording as Fraga's to describe the plaintiff as a citizen of New York. All three plaintiffs say they learned of the breach from an article they read online.
The complaints allege, upon information and belief, that Live Nation had not encrypted the compromised data. That phrase means the plaintiffs are stating what they believe to be true ahead of further evidence. They also allege each plaintiff's information is now available on the dark web, the part of the internet that is not indexed by normal search engines.
They further allege Live Nation waited more than four months after learning of the breach before notifying affected people. None of the three complaints states when the breach took place or when the company learned of it.
Each complaint brings claims of negligence, negligence per se, breach of implied contract and unjust enrichment. A class action is a case brought on behalf of a larger group. Here the proposed group is nationwide. Each filing estimates at least thousands of members and cites the Federal Trade Commission Act in support of the negligence claim.
The plaintiffs seek damages including punitive damages, extra payments intended to punish rather than repay loss. They also seek lifetime credit monitoring and a court order requiring Live Nation to improve its data security. Each complaint states the amount in controversy exceeds USD $5 million, citing the federal Class Action Fairness Act.
Live Nation confirmed the incident in a statement to MBW on 8 October. It said a small number of individuals may have been affected. The company said it had identified, contained and secured a cybersecurity incident.
It added that, following internal review and independent investigation by a leading cybersecurity firm, the incident was limited in scope and had no impact on operations. It said the small number of people whose information may have been affected are being notified and offered support in monitoring their information.
