WASHINGTON—The U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, has granted class-action status to the FI lawsuit against Target related to its massive data breach during the winter holiday shopping season in 2013.
“NAFCU is pleased with the court’s decision to certify financial institutions as a class in the data breach suit against Target,” said NAFCU Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt. “As we have consistently maintained, credit unions deserve to be made whole for their losses, and this includes the opportunity to pursue all legal options available. Today’s class certification constitutes one important avenue for recovery.”
“This lawsuit is only one part of the equation,” continued Hunt. “To prevent these types of data breaches in the future, Congress must act to protect consumers’ financial information by enacting national data security standards for retailers and holding them directly accountable for their data breaches."
Following the decision, CUNA applauded the ruling.
“Credit unions incurred at least $30 million in card reissuance costs related to the Target breach and I’m encouraged this case was awarded class action status,” said CUNA president/CEO Jim Nussle. “I’m hopeful this will result in financial recovery for the credit unions and their members who were affected.”
While Nussle said the decision is a step in the right direction, he urged Congress to enact meaningful data security legislation to stop future data breaches.
“Credit unions and banks are subject to robust data protection and notification standards; the absence of Federal data security standards for the merchants that accept payment cards are the weak link in the system,” said Nussle. “To properly protect the data of all Americans, we must equally share responsibility.”