Tom did a video a couple of months back on the Marriott data breach. There have already been multiple lawsuits filed as a result. Last week a panel of federal judges agreed to consolidate 11 separate Marriott lawsuits before a federal judge in Maryland. The panel noted there are at least 70 more such lawsuits pending throughout the U.S., which will likely be consolidated into the Maryland action shortly.
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Maryland is HQ for Marriott and is the proper venue for state action but a federal action that could be anywhere in the Federal District. Not that I am implying anything.
In multi-district litigation, the panel generally assigns the case to the most convenient district, as that makes it easier for the multiple plaintiffs to depose witnesses and conduct discovery. Given Marriott is based in Maryland, it made sense to assign the case there.
Discovery will go on for years with all kind of motions and the lawyer meter ticking. The question is, will the root cause of the problem be fixed. The common theme with the hotel breeches is third party software used by leased food & beverage and gift shop operators. I wonder if those are defendants as well. What about the software providers? Bottom line big payday for lawyers.