Siskinds LLP and JSS Barristers Announce Privacy Breach Class Actions against Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Bank of Montreal

TORONTO, June 18, 2018 /CNW/ - Siskinds LLP and JSS Barristers commenced a proposed class action against Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ("CIBC") and a proposed class action against Bank of Montreal ("BMO"). The proceedings, filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, arise from the recently disclosed cybersecurity breaches involving CIBC's direct banking division, Simplii Financial, and BMO. According to the defendants, the data breaches resulted in the theft of sensitive personal information of up to 40,000 clients of Simplii Financial and up to 50,000 clients of BMO. 

The class actions, brought on behalf of the affected clients of Simplii Financial and BMO, allege that each bank failed to establish robust security measures reasonably required of it to protect its clients' personal information. The lawsuits seek general, compensatory, consequential and punitive damages on behalf of the affected Simplii Financial and BMO clients.

"The CIBC Simplii and BMO breaches have had far reaching implications on clients' personal lives and financial affairs, the full extent of which has yet to be determined," said Sajjad Nematollahi, a lawyer with Siskinds LLP. "Canada's financial sector has been recognized for years to be vulnerable to widespread and prevalent cybersecurity threats. Financial institutions like CIBC and BMO are entrusted with their clients' most sensitive personal information, and are expected to have in place robust security measures to safeguard that information against unauthorized access, use or theft. Canadian financial institutions are required and expected to continuously review their defence systems and use best industry practices to protect Canadians' personal and financial information."

For further details regarding the class actions, Simplii Financial and BMO clients who have been affected by the data breaches are encouraged to visit Siskinds' website [here] or JSS' website [here].

About Siskinds: Siskinds is a prominent full service Canadian law firm with offices in London and Toronto, Ontario and an affiliated office in Quebec. Siskinds is Canada's leading plaintiff class action law firm. With over 80 lawyers practicing in a variety of disciplines, Siskinds also advises its clients on a broad variety of matters, including cybersecurity, Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, PIPEDA, Privacy Shield and GDPR compliance.

About JSS Barristers: JSS Barristers acts for substantial corporate entities as well as individuals, and takes pride in its advocacy on behalf of each one of its clients. The firm provides a full range of commercial legal counsel to parties involved in a wide spectrum of businesses and industries, including a significant class actions and privacy law practice.

SOURCE Siskinds LLP