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The HIPAA Journal is the leading provider of HIPAA training, news, regulatory updates, and independent compliance advice.

Rite Aid Facing Class Action Lawsuit Over Data Breach Impacting 2.2 Million Customers

Rite Aid, the fourth largest pharmacy chain in the United States, is facing a class action lawsuit over a June 2024 data breach involving the personal information of 2.2 million customers. According to Rite Aid, an unknown third party gained access to some of its business systems on June 6, 2024, after impersonating a company employee. Rite Aid detected the unauthorized access within 12 hours, but despite the quick response, was unable to prevent the third party from exfiltrating customer data.

The data stolen in the attack included names, addresses, dates of birth, and driver’s license numbers/government-issued IDs of customers who made purchases between June 6, 2017, and July 30, 2018. Customers were notified in mid-July and were offered complimentary identity monitoring services.

A lawsuit – Erica Judka v. Rite Aid Corporation – was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania that alleges Rite Aid was negligent by failing to implement reasonable and appropriate cybersecurity measures, and had those measures been implemented, the data breach could have been prevented. While notification letters were issued promptly, the plaintiff alleges the letters lacked important information about the breach, such as the threat actor behind the attack, whether a ransom demand was issued, and if the stolen data had been uploaded to the dark web.  The plaintiff alleges that her data has been misused, as she has experienced an increase in spam and robocalls following the data breach.

In addition to negligence, the lawsuit asserts claims of breach of confidence and breach of fiduciary duty and seeks a jury trial, class action certification for a class of 2.2 million individuals, damages, attorneys fees, legal costs, and injunctive relief, including an order from the court requiring Rite Aid to implement additional security measures. The plaintiff and class are represented by attorneys from Laukaitos Law LLC and Sciolla Law Firm LLC.

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March 2024 Update: A $6.8 million settlement has been agreed to resolve the litigation.

Author: Steve Alder is the editor-in-chief of The HIPAA Journal. Steve is responsible for editorial policy regarding the topics covered in The HIPAA Journal. He is a specialist on healthcare industry legal and regulatory affairs, and has 10 years of experience writing about HIPAA and other related legal topics. Steve has developed a deep understanding of regulatory issues surrounding the use of information technology in the healthcare industry and has written hundreds of articles on HIPAA-related topics. Steve shapes the editorial policy of The HIPAA Journal, ensuring its comprehensive coverage of critical topics. Steve Alder is considered an authority in the healthcare industry on HIPAA. The HIPAA Journal has evolved into the leading independent authority on HIPAA under Steve’s editorial leadership. Steve manages a team of writers and is responsible for the factual and legal accuracy of all content published on The HIPAA Journal. Steve holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree from the University of Liverpool. You can connect with Steve via LinkedIn or email via stevealder(at)hipaajournal.com

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