The court in In re: Target Corporation Customer Data Security Breach Litigation (D. Minn. MDL No. 14-2522) today entered an order denying the plaintiffs’ motion to enjoin a settlement between MasterCard and Target stemming from the 2013 security breach of Target’s systems. The parties had agreed that Target would pay MasterCard $19 million for damages arising out of the security breach. As part of the agreement, MasterCard would compensate financial institutions who issued MasterCards in exchange for the financial institutions releasing their claims against Target in the MDL. The Target plaintiffs asked the court to void any releases MasterCard had received from financial institutions, to enjoin MasterCard and Target from invoking the jurisdiction of another court to enforce the their settlement, to enjoin MasterCard and Target from communicating with class members without prior approval from the Court, and to order Target to issue a notice to class members providing additional information about the settlement. In denying the plaintiffs’ motion, the court ruled that it had no authority to oversee the settlement between MasterCard and Target and ruled that MasterCard’s and Target’s prior communications with class members were neither misleading nor coercive.
About David Carpenter
David Carpenter is a partner with Alston & Bird's Litigation & Trial Practice Group. He concentrates his practice in general business and commercial litigation, with special focus on consumer and privacy class action defense, business torts and contract disputes.