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November 21, 2011

Hacking victims allowed to sue Hannaford

By The Mainebiz News Staff

Overturning a previous ruling, a federal appeals court has decided that some victims of Hannaford Bros Co.'s 2007-2008 data security breach can sue for damages.

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court in 2010 ruled that people could not claim damages based on distress or the inconvenience of straightening out their accounts if they did not suffer identity theft. However, the unanimous appeals court decision allows those people who paid replacement-card fees and purchased theft insurance to sue for damages, according to the Portland Press Herald. Plaintiffs affected by the hacking filed 26 lawsuits against Hannaford.

Scarborough-based 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. In March 2010, a district court in Boston sentenced Albert Gonzalez of Miami, who orchestrated the breach, to 20 years in prison.

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