First Class Action Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of Victims of Massive First American Title Company Data Breach

First American failed to safeguard customers’ personal information, according to lawsuit

OAKLAND, CA – Gibbs Law Group LLP has filed the first nationwide class action lawsuit accusing First American Title Company of failing to properly secure 885 million sensitive customer files, instead choosing to store them in a “woefully insecure,” publicly-accessible system.

“First American has turned the American dream of home ownership into a financial security nightmare for its customers,” according to the complaint.

Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that First American Title Company was negligent, and violated its contracts with customers, in the way it stored their personal information, which included bank account numbers, Social Security numbers, financial and tax records, and photos of their drivers’ licenses. This grave lapse in security resulted in publicly exposing hundreds of millions of customers’ personal files, leaving them vulnerable to identify theft and other cybercrimes.

The victims assert that despite First American’s purported “commit[ment] to safeguarding customers’ personal information,” and its repeated promises to provide “secure, reliable, and affordable records storage solutions,” the title insurance company, which is the largest of its kind in the United States, was negligent in storing its records and violated the law by exposing sensitive files to anyone who wanted to access them. In addition, the lawsuit alleges that First American chose to maintain these careless security practices despite repeated warnings from the FBI about an exponential increase in cyberattacks targeting the real estate industry.

“Consumers did not deserve for their personal information to be treated so recklessly,” said Andre Mura of Gibbs Law Group.

“It is shocking that a company of this magnitude would blatantly disregard the most basic safety protocols when housing troves of highly-sensitive, personal information,” added data breach attorney David Berger.

First American customers who believe they were affected by the First American data leak and would like to learn more about their legal rights in the First American Data Breach Lawsuit may contact our team at 510-350-9700.