Taxpayers Face Big Standing Hurdle In IRS Data Breach Suit

Scott L. Vernick was quoted in the Law360 article, "Taxpayers Face Big Standing Hurdle in IRS Data Breach Suit." Full text can be found in the August 25, 2015, issue, but a synopsis is below.

It could be an uphill battle for a proposed class accusing the IRS of failing to prevent a data breach that affected approximately 330,000 taxpayers.

In recent months, a number of cases filed after hackers breached company databases and stole personal information of millions of customers have been thrown out due to lack of standing, according to Scott Vernick, a noted privacy attorney.

While the IRS suit is being brought against a government agency, it is subject to the same high standard set by a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Vernick said.