Summary
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation orders the centralization of actions arising from the PowerSchool customer data security breach. The Panel transfers the actions listed on Schedule A to the Southern District of California for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings and assigns them to Judge Roger T. Benitez. The order identifies common factual and legal issues involving the breach, data security practices, notification, negligence, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the actions involve common questions of fact warranting centralization under 28 U.S.C. § 1407.
- Whether centralization in the Southern District of California will serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of the litigation.
- Whether informal coordination or transfer under 28 U.S.C. § 1404 would be a more efficient alternative to § 1407 centralization.
Holdings
- The actions listed on Schedule A involve common questions of fact, and centralization is warranted because it will serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of the litigation.
- Informal coordination was not shown to be the most efficient means of resolving the litigation, and the Panel declined to deny centralization on that basis.
- The Southern District of California is an appropriate transferee district, and the actions were transferred there for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings before Judge Roger T. Benitez.
Key quotations
“On the basis of the papers filed and the hearing session held, we find that the actions listed on Schedule A involve common questions of fact, and that centralization in the Southern District of California will serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of this litigation.”
“IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that actions listed on Schedule A are transferred to the Southern District of California and, with the consent of that court, assigned to the Honorable Roger T. Benitez for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings.”
Factual background
The actions arise from unauthorized access to PowerSchool's Student Information System, which schools use to store personal information concerning current and former students and staff. Plaintiffs seek certification of overlapping nationwide and statewide classes and assert substantially identical claims for negligence, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment. Discovery will concern how and when the breach occurred, the adequacy of PowerSchool's data-security practices, and the timing and adequacy of breach notifications.
Procedural history
The Panel considered the parties' written submissions and held a hearing session. It determined that the actions shared common factual questions arising from the same cybersecurity incident and ordered transfer of the Schedule A actions to the Southern District of California, with the consent of that court, for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings before Judge Roger T. Benitez.