Change Healthcare has asked a U.S. court panel to consolidate dozens of cyberattack-related lawsuits to a federal court in Tennessee.
Change, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group's Optum, faces at least two dozen class-action complaints from patients and healthcare providers over the recent ransomware attack that disrupted claims processing and pharmacy services nationwide.
Change argued in the April 3 filing that the cases should be heard in federal court in Tennessee, located in Nashville, because that is where the company is headquartered and key witnesses and evidence — such as Change servers and corporate records — are housed there.
The company also wrote it would "prevent duplicative discovery and inconsistent pretrial rulings, and to conserve the resources of the parties and the courts."
Four plaintiffs have similarly requested that the cases be centralized in Nashville. Becker's reached out to Change Healthcare for comment.