Mo. Judge Denies Motion to Remand T-Mobile Data Breach Claims to State Court

U.S. District Judge Brian Wimes for Western Missouri in Kansas City denied the motion of plaintiff James Achermann to remand his data breach claims against T-Mobile to state court, said the judge’s signed order Wednesday (docket 4:21-md-03019). Wimes has been presiding over the 47-case multidistrict litigation involving T-Mobile’s previous data breach since he was assigned the cases in December 2021 (see 2306050001). The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, in a June 6 order, transferred the 11 class actions arising from T-Mobile’s latest date breach, plus five cases treated as potential tagalongs, for pretrial consolidation under Wimes. In seeking a remand, Achermann argued he lacks Article III standing to pursue his action in federal court, said Wimes’ order. But Achermann alleged facts sufficient to establish Article III standing, said the order. The consolidated complaint in the MDL also “sets forth sufficient facts to establish standing on behalf of the class,” which includes Achermann, “per his allegations” he was a part of the T-Mobile data breach, such that the motion to remand on the basis of lack of standing “must be denied,” it said. The harms alleged adequately show the plaintiffs and the proposed class, including Achermann, have Article III standing, “as numerous courts have held in the data breach context,” it said.