LINCOLN (LN) — A federal magistrate judge in Nebraska consolidated three data breach class actions against Banner Capital Bank into a single lead case and appointed interim co-lead counsel, clearing the way for a unified amended complaint and streamlined discovery.
The court granted the plaintiffs’ unopposed motion to consolidate the cases under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42(a), designating Gross v. Banner Capital Bank, Case No. 7:26-cv-5007, as the lead case. Two other related actions will be closed as member cases once the consolidated complaint is filed.
The consolidation addresses claims arising from the same alleged unauthorized third-party access to the bank’s computer network in late 2025. The plaintiffs, who include Leslie Gross, Jason Brown, and Erica Rankin, argued that the cases involved common legal questions regarding breach of common law and statutory duties and sought the same remedies.
The court found that consolidation served the interests of convenience, judicial economy, and cost reduction. Plaintiffs were granted 30 days to file a consolidated amended complaint in the lead case. The defendant will have 30 days after the filing of that complaint to answer or otherwise respond.
In addition to consolidation, the court appointed Laura Van Note of Cole & Van Note, Carl V. Malmstrom of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLC, and Leigh S. Montgomery of Ellzey Kherkher Sanford Montgomery LLP as interim co-lead counsel under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(g).
The court noted that the proposed counsel had already investigated the facts, researched the legal basis for liability, and coordinated the filing of the consolidation motion. The judge cited their experience in data security and privacy class actions.
The order also established procedures for the court’s CM/ECF system, instructing parties to use the “spread text” feature for most filings in the lead case so that documents automatically appear in the member cases. Exceptions were made for complaints, answers, filing fees, service of process items, and notices of appeal, which must be filed separately in each case.
The magistrate judge, Ryan C. Carson, also directed the clerk to administratively close the member cases once the consolidated amended complaint is filed. Future cases arising from the same data breach must be notified to the court as related under Nebraska General Rule 1.4(A).
The data breach allegedly occurred in late 2025, and plaintiffs received notice of their victimization around March 6, 2026. The court anticipated that additional lawsuits with similar claims could be forthcoming.