Third-party litigation financing have become big business across the country, much to the chagrin of businesses and insurance companies that have faced multi-million lawsuit verdicts.
But now one Florida-based litigation funding firm, which has loaned money to plaintiffs in a range of personal injury suits, including workers’ compensation and even dog bite claims, faces a potential class-action lawsuit of its own over a January data breach.
US Claims Capital, doing business as US Claims and headquartered in Boca Raton, failed to secure plaintiffs’ personal information and failed to implement robust computer security measures, leading to a cyberattack, the complaint alleges.
“The exposure of one’s private information to cybercriminals is a bell that cannot be un-rung,” reads the April 17 complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Miami. “Before this data breach, plaintiff’s and the class’s private information was exactly that—private. Not anymore. Now, their private information is forever exposed and unsecure.”
The lead plaintiff is Timothy Vactor, a Kansas resident who had for years closely guarded his personal data, the court document notes. The suit asks the court to certify the class action as representing many other people who did business with US Claims, and asks for compensatory and punitive damages, along with attorney fees and other cost reimbursement.
US Claims has not yet filed an answer to the complaint. The firm’s website notes that it funds lawsuits over animal bites, animal injuries and other injuries, and contends that it offers a better deal to plaintiffs by charging less than competing litigation funding firms.
Related: Dog Bite Claims Soared in 2024
“Defendant is a national litigation funding company that loans plaintiffs in personal injury, workers’ compensation, qui tam, medical malpractice, or other types of cases money before or after their cases settle,” the suit reads.
The injury suit that US Claims reportedly financed for Vactor, the lead plaintiff, was not explained in the complaint.
Vactor and other plaintiffs funded by the firm were notified through an April 11 letter from US Claims, explaining the Jan. 7 cyberattack. The firm’s own investigation “revealed that certain information related to you may have been acquired by an unauthorized individual as part of the event,” the letter said.
US Claims provided victims with identity theft protection, cyber monitoring and an insurance policy in case of financial losses, as well as help in resolving issues.
But since the letter, Vactor and other class members have had to spend time and money monitoring their credit reports, dealing with an increase in spam email, texts and phone calls, the complaint argues.
Related: Georgia Lawmakers Put Limits on Litigation Financing
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