TENNESSEE CLASS-ACTION SUIT SEEKS DAMAGES FOR VOTERS FROM DATA THEFT Class-action suit seeks damages for voters from data theft - Nashville, Tennessee - Friday, 01/04/08 - Tennessean.com

Class-action suit seeks damages for voters from data theft

Metro also seeking restitution from security company

By MICHAEL CASS
Staff Writer

Metro Nashville has asked a security contractor to pay the city more than $100,000 in damages over the theft of two computers containing voters' Social Security numbers, and three citizens have filed a class-action lawsuit against Metro, the security company and a subcontractor.

The city asked Wackenhut Corp. today for reimbursement for $109,000 it spent to mail letters to each of the 337,000 voters whose sensitive data was stored on the laptop computers, which were stolen from the Metro Office Building before Christmas.

Metro Law Director Sue Cain wrote in a letter to the company's area general manager, Andrew Bedlack, that Metro also "reserves the right to seek indemnification for any additional damages it incurs as a result of the Election Commission burglary."

Bedlack did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Meanwhile, the class-action suit says Metro should be required to tell every credit reporting agency about each individual voter whose security could be hurt as a result of thetheft . It also asks that Metro, Wackenhut and its subcontractor, Specialized Security Consultants, be ordered to buy credit reports and at least 90 days of credit monitoring for every voter.

The suit was filed by Raymond T. Throckmorton III, Timothy T. Ishii and Regina Newson. Their attorneys are Gary Blackburn and John Ray Clemmons, who were campaign advisers to former U.S. Rep. Bob Clement in his unsuccessful bid to become Nashville's mayor last year. Clement lost in a runoff election to Karl Dean.

Blackburn said the suit was not politically motivated.

"Karl Dean didn't do this," he said.