SEATTLE–A federal judge here has declined to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Veridian Credit Union against Eddie Bauer over a data breach.
The Iowa-based credit union filed its class action in 2016 over the breach the company has acknowledged took place between January and July of that year. Veridian has alleged that the retailer failed to take reasonable security measures and to guard against unauthorized access to members’' information, with the credit union incurring costs as a result.
In a 32-page ruling, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart declined Eddie Bauer's motion to dismiss the first amended putative class action complaint that Veridian Credit Union filed against the retailer. Robart said the retailer was negligent in not upgrading its security systems or switching to new chip-enabled cards that are replacing less secure magnetic-striped cards. In addition to negligence, the judge also allowed claims to proceed that Veridian violated Washington state laws.
Eddie Bauer has argued that VCU’s negligence claims are barred by the economic-loss rule, which precludes recovery when the plaintiff has suffered only economic loss, as is the case here.
CUToday.info has additional coverage here: http://www.cutoday.info/Fresh-Today/Eddie-Bauer-Asks-Court-To-Toss-Veridian-CU-Lawsuit