Colonial Pipeline Data Breach Litigations: Where Are We Now?

Earlier this year, CPW covered the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack and the two putative class actions filed in reaction to that cyberattack, (Dickerson v. CDCP Colonial Partners, L.P., Case No. 1:21-cv-02098 (N.D. Ga.) and EZ Mart 1, LLC v. Colonial Pipeline Company, Case No. 1:21-cv-02522 (N.D. Ga.)). Recall these putative class actions ensued after a ransomware attack carried out by cybercriminals crippled the Colonial Pipeline's functionality. The Pipeline was taken offline as a remedial measure, causing significant gasoline shortages across the Eastern United States.

Dickerson purports to represent a class of consumers who contend the paid higher prices at the pump as a result of the shutdown. EZ Mart, in turn, purports to represent a class of gas stations that claim to have suffered fuel shortages or have paid excessively high prices for gas. These consumers and gas stations are located on the east because the Colonial Pipeline supplies nearly half of the East