Alyssa M. Sones of SheppardMullin writes about a data breach lawsuit with a somewhat different, albeit unsuccessful, approach. Sones explains:
Fraser’s allegation that Mint had a role in helping the hacker gain control of his phone number sets this case apart from the typical data breach case….. Fraser alleges that Mint allowed Fraser’s number to be ported out because it approved the porting out of his number. In doing so, he alleges Mint bypassed the access PIN Fraser had set up just days before to enhance the security on his account. In Fraser’s theory, that would allow the hacker greater access to his accounts, such as the ability to bypass multi-factor authentication. Mint thus allegedly took steps after the breach that helped the hacker complete a fraud using the disclosed information.
I don’t recall ever seeing a claim quite like that one before.
As clever — and as accurate as it seems in some regards — the case was dismissed. Read Sone’s article at The National Law Review for an explanation of why the court dismissed the lawsuit.