Did the Blackbaud data breach leave your information vulnerable?
If your organization or an organization to which you have donated uses Blackbaud’s software, please contact us at (800) 776-6044 or dataprivacy@kellerrohrback.com to learn more about your legal rights.
Case Overview
On February 7, 2020, Blackbaud—a technology provider used by nonprofits and other organizations—was breached by a hacker. The breach went undetected until May 14, 2020, when there was a suspicious log-in on an internal server. Despite becoming aware of the attack in May, Blackbaud did not notify users of its platform about the hack until July 16, 2020. While the cybercriminals were able to remove a copy of a subset of data from Blackbaud’s self-hosted environment, the organizations who fell victim to the attack remain unsure as to what data was stolen.
Several of the organizations notified of the cyberattack are large, prominent ones, including:
• Ambrose University
• American Civil Liberties Union
• American Heart Association
• Auburn University Foundation
• Auburn Valley Humane Society
• Bentley University
• Central Washington University (CWU Foundation)
• Children’s Minnesota
• Des Moines University
• Direct Relief
• Emerson College
• Evergreen State College Foundation
• Fred Hutch
• French American School of Puget Sound
• Human Rights Watch
• Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County
• Louisiana Tech University Foundation
• March of Dimes
• Middlebury College
• MultiCare Health System
• New College of Florida
• Northern Light Health Foundation
• Northwest Immigration Rights Project
• Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center
• Partners in Health
• Planned Parenthood
• Pulmonary Hypertension Association
• Regions Hospital
• Rhode Island School of Design
• Saint Luke’s Foundation
• Save the Children
• Seattle Children’s Hospital
• Shelter Box USA
• St. Mary’s College of Maryland Foundation
• Texas Tech Foundation
• The Nature Conservancy
• The University of Puget Sound
• UnityPoint Health
• University of Dayton
• University of North Carolina System
• University of North Florida
• Ventura College Foundation
• Vermont Food Bank
• Virginia Mason
• Washington State University (WSU Foundation)
• Wenatchee Valley Humane Society
• West Virginia University Foundation
• Western Washington University (WWU Foundation)
• World Vision
• YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties
Plaintiff alleges that Blackbaud, Inc. failed to implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices to protect individuals’ and businesses’ private information against unauthorized access by third parties.
Plaintiff brings these claims on behalf of herself and similarly situated members of a proposed class defined at this time as: All natural persons residing in the United States whose Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or Private Health Information (PHI) was compromised as a result of the Blackbaud data breach.
No specific class has been certified by the Court. If a class becomes certified, eligible class members will be notified when the Court authorizes a form of notice.
You may learn more about the specific allegations and claims being pursued by reviewing the Complaint in the Case Documents section below.
Case Status
On January 14, 2021, Keller Rohrback filed its first class action complaint against Blackbaud, Inc. in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina. On February 10, 2021, the firm filed its second class action complaint against Blackbaud in the same district.
Other similar cases have been filed in various federal courts across the country related to the Blackbaud data breach. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has ordered the centralization of these cases and transferred them to the Honorable Michelle Childs in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina for coordinated pre-trial proceedings.
On February 16, 2021, the court appointed the leadership counsel for the Blackbaud litigation. We are pleased to announce that Keller Rohrback’s partner, Gretchen Freeman Cappio, has been appointed by Judge Childs to be chair of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee (PSC). Ms. Cappio will be a part of the core group litigating this case. We urge you to monitor this website periodically as it will be updated as these matters progress
Protecting Your Private Information
The Federal Trade Commission’s website is a great resource for information on immediate steps to take if you’ve been exposed to a data breach.
01/14/2021
Mitchell Complaint12/15/2020
Transfer Order02/10/21
Simkins et al. Complaint02/16/21
Leadership Order