"Job Killer" Data Breach Litigation Bill Barely Passes California Senate

Since my last blog post about SB 1121, the California Senate voted to send SB 1121 to the state Assembly. The May 30 vote was very close, 22-13, only one above the 21-vote threshold for passing the bill and strictly along party lines. Twenty-two Democratic senators voted Yay, 13 Republican senators voted Nay, and four Democratic senators did not cast a vote.

In its current version, SB 1121 risks flooding the courts with data breach lawsuits. According to the Senate Committee on Appropriations May 25, 2018 analysis of fiscal impact, SB 1121 may impose "potentially-significant cost pressures" on the court system, which "could result in delayed court services" for all. This increase in litigation would not necessarily be a reflection of actual grievances and injuries for which victims deserve a remedy; rather, SB 1121 would lower the threshold for when individuals whose private information has been breached can sue businesses. Instead of having to prove that they