REUTERS/Scott Morgan/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Geico must face a proposed nationwide class action accusing the car insurer of violating customers' privacy by disclosing hundreds of thousands of driver's license numbers to identity thieves looking to collect fraudulent unemployment benefits.
Geico, a unit of billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N), was accused of auto-populating driver's license numbers into its online system when users entered "basic" information such as names, addresses and birth dates in order to obtain insurance quotations.
Matsumoto accepted a July 21 recommendation by U.S. Magistrate Judge Sanket Bulsara to let the lawsuit proceed.
She also accepted his recommendation to dismiss claims that Geico violated a New York state consumer protection law and committed negligence "per se."
The case is In re Geico Customer Data Breach Litigation, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No.
Persons:
Scott Morgan, District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Matsumoto, Kristen Wenger, Judge Sanket Bulsara, Geico, Jonathan Stempel, Bill Berkrot
Organizations:
Berkshire Hathaway, REUTERS, District, U.S, Court, Eastern District of, Thomson
Locations:
Omaha , Nebraska, U.S, Brooklyn, New York, Eastern District, Eastern District of New York