A high-stakes legal battle over an alleged Aflac Inc. data breach took a decisive turn Wednesday after a Georgia federal judge appointed a six-member leadership team of prominent law firms to steer the proposed class action forward.
U.S. District Judge Clay D. Land announced that the consolidated lawsuit — combining nearly two dozen individual suits filed after a major cyberattack against the insurance giant — will be led by attorneys from Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman PLLC, Beasley Allen Law Firm, and Morgan & Morgan PA, among others.
Also named to the powerhouse leadership roster are Pope McGlamry Kilpatrick Morrison & Norwood PC, Kopelowitz Ostrow PA, and Gibson Consumer Law Group. The appointment, detailed in Judge Land’s Wednesday order, sets the stage for one of the year’s most closely watched data privacy cases.
A Consolidated Class Action Rooted in a “Sophisticated” Cyberattack
The suits were unified in July under lead plaintiff Eleanor Griffin, who alleges that Aflac was hacked in June by a “sophisticated cybercrime group,” resulting in the unauthorized exposure of sensitive customer data.
According to the complaint, Aflac’s failure to implement robust cybersecurity protections led directly to the breach — compromising names, Social Security numbers, and other personal information of thousands of customers.
“The data breach was a direct result of the defendant’s failure to implement adequate and reasonable cybersecurity procedures and protocols,” Griffin asserted. “As a result, plaintiffs and class members are now at a current, imminent, and ongoing risk of fraud and identity theft.”
