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Court Allows Banks to Sue Target for 2013 Data Breach

December 11, 2014

As Ars Technica has reported, a District Court judge in Minnesota ruled [PDF] that a group of banks can proceed to sue Target for negligence in the December 2013 breach that resulted in the theft of 40 million consumer credit card numbers as well as personal information on 70 million customers. The banks alleged that Target “failed to heed warning signs” that would have avoided the banks' losses.

The breach occurred between mid-November and mid-December in 2013, after hackers placed malware on Target POS systems which made it possible for them to steal credit card numbers as consumers swiped.

After the breach, multiple banks and consumers sued Target in Minnesota, where the company is headquartered. The lawsuits from both banks and consumers were grouped together into two consolidated class action complaints. Target filed a motion to dismiss the claims made by the financial institutions, but District Court judge Paul A. Magnuson denied the motion.

Hat tip to Dave Ries.

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