No Standing for Fear of Future Harm: Another Consumer Data Breach Class Action Dismissed

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas dismissed a class action data breach lawsuit filed by Beverly T. Peters against St. Joseph Services Corp. The reason is familiar in consumer class action data breach cases: fear from the heightened risk of future identity theft or fraud from a data breach does not give legal standing to sue by a party whose data may have been compromised.

“Having reviewed the parties’ submissions and the relevant law, the court concludes that the answer is no,” the judge wrote in the opinion. “Peters has not made the requisite demonstration of injury, traceability and redressability for her alleged injuries. Lacking viability, her federal claims are dismissed with prejudice.”

The original Law360 article is here, but it is behind a paywall so you will need a subscription to access: Another data breach case dismissed for no standing: Ex-Patient’s Class Action v. St Josephs.