The class action lawsuit filed against Coupang Inc., the U.S. headquarters of the e-commerce giant, regarding a massive personal data breach is set to resume in a new court.

Law firms SJKP LLP—the U.S. partner of South Korea's Daeryun Law Firm—and Napoli Shkolnik announced on October 7 that they have voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit previously filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) and plan to file a new complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) next week.

SJKP submitted a notice of voluntary dismissal to the EDNY on October 5 (local time). The dismissal was filed "without prejudice," meaning the plaintiffs retain the right to refile the lawsuit on the same grounds. SJKP clarified that this procedural move does not mean abandoning the case or losing; rather, it is a strategic step to refile the lawsuit in a judicial forum more appropriate for the proceeding.

The primary reason for shifting courts involves changes in the plaintiff composition and case issues. Initially, the lawsuit was centered around victims residing in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, New York, leading to the filing in the EDNY, which has jurisdiction over that area. However, as numerous plaintiffs residing in Manhattan joined the action, the legal team determined that handling the case in the SDNY would be more appropriate.

The lawsuit holds Coupang Inc.—listed on the New York Stock Exchange—and Chairman Bom Kim accountable for cybersecurity management failures and the data breach incident. Because Coupang Inc. disclosed the data breach to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the core legal questions are expected to center around the disclosure obligations and liabilities of U.S.-listed companies and their top executives.

The new complaint will also incorporate issues raised during a pre-motion conference held last September. At the time, Coupang raised defenses concerning forum non conveniens, choice-of-law and forum-selection clauses in its terms of use, and the proper party status of Coupang's South Korean subsidiary. In response, SJKP plans to reinforce arguments regarding the New York-resident plaintiffs' usage of Coupang services and the U.S. headquarters' responsibility for supervising cybersecurity.

Furthermore, the renewed lawsuit aims to utilize the discovery process to obtain internal documents and testimonies, verifying when Coupang’s headquarters and executives recognized security risks and how they responded.

"This dismissal does not end the litigation; it is intended for a swift refiling," an SJKP representative stated. "We will restart the case in the SDNY, a court better suited to litigating the responsibilities of a publicly traded parent company and its management."

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