A U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ruled dozens of consumer lawsuits against Target Corp. will be consolidated in the retailer’s home state of Minnesota.
Target on December 19 disclosed its point-of-sale systems was hacked from November 27 to December 15. Originally Target said the data breach affected 40 million debit and credit cardholders. But on Jan. 10 the retailer said as many as an additional 70 million customers had personal information compromised by the breach.
Lawsuits against the third-largest retailer in the US began to pile up within a day of data-breach disclosure. According to Advisen data, Minnesota has been home to the most filed lawsuits.
The panel’s ruling brings together 33 lawsuits – and potential “tag-along actions” – filed in 18 districts in seven states before U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson in St. Paul. The order indicates Target supports the ruling.
“On the basis of the papers filed and hearing session held, we find that these actions involve common questions of fact, and that centralization in the District of Minnesota will serve the convenience of the parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient conduct of this litigation,” the panel ruled.
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Chad Hemenway is Managing Editor of Advisen News. He has more than 15 years of journalist experience at a variety of online, daily, and weekly publications. He has covered P&C insurance news since 2007, and he has experience writing about all P&C lines as well as regulation and litigation. Chad won a Jesse H. Neal Award for Best Single Article in 2014 for his coverage of the insurance implications of traumatic brain injuries and Best News Coverage in 2013 for coverage of Superstorm Sandy. Contact Chad at 212.897.4824 or [email protected].
