Attorneys File for Oral Argument in Samsung Data Breach Litigation

Six lawyers representing plaintiffs in multiple class actions arising from last summer's Samsung data breach entered notices of presentation by Tuesday's deadline, indicating they will appear at the Jan. 26 oral argument before the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation’s hearing on various motions to consolidate the cases and transfer them to a single judge.

Samsung's counsel also indicated the intention to participate in oral argument. None of the attorneys who filed waived oral argument.

U.S. District Judge Scott Hardy for Western Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh signed an order last month (see 2212160001) granting the joint motion of plaintiff Kenneth Hasson and defendant Samsung to stay Hasson’s fraud class action arising out of the data breach as all parties in the various class actions await the panel's decision to consolidate all the cases and transfer them to a single judge.

Hasson’s attorneys, Gary Lynch and Eddie Kim, of Lynch Carpenter, filed an interested party response Tuesday in support of plaintiffs Naeem Seirafi and Shelby Holtzclaw’s motion for centralization and transfer of actions to U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco (see 2211020008) to eliminate duplication and avoid conflicting rulings and costs.

Lynch and Kim argued the Northern District of California has a “manageable docket load and is underutilized as a transferee court.” They also noted Samsung has a corporate office in the district and U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Corley, who has prior multidistrict litigation experience, is presiding over similar proceedings in a Qualcomm antitrust action.

Attorney Kiley Grombacher of Bradley/Grombacher filed a notice of presentation of oral argument Tuesday, supporting centralization in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Camden. Attorney James Cecchi of Carella Byrne filed a notice of presentation Dec. 19 on behalf of nine plaintiffs, supporting centralization of cases in U.S. District Court for New Jersey in Newark. Attorney Thomas Zimmerman, a sole proprietor, filed a notice Dec. 20 to present oral argument on behalf of two plaintiffs in a class action. Zimmerman supports centralization in U.S. District Court for Northern California.

Attorney Catherine Derenze of Lite DePalma, representing plaintiffs in two complaints against Samsung, filed a notice Dec. 20 to present oral argument and supports centralizing cases in U.S. District Court for New Jersey, without specifying a location. Attorney Glenn Danas of Clarkson Law filed to present oral argument Dec. 22 and supports centralization in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The attorney for Samsung, Neil Gilman of Hunton Andrews, filed a notice of presentation Dec. 20, supporting centralization in U.S. District Court for Nevada in Las Vegas or alternatively, the Southern District of New York. Samsung suggested strongly in an early November filing it will base its defenses in the various class actions on a motion to compel the disputes to arbitration (see 2211030006).