Case: In re: Horizon Healthcare Services, Inc. Data Breach Litig., No. 13-cv-07418-CCC

Court: District of New Jersey
Class: All persons whose personal identifying information or protection health information was contained on laptop computers stolen from Horizon's Newark, New Jersey office on or about November 1, 2013
Attorneys: Robert N. Kaplan, Laurence D. King, David A. Straite, Matthew George

Kaplan Fox is co-counsel for the plaintiffs and proposed class of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield members whose personal identifying information and protected health information was stored on unencrypted laptops, which were later stolen in November, 2013.  More than one-third of all New Jersey residents had personal information stored on the laptops.  The complaint alleges that Horizon violated various state and federal laws when it failed to secure the laptops and for failing to encrypt the information, despite promising to do so following a similar breach several years earlier.  The New Jersey State Senator leading an investigation of the incident referred to Horizon's data protection as "very sloppy."

On May 17, 2015, the Court dismissed the case on standing grounds. On January 20, 2017, the Third Circuit of Appeals reversed and remained in precedent-setting opinion. On February 14, 2017, the New Jersey Attorney General filed its own complaint against Horizon, alleging 24 seperate counts of unconscionable business practices and 5 counts of misrepresentations under New Jersey law. The case is in discovery.