Social Security Numbers of 15,000-Plus People at Stake in Consolidated Ericsson Data Breach Class Action

SHERMAN, Texas (LN) — A federal judge in the Eastern District of Texas on Tuesday consolidated two putative class actions against Ericsson Inc. arising from a 2025 data breach and appointed William B. Federman of Federman & Sherwood and Raina C. Borrelli of Strauss Borrelli PLLC as interim co-lead class counsel to steer the combined litigation.

U.S. District Judge Sean D. Jordan granted the plaintiffs' joint consolidation motion in part, folding Gray v. Ericsson Inc. and Orobitg v. Ericsson Inc. into a single proceeding captioned In re Ericsson Inc. Data Breach Litigation under master file No. 4:26-CV-266-SDJ.

Plaintiffs Christopher Gray, Anthony Ross, and Sisy Orobitg allege that Ericsson failed to implement reasonable data security practices to protect personally identifiable information — including names and Social Security numbers — belonging to approximately 15,661 individuals affected by a breach that allegedly occurred in April 2025.

Gray and Ross filed the first complaint on March 16, 2026. Orobitg filed a separate suit asserting substantially identical claims on behalf of an overlapping putative class; that case was transferred to Judge Jordan's court before the consolidation motion was filed.

Ericsson did not oppose consolidation and took no position on the appointment of interim class counsel, according to the order.

Jordan concluded the cases were appropriate for consolidation: both arose from the same breach, asserted overlapping claims on behalf of similarly defined putative classes, were filed within a three-week window, and had no discovery underway and no dispositive motions pending. Proceeding separately, he wrote, would risk inconsistent judgments and force duplicative filings, discovery, and hearings.

The two co-lead counsel will have sole authority over a broad range of pretrial responsibilities, including presenting plaintiffs' positions to the court, coordinating and conducting discovery, conducting settlement negotiations, communicating with defense counsel, and allocating attorneys' fees. No other plaintiffs' counsel may file motions or initiate discovery without their express authorization.

Plaintiffs have 30 days from the April 28 order to file a consolidated class-action complaint. Ericsson then has 21 days to answer or otherwise respond.

The 15,661 individuals whose names and Social Security numbers were allegedly swept up in the April 2025 breach will remain putative class members unless and until Judge Jordan certifies a class.