Q & A: Release of Confidential information

My neighbor has a dispute with our condo association. She wrote them requesting information concerning her payments. Instead they sent her a copy of my payments and five other condo unit owners. They released my checking account information to this woman, obviously by accident. Our property management company is paid approximately $750,000 a year and run it like amateur hour. The owner who received my information sent me a copy of my checks with a letter of explanation, but I'm worried about what other hands my financial information might have gotten into, and what recourse I have for a lawsuit.

—Seeking Recourse

“You’ll need to talk to your own attorney about what rights you may have against the management company under your state’s law,” says Adam Cohen, an attorney at the law firm of Pullman & Comley in Bridgeport, CT. “If the disclosure was accidental and did not cause you any actual out-of-pocket loss, there is probably no basis for litigation. Fortunately it looks like your neighbor did the right thing and your account information is not at risk of further dissemination, but you should definitely monitor your account for any suspicious activity for the foreseeable future just to be sure.”