In re PowerSchool Holdings, Inc., and PowerSchool Group, LLC Customer Data Security Breach Litigation

Summary

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation orders centralization of 32 actions involving the PowerSchool customer data security breach, along with related actions, in the Southern District of California. The Panel finds common factual questions concerning the breach, data security practices, and notification procedures, and assigns coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings to Judge Roger T. Benitez.

Holdings

1. The actions involve common questions of fact because they arise from the same PowerSchool cybersecurity incident and present overlapping factual issues concerning how and when the breach occurred, the adequacy of PowerSchool's data-security practices, and notification of breach victims.
2. The Southern District of California was an appropriate transferee district because a potential tag-along action and related state-court litigation were pending there, and the district offered efficient coordination of the proceedings under the supervision of an experienced multidistrict-litigation judge.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the related actions involve common questions of fact warranting centralization under 28 U.S.C. § 1407.
2. Whether centralization would serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of the litigation.
3. Which federal district should serve as the transferee district for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings.

Disposition

other