Benzinga - by Vandana Singh, Benzinga Editor.
Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH), has reportedly petitioned a U.S. court panel to centralize over 24 class actions against the payment processor concerning its handling of personal data following a cyber hack in February this year.
The company is advocating for Nashville, Tennessee, to be designated as the venue for consolidation, citing its headquarters location and the preparedness of the federal court there to manage such a significant legal proceeding.
Related Content: UnitedHealth Cyberattack Prompts Urgent Government Action: Investigation Underway.
Additionally, Change emphasized that evidence and key witnesses crucial to the cases are based in Tennessee.
The proposal for consolidation in Nashville aligns with a request made by a coalition of plaintiffs’ lawyers involved in the litigation, who urged the multidistrict panel to select the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Specifically, they suggested that U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson, who has prior involvement in some of the related cases, oversee the consolidated proceedings. Richardson, appointed to the trial bench in 2018, brings relevant experience from his tenure at Bass, Berry & Sims law firm.
Change Healthcare’s filing seeks to counter the narrative driving the lawsuits, characterizing them as grounded in an “incorrect and unfounded theory” that the company’s security measures were deficient and that plaintiffs suffered harm due to the cyberattack.
Thirteen of the lawsuits stem from consumers alleging increased vulnerability to identity theft, while eleven others are filed by healthcare providers citing delays in insurance claim payments. In all cases, Change is named as a defendant.
UnitedHealth disclosed the cyber attack, attributed to the ransomware hacker group BlackCat, on February 21, though the extent of the breach’s impact on individuals was not initially revealed.
Now, as legal proceedings unfold, the choice of venue for consolidation becomes a pivotal decision in shaping the trajectory of these lawsuits.
Last month, UnitedHealth disclosed that it provided over $3.3 billion in advance payments to healthcare providers affected by a cyberattack on the insurance claims system of Change Healthcare.
Price Action: UNH shares are up 0.07% at $455.69 on the last check Friday.
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