Home Depot Seeks to Consolidate Data Breach Class Action Lawsuits

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On Oct. 31, Home Depot Inc. asked a Georgia federal court to consolidate a data breach class action lawsuit filed against the retail company by First Choice Federal Credit Union with a similar consumer-led Home Depot class action lawsuit. First Choice’s class action lawsuit alleges the recent Home Depot data breach caused the Pennsylvania-based bank to suffer damages.

First Choice argues its claims are distinct from a Home Depot data breach class action lawsuit filed by two retail consumers. While the consumer-based data breach class action lawsuit alleges breach of credit and/or debit card information, the First Choice Home Depot class action lawsuit claims this bank and other financial institutions suffered damages due to breached payment cards.

In response to the opposition from First Choice to consolidate these data breach class action lawsuits, Home Depot stated, “[First Choice’s opposition] rests upon a fundamental misunderstanding of the standard for assessing whether cases are related. This court does not require perfect identity of the issues, arguments and defenses. Rather, two cases are related as long as they involve the same facts and/or arise out of the same transaction or occurrence.”

Home Depot claims that because both the consumers’ and First Choice’s complaints originate from the same data breach incident, the two Home Depot data breach class action lawsuits should be consolidated.

First Choice disagrees with Home Depot’s reasoning and argues, “Each suit involves a wholly different type of plaintiff, seeks different damages and is based on different legal theories, and they do not involve the same ‘issues, arguments and defenses.’”

Additionally, First Choice argues that its claims of negligence against the retailer are based in the payment card processing system participation between First Choice and Home Depot. This bank-retailer relationship argument is different than claims laid out in the other data breach class action lawsuit, which rely on a consumer-merchant relationship that is not applicable to First Choice or other financial institutions represented in their data breach class action lawsuit.

First Choice originally filed this Home Depot data breach class action lawsuit in September on behalf all banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions who allegedly suffered damages related to the “massive security breach” Home Depot experienced in April when hackers accessed the retailer’s payment card data. First Choice claims that financial institutions such as themselves will be forced to cancel and/or reissue cards affected by the data breach, as well as close some accounts and give refunds to credit union cardholders for any unauthorized transactions.

Home Depot is currently facing several data breach class action lawsuits that have been filed throughout the country.

First Choice is represented by Anthony C. Lake and Thomas A. Withers of Gillen Withers & Lake LLC; Gary F. Lynch, Edwin J. Kilpela Jr. and Jamisen A. Etzel of Carlson Lynch Ltd.; and Richard A. Lockridge, Robert K. Shelquist, Karen Hanson Riebel, Heidi M. Silton and Eric N. Linsk of Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP.

The Home Depot Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit is First Choice Federal Credit Union v. The Home Depot Inc., Case No. 1:14-cv-02975, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.