Pollstar (04/05/19) Gottfried, Gideon

U.K. law firm Hayes Connor Solicitors has filed a claim for damages of up to £5 million ($6.6 million) against Ticketmaster in the regional division of the High Court in Liverpool, following its data breach reported last June. More than 650 plaintiffs are involved in the claim, and Hayes Connor managing partner Kingsley Hayes noted, "We have taken the decision to escalate the claim to the High Court following unsuccessful negotiations with Ticketmaster, which maintains that it is not liable for the data breach and the subsequent damages suffered by its customers." The personal and financial data of about 40,000 U.K. customers had been compromised with malicious malware on third-party software, and Ticketmaster failed to take action until two months after digital bank Monzo alerted it of the intrusion. "More than two-thirds of our clients have suffered multiple fraudulent transactions since the serious data breach, with the remainder still at risk of having their money stolen or their details used for fraudulent activity in the future," Hayes contended. He added that persons whom Ticketmaster notified about the breach can still join the suit to claim compensation, provided they do so in the next few weeks. Hayes Connor reported it is the first British law firm to move forward with a multi-party litigation against Ticketmaster following the breach to date.

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