Stieve v. Campus

Background

The court considered coordinated motions in five proposed class actions against Infinite Campus, Inc. The cases are brought by Jamie Stieve, Walter Hall, Tiffany Clark, Virginia Carver, and Cassie Helgeson. Each concerns an alleged data breach involving Infinite Campus’s servers that occurred on or around March 18, 2026. The plaintiffs allege that the breach disclosed private information. Infinite Campus did not oppose the motions, but it reserved its rights, defenses, objections, and arguments concerning the allegations, dismissal of the claims, and class certification.

Consolidation

Applying Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42, the court concluded that the cases share common questions of law and fact. The court relied on the fact that the actions arise from the same alleged breach, assert substantively similar causes of action, and seek to represent the same group of individuals.

The court granted the motions to consolidate. Hall v. Infinite Campus, Inc., No. 26-cv-2046; Clark v. Infinite Campus, Inc., No. 26-cv-2051; Carver v. Infinite Campus, Inc., No. 26-cv-2191; and Helgeson v. Infinite Campus, Inc., No. 26-cv-2306, were consolidated with Stieve v. Infinite Campus, Inc., No. 26-cv-2042, the first-filed case. Future filings must be made in the Stieve case. The plaintiffs must file a consolidated amended complaint within 21 days of the order. After that complaint is filed, the other four cases will be administratively closed. The consolidation order also applies to later-filed proposed class actions involving similar factual allegations and causes of action concerning the data breach.

Interim Co-Lead Counsel

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(g), a court may appoint counsel to represent a proposed class before deciding whether to certify the case as a class action. The court found that interim co-lead counsel was appropriate because the litigation involves multiple overlapping proposed class actions and, according to the plaintiffs, more than one million affected individuals.

The court found that Bryan L. Bleichner of Chestnut Cambronne PA and David A. Goodwin of Gustafson Gluek PLLC had extensive experience with nationwide consumer class actions and data-breach cases, sufficient resources, and a stated commitment to work cooperatively and efficiently. The court therefore granted the motions to appoint Bleichner and Goodwin as Interim Co-Lead Class Counsel.

Their assigned responsibilities include coordinating the plaintiffs’ lawyers, organizing litigation work, presenting the plaintiffs’ positions, serving as the primary contact with Infinite Campus and the court, coordinating settlement discussions, handling filings and court communications, selecting experts when necessary, preparing status reports, and developing procedures for attorneys’ fees and expenses subject to court approval. The order does not decide whether the proposed class should be certified or whether the plaintiffs’ claims will succeed.