Small business owners file class-action suit against Equifax

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From BizJournals:

An Atlanta firm filed the first class action suit brought against Equifax on behalf of 28 million American small businesses. The suit, filed on Sept. 19 by the Atlanta division of The Doss Firm LLC, claims that small business owners were disproportionally affected by the breach, as the availability of small business credit is often directly linked to its owners’ creditworthiness.

The suit notes that “about 60 percent of small businesses use loans to finance their operations… from maintaining cash flow to purchasing equipment,” making the loss of credit of particular concern to these individuals and their businesses.

From the lawsuit:

Many of the 143 million individuals whose PII [personally identifiable information] was hacked are also owners of small businesses that heavily rely on personal and business credit to operate and provide for families across this country. Any business with fewer than 500 employees is generally defined as a small business – a definition adopted by the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Federal Reserve and the Small Business Administration.

There are about 28 million small businesses in America representing more than 99% of all American companies. Indeed, small businesses employ half of the private sector work force, and since 1995, small businesses have created about two out of every three net new jobs – 65% of the total job creation in the United States.

Business loans and credit have historically been critical for small businesses to survive because, unlike large firms, small businesses lack access to public institutional debt and equity capital markets. According to the Harvard Business School Article referenced in footnote 4, in 2012, over 85% of small businesses reported to the National Federation of Independent Businesses (the “NFIB”) that their primary financial institution was either a large or community bank.

In addition, according to the NFIB, about 60% of small businesses use loans to finance their operations, and use the loan capital for a variety of purposes, ranging from maintaining cash flow and working capital to purchasing equipment and financing real estate purchases.

How you can sue Equifax and be part of a lawsuit

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