The Circuit Court of Dane County, Wisconsin, has ordered the consolidation of multiple class action lawsuits against FCDG Management, LLC, operating as First Choice Dental, and has named David S. Almeida, Founder and Managing Partner of Almeida Law Group LLC, as co-leadership in the case with Strauss Borelli, PLLC.
The class action lawsuit stems from a data security incident exposing highly-sensitive Personally Identifiable Information (PII) including the Social Security numbers of patients, due to First Choice Dental’s failure to implement and follow basic security procedures. First Choice Dental has 12 locations across Dane County, WI and employs over 200 individuals. As part of First Choice Dental’s business, it collects a tremendous amount of data from patients including names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses, health and health insurance information, and financial data. Plaintiffs allege that, due to First Choice Dental’s negligence, they are now at a significantly increased risk of fraud, identity theft, misappropriation of health insurance benefits, intrusion of their health privacy, PII being disseminated on the Dark Web, and similar forms of criminal mischief — a risk that may last for the rest of their lives.
Key details from the court’s order include:
- Consolidation of Cases: Related cases have been merged under a single lead case, Gorder v. FCDG Management, LLC, to streamline the legal process.
- Interim Class Action Leadership: Strauss Borrelli PLLC and Almeida Law Group LLC were appointed as interim co-lead class counsel. They are responsible for overseeing pretrial procedures, settlement discussions, and coordinating the plaintiffs’ efforts.
- Efficient Case Management: All future filings, motions, and responses will be centralized in the lead case, ensuring organized and efficient litigation with minimal duplication of efforts.
The case, captioned Gorder v. FCDG Management LLC d/b/a First Choice Dental, and assigned case number, 2024-CV-002164, is currently pending in the Dane County Circuit Court under Judge Susan M. Crawford.
