Law firms file class-action suit against Excellus over breach

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Law firms in Rochester and New York City have filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of three customers against Excellus BlueCross BlueShield following the data breach it reported on Sept. 9.

Rochester–based Faraci Lange and New York City–based Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C. filed the suit on behalf of Matthew Fero, Shirley Krenzer, and Erin O’Brien, says Hadley Matarazzo, a partner in the law firm.

“They would represent the interests of the whole class,” says Matarazzo.

The firms filed the suit on Friday in U.S. District Court in Rochester, she confirmed.

The lawsuit claims negligence and breach of contract against Excellus Health Plan Inc. and Lifetime Healthcare Inc.

Excellus is Central New York’s largest health insurer.

The breach may have affected the personal information of about 7 million Excellus customers and an additional 3.5 million customers of other affiliates of the Lifetime Healthcare Companies, Excellus’ parent company.

Faraci Lange and Weitz & Luxenberg filed the lawsuit on behalf of “all the people, including children, whose personal and medical information has been compromised in the recently revealed Excellus data breach,” Matarazzo said in a statement provided to BJNN.

“The services offered by Excellus as well as the length of time they are offered are woefully inadequate, especially as they pertain to children. Given the nature and extent of the information the hackers accessed, including social security numbers and medical information, the lawsuit seeks greater protection well beyond the two years of credit monitoring currently offered for only those who are over 18,” Matarazzo said regarding the Excellus response to the breach.

The health insurer doesn’t comment on litigation, Elizabeth Martin, VP of communications for Excellus, said in an email response to a BJNN inquiry.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com