Zappos, Amazon sued over breach
Online retailers Amazon.com and Zappos.com are being sued by a Texas woman who claims she and millions of other customers were harmed by the release of personal account information.
Officials representing Zappos in Nevada and parent company Amazon in Seattle declined comment Wednesday on the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Louisville, Ky.
The lawsuit was filed Monday after Zappos chief executive Tony Hsieh alerted employees and customers by email Sunday that names, phone numbers and email addresses of the shoe retailer's customers may have been accessed in a hacker attack. The company said customers' credit card and payment information weren't stolen.
Zappos urged customers to reset passwords to accounts and any other websites where they use similar passwords.
Zappos said the hacker gained access to its internal network and systems through one of the company's servers in Kentucky. Zappos is based in Henderson .
Attorneys for plaintiff Theresa D. Stevens of Beaumont, Texas, are seeking class action status on behalf of 24 million customers . The civil negligence lawsuit seeks unspecified millions of dollars in compensatory and exemplary damages for emotional distress and loss of privacy, along with a court order for the company to pay for customer credit monitoring and identity theft insurance and periodic audits to ensure customer data is secure.
Zappos representative Diane Coffey in Boston and Amazon spokeswoman Mary Osako in Seattle said both companies have policies against commenting on litigation.
The company also said its phone system would be temporarily shut down and all employees placed on customer service detail. As of Wednesday morning, Zappos' customer service line still directed callers to email the company with questions or concerns at help@zappos.com.
The Review-Journal contributed to this report. Contact reporter Caitlin McGarry at cmgarry@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5273.
