Terpin v. AT&T, the historic lawsuit that has been the benchmark for SIM swap litigation, will be remanded to US District Court in Los Angeles for trial after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously reversed the summary judgment of Justice Otis D. Wright II. Â The three-judge panel ruled that customer proprietary network information (CPNI), which is protected under the Federal Communications Act, may have been violated.
âAdopting AT&Tâs constrained view of CPNI would lead to absurd results,â the Court wrote. âOur decision is also consistent with the FCCâs views. In a report addressing new proposed CPNI rules, the FCC recognized that SIM swap fraud âallows the bad actor to gain access to information associated with the customerâs account, including CPNI, and gives the bad actor control.ââ
On March 8th, the appeal was argued by Terpinâs lead attorney, Pierce OâDonnell, senior partner at Greenberg Glusker. Â âThis is a major precedential decision of national significance,â said OâDonnell. Â âRejecting all of AT&Tâs arguments, the Court of Appeal held that AT&T can be liable in damages under the Federal Communications Act when it allows a hacker to get into its system, access the customerâs AT&T account, and steal the customerâs private information or assetsâin this case $24 million of cryptocurrency. Â The decision paves the way for our client to go to trial and hold AT&T accountable after more than six years of litigation. We look forward to asking a Los Angeles federal jury to award Mr. Terpin $24 million plus at least $14 million of interest plus his attorneyâs fees for a total of at least $45 million.â
A Victory for Consumers
âThis is not just a victory for me, but for thousands of innocent consumers who had their identity compromised, their safety and privacy breached, and in many cases their funds stolen due to lax and indifferent security practices by AT&T,â said Terpin. âLetting this summary judgment stand would have been a horrific precedent. Â I am grateful to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for their comprehensive analysis and just decision.â
The post Terpin Wins Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Decision, Reversing Summary Judgment in Landmark AT&T SIM Swap Lawsuit appeared first on Visionary Financial.