Accellion Loses Bid to Toss Negligence Claim in Data Breach Suit

Accellion Inc. must face a negligence claim in consolidated litigation over cyberattacks on its file-transfer software used by government agencies, hospitals, and private companies, a federal court said for the second time.

The plaintiffs adequately pleaded that there was a special relationship between Accellion and consumers whose data it transferred, a requirement for finding that Accellion owed them a duty of care, Judge Edward J. Davila of the US District Court for the Northern District of California said Monday.

Davila previously dismissed all but two of the 11 claims in the plaintiffs’ original complaint, allowing only their claims of negligence ...