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ARTICLE · 21 OCTOBER 2016

Canadian Class Actions On Data Breach: The Good Corporate Citizen And The Villains

Clyde & Co
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In August, the Ontario Superior Court approved a class action settlement for a data breach claim against Home Depot whose payment card system was hacked in 2014.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Nathalie David
Nathalie David
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In August, the Ontario Superior Court approved a class action settlement for a data breach claim against Home Depot whose payment card system was hacked in 2014. What is noteworthy about the settlement is that the court reduced its value as well as class counsels' fees.

"The case for Home Depot being culpable was speculative at the outset and ultimately the case was proven to be very weak," Justice Paul Perell wrote in his ruling in Lozanski v. The Home Depot, Inc. "The real villains in the piece were the computer hackers, who stole the data," he continued, further noting that Home Depot had responded to the data breach "as a good corporate citizen".

It also found that the plaintiff consumers had suffered minimal damages.

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