Identity Theft Lawsuit Update

The Michigan Supreme Court has ruled that the 911 operators, who sued their union for allowing their personal identification information to fall into the wrong hands, can retain the verdict they had won at trial in November 2002. With this decision, every level of court in Michigan has now ruled in favor of the 911 operators.

Attorney Lawrence Charfoos of the Detroit law firm of Charfoos & Christensen PC filed the original lawsuit in March 2001 on behalf of the 911 operators in Wayne County Circuit Court against Michigan Council 25 of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO, Local 1023, along with Dentry Berry and her deceased mother Yvonne Berry, who were employees of the union.

According to the Complaint, Dentry Berry with the knowledge of her mother used personal identity data of union members to obtain credit and make purchases, beginning in the middle of 1999. The plaintiffs claimed that Berry also sold their personal information to prison inmates, who used the information to pay for a variety of purchases. The suit alleged further that each plaintiff suffered bad credit, which resulted in serious impairment of the ability to use credit in their living activities.

At trial in the Wayne County Circuit Court, the plaintiffs claimed that the union breached its fiduciary duty by failing to adequately supervise the union employees involved in this case and by failing to protect the personal information of its members. Plaintiffs were successful at trial and awarded damages for their injuries. The union appealed to the Michigan Court of Appeals and lost. The union then asked the Michigan Supreme Court to intervene, but the Supreme Court in the December 28, 2005 order refused. Since Defendants failed to file for reconsideration within the 21-day filing period, the Supreme Court’s ruling stands.

For further information about this case, please contact attorney Lawrence S. Charfoos at 313-875-8080 or by e-mail at lcharfoos@c2law.com