BROOKLYN, N.Y.–A class-action lawsuit that had been filed against Michael’s following a 2014 data breach has been dismissed by a judge.
The lawsuit was seeking damages by arguing at least in part that customers of the arts and crafts retailer were at an increased risk of suffering from fraudulent card activity due to the breach.
In 2014 Michael’s acknowledged that malware installed on its system had led to the theft of an estimated 2.6 million payment card numbers over an eight-month period that began in 2013.
But District Court Judge Joanna Seybert has ruled that the lawsuit, which was also seeking to be classified as a class action, should be dismissed, stating that the plaintiff in the case, Mary Jane Whalen, along with any other victim of the breach, did not prove that they had suffered any harm. Whalen had said that someone in Ecuador had attempted to purchase a gym membership and concert tickets using her American Express card.
In her ruling, however, Seybert stated that “Whalen does not allege that the attempted charges were approved or that she suffered any financial loss. Rather, she cancelled her credit card and has not experienced any other attempted fraudulent charges.”
The judge added that even if fraudulent activity had taken place, Whalen would not have been liable. Seybert called other arguments for damages being made by Whalen “highly speculative.”