It is remarkable that the epidemic of lost and stolen PCs, laptops, PDAs and cellular phones has not yet resulted in large judgments in suits brought by people whose personal data–such as birthdates, Social Security and credit card numbers–has been breached.
The primary reason for this, says David Johnson, a partner at Jeffer Mangels Butler & Marmaro, is that plaintiffs have been unable to prove identity theft or other actual damages resulting from a security breach. Recent cases in two federal districts courts illustrate the problems plaintiffs have had in stating a claim.
