Magistrate Judge Consolidates 2 Data Breach Class Actions vs. Skidmore College

U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Stewart for Northern New York in Albany granted Peter Kobor's Nov. 20 motion to consolidate his data breach class action against Skidmore College with Mary Cogan's (see 2311130054), said the judge's signed order Thursday. Skidmore doesn’t oppose consolidation and takes no position on appointment of class counsel, said the order. The complaint in each plaintiff's action “involves some of the same issues of fact and law, growing out of the same alleged data breach” involving Skidmore, it said. Stewart finds that the cases “have sufficient commonality of issues and parties to warrant consolidating the cases,” it said. He further finds that consolidation benefits aren’t “outweighed by any risk of prejudice or jury confusion,” it said. The effect of such consolidation will be “judicial economy” and preserving the parties’ resources, plus avoiding the possibility of “disparate rulings in separate actions,” it said. Stewart’s order designated Kobor’s complaint (docket 1:23-cv-01392) as the lead case and Cogan’s (docket 1:23-cv-01409) as a member case. His order also appointed William Federman of Federman & Sherwood and Philip Krzeski of Chestnut Cambronne as interim co-lead class counsel to act on behalf of the plaintiffs and the putative class.