Following the revelation of a data breach at J.P. Morgan Chase impacting over 451,000 plan participants, a lawsuit has been filed against the financial giant by Benjamin Valentine, a former Long Island Railroad employee. Filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on May 3, the lawsuit alleges that Valentine’s personal information, entrusted to J.P. Morgan for retirement plan administration, was unlawfully accessed during the breach.
The breach, confirmed by J.P. Morgan last week, exposed participants’ sensitive personal identifiable information (PII), including full names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and financial data. Although the bank stated that the breach was not a result of a cyberattack, a regulatory filing revealed that a software issue allowed unauthorized access to certain reports containing participant information.
Valentine, mandated to provide his PII to J.P. Morgan as part of his employment terms, received a breach notification letter on April 18, disclosing that unauthorized third parties had accessed his information. The lawsuit asserts that Valentine suffered various damages due to the breach, including invasion of privacy, theft of PII, and emotional distress aggravated by inadequate disclosure from J.P. Morgan.
Accusing J.P. Morgan of failing to implement adequate cybersecurity measures and neglecting to promptly inform affected participants about the breach, the lawsuit seeks relief for Valentine, including actual and treble damages, statutory damages, injunctive relief, and attorney’s fees. Valentine is represented by the law firm Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman LLC. https://www.teiss.co.uk
