On Nov. 28, 2023, the Appellate Court of Illinois for the Fifth District affirmed the circuit court’s dismissal of two class actions against Taft’s client Christie Clinic, a physician-owned medical group. Acknowledging that “there exists federal case law that has determined factually similar cases differently for the purposes of standing,” the Illinois appellate court held that “Illinois courts have departed from the standard set forth in the Seventh Circuit by requiring more than ‘increased risk of harm’ in data breach cases.”

Christie Clinic suffered a data breach in the latter half of 2021. Two class actions followed. The circuit court dismissed one action based on lack of standing. As to the other action, the court ruled that the plaintiff’s standing-related allegations were “less speculative” but her complaint failed to state a claim. The appellate court, however, held that both plaintiffs lacked standing, handing Christie Clinic a complete win on standing. Read more in the Law360 article “Patients Lack Standing To Sue Over Email Hack, Ill. Court Says.”

The Taft team included Chicago attorneys Jon Amarilio, Jeff Schieber, and Jaimin Shah.

Amarilio serves as co-chair of Taft’s Appellate practice. He represents clients before state and federal appellate courts and is especially experienced with the Illinois Appellate Court, the Illinois Supreme Court, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Schieber focuses his practice on commercial litigation, class actions, and mass torts. He represents clients in business litigation matters including breach of contract, fraud, trade secret misappropriation, and employment disputes. Schieber also represents defendants in class actions and mass tort proceedings.

Shah focuses on intellectual property and complex commercial litigation. His IP litigation experience is industry-agnostic, spanning a range of diverse technology and business areas. Shah brings depth and maturity to his litigation practice due, in part, to his prior in-house experience and judicial externships.