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September 22, 2010

Court: Hannaford data claims unfounded

By The Mainebiz News Staff

A Maine court has ruled that victims of the 2008 Hannaford data breach cannot sue for damages if they didn't suffer financial losses or other tangible harm, ending the lawsuit against the Scarborough-based company.

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court yesterday ruled that consumers whose credit card numbers were stolen during the breach could not claim damages based on the time and effort it took to straighten out their accounts, according to The Associated Press. Last May, U.S. District Court Judge Brock Hornby originally threw out all but one of the 21 civil claims, saying that shoppers who were inconvenienced or distressed but did not suffer identity theft or harm had no legitimate claims. But last October he reconsidered and asked Maine's highest court to rule on the issue. The remaining plaintiff was allowed to continue with her lawsuit because her bank did not reimburse her for fraudulent charges. The decision ends the lawsuit against Hannaford Bros. Co., unless the decision is appealed.

Hannaford announced in March 2008 that hackers exposed more than 4 million credit and debit card numbers to potential fraud and that 1,800 fraudulent charges were made as a result.  This past March, a district court in Boston sentenced Albert Gonzalez of Miami, who orchestrated the breach, to 20 years in prison.

Go to the article from The AP >>

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