Investor Communications Firm Mediant Sued Over Data Breach

Mediant Communications Inc. allegedly failed to secure personally identifiable information and didn’t provide prompt notice after a data breach, a suit filed in Florida federal court said.

The firm, which helps companies and funds communicate with their investors, didn’t implement “standard” anti-phishing procedures, according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Oct. 15. Hackers accessed the personal information of people who invested in companies Mediant served after an April breach, the complaint said.

Mediant informed its clients of the breach in early May, but waited three more weeks to contact the investors whose information was accessed, the suit said. The investor who filed the suit received “almost daily” calls from credit card companies about attempts to open accounts in her name for at least two weeks before Mediant notified her of the hack, according to the complaint.

Causes of Action: Negligence; negligence per se; breach of third-party beneficiary contract; deceptive and unfair trade practices (Florida subclass only).

Relief: Damages (actual, nominal, consequential, and punitive) with interest; injunction preventing Mediant “from engaging in the wrongful conduct complained of herein pertaining to the misuse and/or disclosure of Plaintiff and Class Members’ PII, and from refusing to issue prompt, complete, and accurate notice of the Data Breach to Plaintiff and Class Members"; equitable relief requiring Mediant “to use appropriate cyber security methods and policies with respect to PII collection, storage, and protection, and to disclose with specificity to Plaintiff and Class Members the type of PII compromised"; attorneys’ fees; court costs.

Potential Class Size: Thousands of investors whose information was accessed during the breach.

Response: Mediant didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment Oct. 16.

Attorneys: Morgan & Morgan represents the proposed class.

The case is Braun v. Mediant Commc’ns Inc., S.D. Fla., No. 19-cv-62563, complaint filed 10/15/19.