Law firm Houser LLP is facing a class action lawsuit for allegedly failing to protect individuals' personal data during a data breach.
The named plaintiff, Joseph Kausse, of Kansas, accuses the law firm of negligence and violation of privacy rights under California law. The complaint was filed in Los Angeles federal court on March 7. Plaintiffs are represented by attorney Robert Mackey, of Costa Mesa,
According to the court filing, Houser LLP allegedly discovered unusual activity within its computer system on May 9, 2023. An unauthorized third party reportedly copied files containing sensitive personal information, including names and Social Security Numbers, between May 7 and May 9, 2023. As a result, thousands of individuals' private information was compromised.
Kausse claims that he was notified about his compromised data in February 2024 and subsequently received inquiries about an unauthorized loan application. He also noticed an increase in spam and phishing attempts via phone call, text message, and email.
The lawsuit criticizes Houser LLP's failure to timely notify affected individuals about the data breach for approximately nine months after discovery. This delay allegedly left their private information particularly vulnerable.
The plaintiffs seek to expand the action to include potentially thousands of people nationwide and in California whose information may have been exposed in the data breach.
Kausse seeks a court order directing Houser to pay unspecified actual damages, statutory damages and punitive damages, plus attorney fees.