ST. PAUL, Minn.—A federal judge here on Tuesday refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed against Target Corp. by a number of banks that are suing over allegations they lost money due to the massive Target data breach around Thanksgiving of 2013.
U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson did dismiss one of the four claims made in the suit, which claimed “negligent misrepresentation by omission” related to the security system used by Target.
Judge Magnuson wrote in his court order, however, that the plaintiffs have presented a plausible case for the first three counts against Target: negligence, failure in providing sufficient security against data hackers, and violation of Minnesota’s Plastic Security Card Act.
The ruling simply allows the case to continue to move forward. Target is headquartered in Minnesota.
The plaintiffs are arguing that the data breach has required the banks to reimburse victims, to reissue cards, and to monitor accounts for fraud, all of which have meant substantial costs to the banks.
The lawsuit is hardly the only one filed against Target, which has acknowledged the breach affected at least 40-million cardholders in the country. But a judge has consolidated all of the federal cases into two lawsuits, one brought by consumers and the other brought by financial institutions.
Credit unions have filed their own litigation against retailers, including Home Depot, with several New York credit unions having filed suit in Atlanta, as CUToday.info reported here.