A defense verdict secured by a Jones Day team on behalf of Experian Data Corp. has been named by the Daily Journal as one of the "Top Defense Verdicts of 2023 in California."
The case, The People of the State of California v. Experian Data Corp., et al., was litigated in the Superior Court of the State of California for Orange County.
The matter began when the San Diego City Attorney filed a lawsuit on behalf of the People of the State of California under California's Unfair Competition Law (UCL), seeking injunctive relief and civil penalties. The action followed a nationwide class action that was filed in 2015, alleging that Experian allowed a 19 year-old Vietnamese identity thief to access and sell more than 200 million consumer records between 2010-2012.
Experian's Jones Day team moved in limine at the outset of the trial to exclude all evidence of civil penalties as barred by the statute of limitations. In a case of first impression, the court adopted Experian's novel legal argument that equitable tolling principles do not apply in UCL enforcement actions seeking civil penalties. Since San Diego filed the lawsuit more than four years after the claim accrued, the court concluded that San Diego's claim for civil penalties was time-barred.
After a series of plaintiff motions were filed and denied, on March 14th, 2023, the court entered judgment in Experian's favor, resulting in one of the most significant defense victories in a data breach case in any jurisdiction.
The Jones Day team was led by Richard Grabowski, John Vogt and Ryan Ball, and included Ashley Sarkozi, Matthew Billeci, and Hannah Bensen.