Summary
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation orders the centralization of actions arising from the PowerSchool customer data security breach in the Southern District of California under MDL No. 3149. The Panel transfers the listed actions and assigns them to Judge Roger T. Benitez for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the related actions involve common questions of fact warranting centralization under 28 U.S.C. § 1407.
- Whether centralization in the Southern District of California would serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of the litigation.
- Whether informal coordination was a more efficient alternative to multidistrict centralization.
Holdings
- The actions 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.
- The Southern District of California is an appropriate transferee district for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings.
- Informal coordination was not shown to be the most efficient means of resolving the litigation.
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 a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to PowerSchool's Student Information System, which stores personal information concerning current and former students and school staff. Plaintiffs seek nationwide and statewide class certification and assert largely identical claims for negligence, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment. The litigation will require discovery concerning how and when the breach occurred, the adequacy of PowerSchool's data-security practices, and the timing and adequacy of notifications to affected individuals.
Procedural history
The Panel considered written submissions and a hearing session concerning centralization and selection of a transferee district. It granted centralization and transferred the actions listed on Schedule A to the Southern District of California, with that court's consent, for assignment to Judge Roger T. Benitez.
Remand instructions
The actions listed on Schedule A are transferred to the Southern District of California and, with that court's consent, assigned to the Honorable Roger T. Benitez for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings.