Home Depot Slapped with 3 More Data Breach Class Action Lawsuits

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Home Depot USA Inc. has been hit with at least three more class action lawsuits following the massive data breach that was announced this week. This data breach has allegedly resulted in the theft of customers’ personally identifiable information (PII), including names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and credit and debit card information.

Home Depot operates more than 2,200 retail stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico. According to the data breach class action lawsuit filed by plaintiffs Michael J. Marko and Mike’s Inc., “Home Depot permitted unauthorized access of its customers’ PII from April of 2014 to at least September 2, 2014 in its U.S. and Canadian stores.” The Home Depot class action lawsuit alleges that the data breach was caused by the company’s inadequate security measures taken to safeguard customer data.

“Defendant Home Depot compromised the security of Plaintiffs’ and the Class Members’ PII,” the data breach class action lawsuit says. “Defendant Home Depot also breached its promise to safeguard its customers’ PII by intentionally, willfully, recklessly, and/or negligently failing to take necessary and adequate precautions required to prevent and protect Defendant Home Depot’s customers’ PII from unauthorized access and disclosure.”

The class action lawsuit filed by plaintiff Kelsey O’Brien alleges, “Defendant’s security failures enabled the hackers to steal financial data from within Defendant’s stores and subsequently make unauthorized purchases on customers’ credit and debit cards and otherwise put Class Members’ financial information at serious and ongoing risk.”

Plaintiff Jeffrey Hartman’s class action lawsuit emphasizes the harm the affected consumers have suffered, and will continue to suffer, as a result of the Home Depot data breach. “The information Defendant Home Depot lost, including Plaintiff’s identifying information and other financial information, is extremely valuable to thieves,” Hartman’s Home Depot class action lawsuit says. “As the Federal Trade Commission (‘FTC’) recognizes, once identity thieves have personal information, ‘they can drain your bank account, run up your credit cards, open new utility accounts, or get medical treatment on your health insurance.’”

The plaintiffs all allege that they shopped at Home Depot stores and paid for their purchases with a credit card. According to the class action lawsuits, the plaintiffs made their purchases under the belief Home Depot would safeguard their personal data. They claim they would not have used a credit card to pay for their purchases if they had known Home Depot took inadequate measures to protect their information.

The data breach class action lawsuits accuse Home Depot of failing to take reasonable steps notify the affected consumers about the hacking incident, preventing them from taking immediate steps to mitigate the harm and reduce their chances of fraud and/or identity theft. They also allege Home Depot violated industry standards for customer data protection.

The first Home Depot data breach class action lawsuit was filed last week, even before the security breach was confirmed.

Home Depot is just the latest retailer to announce that its computer networks had been subject to a data breach. Target Corp., Michaels Stores Inc. and Neiman Marcus have announced that their networks had also been breached, compromising the personal and financial data of their customers.

Marko, Mike’s Inc. and Hartman are represented by Francis J. “Casey” Flynn Jr. of Carey Danis & Lowe.

O’Brien is represented by Joseph J. Siprut and Gregory W. Jones of Siprut PC.

The Home Depot Data Breach Class Action Lawsuits are Michael J. Marko, et al. v. Home Depot USA Inc., Case No. 3:14-cv-00981, in the U.S District Court for the Southern District of Illinois; Kelsey O’Brien, et al. v. Home Depot USA Inc., Case No. 1:14-cv-06975, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois; and Jeffrey Hartman v. Home Depot USA Inc., Case No. 4:14-cv-01545, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

UPDATE: On Mar. 7, 2016, Home Depot has agreed to pay $13 million to settle the class action lawsuits that followed a massive data breach in 2014.

UPDATE 2: The Home Depot Data Breach Class Action Settlement is now open! Click here to file a claim or visit www.HomeDepotBreachSettlement.com for more details.