Anthem Decision Offers Answers, Raises Questions

In an 82-page decision issued on February 14, 2016, Northern District of California Judge Lucy Koh granted-in-part and denied-in-part motions to dismiss filed by Anthem, Inc., and other health insurer defendants in response to a putative class action brought in the wake of Anthem's announcement that it had been the target of a criminal cyberattack. Plaintiffs asserted a variety of common law and statutory claims against Anthem, including claims under California's Unfair Competition Law ("UCL") and New York's General Business Law ("GBL"). Importantly, Judge Koh held that Plaintiffs have standing to proceed under Article III and California law and had met the requisite showing of "actual harm" under New York state law.