WASHINGTON—A Federal District Court has ruled that financial institutions’ lawsuit against Home Depot based on the retailer’s huge data breach in 2014 can move forward.
Federal District Court Judge Thomas Thrash handed down the decision in response to Home Depot’s motion to dismiss the complaints.
“NAFCU and our members are gratified that the lawsuit brought against Home Depot by financial institutions will be allowed to proceed,” said NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt. “But litigation over a past breach does little to protect the consumers whose data has already been exposed. We continue to urge Congress to pass national data security standards for retailers to help protect consumers’ sensitive financial information and prevent data breaches in the future.”
The financial institutions’ class action cites more than $150 million in damages to credit unions and community banks as a result of the breach. The lawsuit was filed in Atlanta, where the home-improvement store chain is headquartered. There are more than 100 plaintiffs, among them are financial institutions in 44 states and the District of Columbia.
Based on the provisions of the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), credit unions and other financial institutions already protect consumers’ personal data.
“Regrettably, there is no similar comprehensive regulatory framework akin to GLBA for other entities, such as retailers, that handle sensitive personal and financial data,” stated NAFCU, urging support for HR 2205/S 961, the Data Security Act of 2015. Introduced by Reps. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX) and John Carney (D-DE) and Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Roy Blunt (R-MO), respectively, the bipartisan bill would set a national data security standard for retailers akin to GLBA while acknowledging financial institutions existing adherence to GLBA standards.