Health insurer CareFirst is petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a lower court's ruling that permitted a data breach class action lawsuit against the company to advance, according to an analysis by Reuters reporter Alison Frankel.
The petition argues the Supreme Court must help lower courts figure out if data breach victims have a constitutional right to sue.
According to CareFirst, lower courts struggle with the threshold question of whether data breach victims meet the Article III requirement of a concrete or imminent injury, Ms. Frankel writes. In other words, do data breach victims have standing to bring suit?
CareFirst views its case as the ideal mechanism for fledging out the inconsistencies and crafting a succinct guidance for lower courts to follow.
"Lower courts have struggled to consistently apply Article III standing principles to future injuries allegedly caused by data theft, including the increased risk of future identity theft," wrote CareFirst's lawyers. "Without guidance, courts, litigants, cybersecurity insurers and corporate America will remain uncertain as to when a federal court can hear such claims."
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