Eric Gibbs Appointed to Plaintiffs Steering Committee in Anthem Data Breach Case

On September 11, 2015, United States District Judge Lucy Koh appointed Eric Gibbs to the Plaintiffs Steering Committee in the Anthem data breach litigation, the core group of attorneys charged with litigating claims of behalf of approximately 80 million people whose personal information was compromised as a result of the massive data breach announced by Anthem, Inc. earlier this year.

Seventeen separate groups of law firms asked Judge Koh to appoint them to lead the case, an array of talent that Judge Koh described as “incredible.” After hearing from each group, Judge Koh appointed Eve Cervantez of Altshuler Berzon and Andrew Friedman of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll as co-lead plaintiffs’ counsel and Eric Gibbs of Gibbs Law Group LLP and Michael Sobol of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein to the Plaintiffs Steering Committee.

Over 100 Anthem Data Breach Class Action Lawsuits Filed

In February 2015, Anthem revealed that hackers had accessed its databases, including individuals’ names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, health care ID numbers, email and physical addresses, employment information, and income data. Affected individuals include current or former Anthem members, members of other Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans who received healthcare through Anthem, and even people whose employers offered both Anthem and non-Anthem health plan options. Affected individuals reported an uptick in fraud and identity theft allegedly tied to the data breach.

As a result, plaintiffs filed over one hundred lawsuits in courts across the country, alleging that Anthem’s and related entities’ security practices were insufficient. Nearly all of these cases were consolidated before Judge Koh in the Northern District of California.

Eric Gibbs’ Leadership in Data Breach & Privacy Litigation

Eric Gibbs is a partner at Gibbs Law Group LLP and Gibbs Law Group LLP with twenty years of experience representing plaintiffs in class and collective actions in litigation throughout the country. Eric has achieved some of the largest settlements of their kind in auto defect and consumer fraud cases, and has established himself as a leader in emerging litigation concerning data breach and privacy.

In addition to representing Anthem subscribers affected by the data breach, Eric represents victims of data breaches at Adobe, Home Depot, Target, and Premera Blue Cross. In In re: Adobe Systems, Inc. Privacy Litigation, Eric recently secured a landmark ruling from the court that makes it easier for plaintiffs to seek relief following a breach.

Eric is frequently invited to speak on data breach and privacy litigation, including at conventions sponsored by the American Association for Justice, Consumer Attorneys of California, HB Litigation Conferences, HarrisMartin Publishing, Bridgeport, and the Democratic Attorneys General Association. On February 11, 2016, Mr. Gibbs will serve as a co-chair of HB Litigation’s conference on Data Breach & Privacy Litigation, where panelists will address recent court opinions and settlements in data breach cases, the responses of insurance carriers to privacy threats, and other issues in this emerging field of litigation.

Eric currently serves as a co-chair of AAJ’s Consumer Privacy and Data Breach Litigation Group.

Eric has been named consecutively in The Best Lawyers in America for Mass Tort Litigation and Class Action since 2012, and he has been consistently honored as a Northern California Super Lawyer (2010-2015), (Top 100). He has earned AV-Preeminent rankings from Martindale-Hubbell, recognizing him in the highest class of attorneys for professional ethics and legal skills.

Gibbs Law Group’ Current Litigation

Visit our website to learn more about our current cases and investigations. To speak with Mr. Girard or Mr. Gibbs, call toll-free (866) 981-4800.