In re Warner Music Group Data Breach
- Paul Gardephe
- 1:20-cv-07473
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 7
In re Warner Music Group Data Breach: Judge Gardephe consolidated nine related data-breach class actions and future related cases under one docket.
The nine plaintiffs’ proposed class actions against Warner Music Group, their counsel, Warner Music Group, and any later related Warner Music Group cases filed in or transferred to the Southern District of New York were affected. The cases were placed under one master docket for all purposes, including discovery, pretrial proceedings, and trial.
What happened
In In re Warner Music Group Data Breach, nine proposed class actions against Warner Music Group arose from a reported hack involving customers’ personal identification and payment information.
The plaintiffs supported consolidation, and Warner Music Group consented. The cases involved the same defendant and similar claims about Warner Music Group’s efforts to protect that information.
Judge Gardephe ordered the cases consolidated for all purposes under master docket 20 Civ. 7473, including discovery, pretrial proceedings, and trial. The order did not decide class certification or the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- In re Warner Music Group Data Breach · No. 1:20-cv-07473
- Paul Gardephe
- Nov. 10, 2020
Background
Nine proposed class actions were pending against Warner Music Group: Combs, Kuhn, Beardsley, Cimaglio, Guitierrez, Watts, Hart, Buck, and Hammett. The complaints arose from a reported “magecart” hack that occurred between April 25, 2020, and August 5, 2020. Warner Music Group announced that customers’ personal identification and credit card information had been scraped or skimmed from its e-commerce platform.
Each case named Warner Music Group as the defendant and asserted similar claims concerning the sufficiency of the company’s efforts to protect plaintiffs’ personal identification and payment information. The plaintiffs supported consolidation, and Warner Music Group consented, while reserving its rights to challenge class certification.
Legal standard
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42(a) permits a court to consolidate actions involving common questions of law or fact. The court explained that consolidation is discretionary and requires consideration of convenience, judicial economy, cost reduction, and the need for a fair and impartial trial.
Ruling
The court determined that consolidation was appropriate because all nine cases arose from the same reported data breach, named the same defendant, and involved similar claims. The court ordered the nine actions, along with any other related Warner Music Group cases later filed in or transferred to the Southern District of New York, consolidated under the caption In re Warner Music Group Data Breach, Master File No. 20 Civ. 7473 (PGG).
The consolidated cases will be maintained in one file, and future filings generally must be made under docket number 20 Civ. 7473. The consolidation applies to all purposes, including discovery, pretrial proceedings, and trial. The order also states that consolidation does not make a person, firm, or corporation a party to an action unless that person or entity has been named, served, or added under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The previously scheduled initial pretrial conference was adjourned to February 25, 2021, at 10:00 a.m.
Read the full 7-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.