A major data breach has rocked a prominent golf sports and hospitality management company, exposing the sensitive personal information of thousands of current and former employees. Edwin Scheide filed a class action complaint against Kemper Sports Management, LLC in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on September 20, 2024.
According to the complaint, on April 1, 2024, KemperSports discovered that cybercriminals had gained unauthorized access to its computer network, compromising highly sensitive personal information such as names, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, dates of birth, financial account information, medical and health information, passport numbers, and electronic signatures. Despite learning about the breach immediately, KemperSports delayed notifying affected individuals until September 9, 2024—five months after the incident occurred.
The plaintiff alleges that KemperSports failed to adequately train its employees on cybersecurity measures and did not maintain reasonable security safeguards or protocols to protect the personal identifiable information (PII) of its employees. The complaint states that this negligence rendered the company an easy target for cybercriminals. Furthermore, it accuses KemperSports of obfuscating the nature of the breach in its notification to affected individuals by failing to disclose how many people were impacted or how the breach occurred.
The lawsuit contends that this delay in notification left victims vulnerable to identity theft without any warnings to monitor their financial accounts or credit reports. The plaintiff asserts that timely notice would have allowed those affected to take appropriate measures to protect themselves from potential misuse of their PII. As a result of these alleged failures, Scheide claims that both he and other class members have suffered actual injuries including fraudulent withdrawals from bank accounts and increased spam emails.
Scheide is seeking several forms of relief from the court: compensatory damages for negligence and breach of implied contract; restitution for unjust enrichment; damages for invasion of privacy; and injunctive relief requiring KemperSports to implement adequate security measures moving forward. The complaint also requests reimbursement for attorneys’ fees and costs associated with bringing the lawsuit.
Representing Scheide in this case are attorneys Samuel J. Strauss and Raina Borelli from Strauss Borelli PLLC. The case has been assigned Case No. 1:24-cv-8679.