Milberg Files Lakeview Loan Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit

Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman PLLC (Milberg) has filed a complaint against one of the country’s top mortgage loan servicers over a 2021 cybersecurity incident that compromised the personal information of more than 2.5 million customers.

The Lakeview Loan data breach class action lawsuit claims that the defendant failed to properly secure customer data and allowed unauthorized access to class members’ names, addresses, loan numbers, social security numbers, and other personally identifiable information. It seeks damages, attorney fees, and costs on behalf of customers affected by the data breach.

Suit Argues That Risk of Attack Was Widely Known

Lakeview Loan Servicing, LLC describes itself as the fourth largest mortgage loan servicer in the country, with more than 1.4 million customers per year.

The company’s Privacy Policy states that it collects personal information from customers that includes Social Security numbers and income, account balances and payment history, and credit history and credit scores. The Privacy Policy additionally states that, “To protect your personal information from unauthorized access and use, we use security measures that comply with federal law. These measures include computer safeguards and secured files and buildings.”

Lakeview Loan knew or should have known that its electronic records would be targeted by cybercriminals, according to Milberg’s lawsuit.

However, these security measures were inadequate to protect Lakeview’s customers from a data breach that occurred from October 27, 2021 to December 7, 2021, alleges a class action complaint filed by Milberg attorneys in the Southern District of Florida.

According to the complaint, “Plaintiff and Class Members provided their Personally Identifiable Information to Defendant with the reasonable expectation and the mutual understanding that Defendant would comply with its obligations to keep such information confidential and secure from unauthorized access. Defendant’s data security obligations were particularly important given the substantial increase in data breaches preceding the date of the breach.”

Data Breaches on the Rise

The complaint cites research from the Identity Theft Research Center which shows that, in 2019, there was a record 1,473 U.S. data breaches that exposed approximately 164,683,455 sensitive records—a 17% increase compared to 2018. Of the more than 164 million sensitive records exposed in 2019 data breaches, 62% were in the banking/credit/financial industry.

In light of this fact, as well as recent high profile data breaches at companies like Microsoft and Facebook, Lakeview, “knew or should have known that its electronic records would be targeted by cybercriminals,” says Milberg’s complaint.

Proposed Class and Remedies

Milberg alleges that Lakeview failed to take appropriate steps to protect the PII of Lakeview customers from being compromised, and as a direct result, the lead plaintiff and class members have been harmed.

Lead plaintiff Andrew Guarino is a Massachusetts citizen who provided his PII to Lakeview in order to obtain a mortgage. Mr. Guarino received a data breach notification from Lakeview in March 2022 informing him that his name and Social Security number were stolen by cybercriminals in the data breach. He says that, since receiving the notification, he has spent several hours per week monitoring his financial accounts for possible fraudulent activity. He also fears future harm, including increased risk of fraud and identity theft, stemming from the misuse of his stolen PII.

As lead plaintiff in the Lakeview Loan data breach class action lawsuit, Mr. Guarino proposes a nationwide class of: All persons who utilized LLS’s services, whose Personally Identifiable Information was maintained on LLS’s system that was compromised in the Data Breach, and who were sent a notice of the Data Breach.

Mr. Guarino seeks, on behalf of himself and class members, remedies that include compensatory damages, reimbursement for out-of-pocket costs, and injunctive relief including improvements to Lakeview’s data security systems and protocols, future annual audits, and credit monitoring services funded by the Lakeview. To date, Lakeview has offered its consumers two years of identity monitoring services, but the lawsuit states that this is inadequate, as the data breach victims face threats for years to come due to their compromised PII.

Milberg: A Leader and Pioneer in Class Action Litigation

Milberg pioneered federal class action litigation and continues to be a national leader in class action and data breach lawsuits. For the latest firm news, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. To discuss a possible violation of your consumer rights, please contact us.