Customers of Marriott International and Starwood Canada are suing the hotel chains over a massive data breach that compromised the personal information of hundreds of millions of guests the world over.
Several class actions have been filed in BC Supreme Court since Marriott disclosed the hack back in November. The latest notice of civil claim was filed by lead plaintiff Kevin Krygier under the Class Proceedings Act on January 14. The lawsuit blasts Marriott and Starwood’s “blatant disregard” for customers’ personal information.
According to the claim, Marriott admitted that its database breach affected more than 500 million guests’ personal information including credit card numbers, phone numbers, addresses, passport numbers and dates of birth, which “had been exposed to hackers for almost half a decade.” The company first learned of the hack on September 8, 2018, but didn’t notify customers for nearly three months, according to Krygier’s claim.
Moreover, the hack of Marriott and Starwood’s database is part of Marriott’s “history of failing to adequately protect customers’ personal information.” Back in 2015, the claim states, Marriott discovered malware on its point-of-sale systems at more than 50 of its North American hotels. “The defendants ... repeatedly failed to implement adequate safeguards to protect class members’ personal information.”
Krygier seeks class certification and damages for negligence, breach of contract and breach of provincial privacy statutes. The allegations have not been tested or proven in court and the defendants had not responded to the claims by press time.
