Lawsuits have been filed in Texas against AT&T after a data breach leaked private info for 73 million former and current customers.is fighting 10 class action lawsuits from separate Texas law firms after 73 million former and current account holders had private information leaked in ahas caused emotional and financial distress for its account holders and was a result of negligence from the company. Some lawsuits say the company owes customers refunds as it failed to protect user information.
“The consequences and ramifications have never been worse. Increasingly, our lives are lived online, and we must be able to trust the companies that we pay to protect and safeguard all of our data,” said Patrick Yarborough, an attorney with the firm. “We want accountability and we want change.”For Federman, AT&T’s lack of transparency has been one of the most worrying fallout effects from the data breach, he said.
In this Oct. 21, 2014 photo, people pass an AT&T store in New York's Times Square. AT&T is being sued by the government over allegations it misled millions of smartphone customers who were promised unlimited data but had their Internet speeds cut by the company slowing their ability to open web pages or watch streaming video. 10292014xBIZ 10292014xBRIEFINGits rules around security breaches for the first time in 16 years.
“We’re going to need to get all of the plaintiff’s lawyers together and make sure we’re all rowing in the same direction,” he said. “A lot of this depends on getting the parties organized. I’ve seen cases like this last more than 10 years. So it’s up to AT&T to step up and do the right thing.”