Coupang data breach lawsuit to move ahead in U.S. court
· UPIMay 28 (Asia Today) -- A $5 million class-action lawsuit filed in the United States over Coupang's personal data breach is expected to move into a key procedural phase in mid-June.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York is scheduled to hold an initial conference June 17 to set the timetable for discovery and other proceedings in the case, Asia Today has learned.
The case is being heard in Brooklyn, N.Y., and has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Ann M. Donnelly and referred to U.S. Magistrate Judge Marcia M. Henry.
At the initial conference, Henry is expected to use a joint discovery plan submitted by the plaintiffs and defendants to coordinate how electronic materials will be produced and how future proceedings will be handled.
The joint discovery plan, prepared under Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, outlines in advance what materials may be disclosed and reviewed, as well as the scope and method of discovery.
SJKP, a U.S. law firm working with South Korea's Daeryun Law Firm LLC, is expected to seek discovery of Coupang's internal cybersecurity response records, executive reporting structure and personal data management practices.
SJKP filed the lawsuit in February against Coupang Inc. and Bom Kim, chairman of Coupang Inc. The plaintiffs include U.S. citizens Cheol Hee Lee and Sebastian Park as representative plaintiffs, along with more than 7,800 Coupang users in South Korea identified as a separate group.
The plaintiffs allege Kim, as the final decision-maker on security policy, failed to meet his duty to protect customer information and did not adequately build and manage the company's security systems. They are seeking $5 million in damages, or about 7.3 billion won.
Coupang retained Kirkland & Ellis in February to respond to the lawsuit.
"The discovery process officially begins from the initial conference, but the actual pace may be adjusted because of the defendant's July 6 deadline to file an answer and a possible extension for a motion to dismiss," said Son Dong-hoo, a U.S. lawyer at Daeryun Law Firm LLC.
Class certification expected to be key issue
A key issue in the lawsuit is expected to be whether the court grants class certification.
Class certification is the process in which a court determines whether the claims and alleged harm can be handled collectively on behalf of a broader group of affected people.
The lawsuit is expected to enter a formal litigation phase with the June 17 initial conference. Donnelly, a lifetime federal district judge, is expected to handle major merits issues, including class certification. Henry, a magistrate judge, is expected to manage pretrial procedures before the case reaches the merits stage.
Donnelly was nominated to the federal bench by former President Barack Obama in November 2014. Before becoming a judge, she served in the New York County District Attorney's Office and as chief of its Family Violence and Child Abuse Bureau.
Henry worked at the New York State Department of Financial Services before her judicial appointment, where she oversaw cybersecurity regulation and enforcement policy.
Only Henry is expected to preside over the initial conference, where she will organize the positions of the plaintiffs and defendants and set the discovery schedule.
The case is then expected to proceed through the defendants' answer, any motion to dismiss, fact discovery, class certification, expert discovery, summary judgment and either settlement or trial.
Donnelly is expected to become directly involved at the class certification stage, which could become a turning point in the case. If the court grants class certification, Coupang could face potential liability not only to the named plaintiffs but to thousands of class members.
"Class certification means the federal judge formally recognizes that the plaintiff is not suing only over one individual problem but has the standing to represent many people who suffered similar harm," Son said.
"To win class certification, the plaintiffs must show that the number of affected people is large enough, that there are common issues, that the representative plaintiffs' claims are essentially the same as those of other victims and that the representatives and lawyers can properly represent the entire class," he said.
If class certification is granted, defendants often face increased pressure to settle before a final judgment, Son said.
Both sides are expected to devote significant legal resources to the class certification stage because it could determine the direction of the lawsuit.
-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260528010008598