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Simpson Thacher Secures Dismissal of “Data Exposure” Class Action Filed Against Ally

08.02.22

On August 2, 2022, Simpson Thacher successfully obtained the complete dismissal of a putative class action filed against Ally Financial, Inc. and Ally Bank (together, “Ally”), a leading digital financial services company and online bank. The suit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in August 2021 by an Ally customer who alleged that his online username and password had been exposed to certain third-parties with which Ally has business relationships. Simpson Thacher moved to dismiss on the grounds that the plaintiff lacked any cognizable injury and thus had no standing to sue under Article III of the Constitution. Dismissing the complaint in its entirety, Judge Nelson Román agreed, holding that the plaintiff had alleged neither a concrete present injury or a risk of future injury that was not “conjectural or hypothetical,” including because there was no allegation that his username and password had been misused or was at risk of misuse.   

The Simpson Thacher team included Martin Bell, Rachel Sparks Bradley, Patrick Barry and former partner Brooke Cucinella.

The team received a “Shout Out” in The American Lawyer’s “Litigator of the Week” coverage and Martin and Rachel were quoted in a New York Law Journal article about the dismissal. The case has also been covered by publications including Law360 and Bloomberg Law.