Wood Smith Henning & Berman's Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Team continues to build momentum, recently securing dismissals of data breach class actions in multiple jurisdictions across the country. The latest results, including dismissals in Louisiana federal court, California state court, and Georgia federal court, reflect the team's strategic focus on early investigation and identifying threshold deficiencies that can resolve claims before costly litigation takes hold.
In one recent matter, partner Timothy Shea and senior associate Lauren Schulman secured voluntary dismissal of a putative class action pending in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana. The lawsuit arose from an alleged April 2026 ransomware incident in which an unauthorized actor allegedly accessed and stole customers' and employees' protected health information (PHI) and personally identifiable information (PII). After being retained, the firm's investigation confirmed that the named plaintiff was not part of the impacted population. Following these findings, the plaintiff dismissed the action before any substantive motion practice began.
In a separate matter, partner Timothy Shea and associate Daniella Styagova obtained the dismissal of another putative data breach class action filed against a physical therapy and fitness client in the Superior Court of California, Kern County. There, WSHB demonstrated that the named plaintiff's information was not impacted by the cyber incident at issue. After the firm submitted a supporting declaration establishing that fact, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the action, and the court subsequently closed the case.
Shea and Styagova achieved a similar result in a third putative data breach class action pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. An investigation into the underlying cyber incident established that the named plaintiff was not among the individuals whose information was impacted. Once that issue was identified, the plaintiff agreed to dismiss the action, adding another early win to the team's recent string of successful outcomes.
"These results demonstrate why early factual investigation can be so important in data breach litigation," said Chris Seusing, leader of the firm's Cybersecurity & Data Privacy team. "Before a case develops into a costly class litigation, we look closely at the underlying facts, including whether the named plaintiff was actually affected by the incident alleged in the complaint. In these matters, that approach allows us to identify fundamental issues with the claims and achieve efficient results for our clients."
The dismissals add to a growing series of favorable outcomes for the firm's Cybersecurity and Data Privacy team in class actions arising from ransomware attacks and other cybersecurity incidents. By coordinating closely with clients, breach counsel, forensic professionals, and insurers at the outset of litigation, the team works to identify opportunities for early resolution while minimizing the cost and disruption associated with protracted class action litigation.
WSHB's Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Team represents businesses facing data breach class actions, ransomware claims, privacy litigation, regulatory investigations, and other cybersecurity-related disputes nationwide.
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