A US judge has dismissed most claims brought by a group of banks against Heartland Payment Systems over a massive data breach that exposed millions of credit card details in 2007.
In a move first picked up by Courthouse News, US District Judge Lee Rosenthal has dismissed nine of 10 claims that were part of a master complaint filed as class action by nine banks over the breach.
Heartland revealed in January 2009 that malicious software in its processing system had been found, compromising the card data of millions of 130 million people.
The company was hit by a raft of lawsuits by banks and consumers accusing it of failing to properly protect data and not meeting industry standards, leaving them out of pocket.
The suits were consolidated into two master complaints, one for financial institutions and one for consumers. The latter was settled last year with Heartland agreeing to pay victims up to $175 each for out-of-pocket expenses.
Rosenthal has now dismissed all the bank claims except the charge that Heartland violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. However, he has given the banks leave to amend the dismissed claims.
The data breach which led to the suits was the biggest of its kind in history and has cost Heartland well over $100 million in settlements with Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover.
Albert Gonzalez, one of the masterminds behind the attack, is currently serving 20 years in jail after pleading guilty to a string of hits, including the massive TJX breach.