Target Data Breach Suit By Banks Extends To Security Vendor

December 18, 2013, was a dark day for Target Corp.  Nationally ousted as the victim of the largest retail data breach in history, Target's CEO Gregg Steinhafel took pains to assure consumers "they will not be held financially responsible for any credit or debit card fraud."

But according to a March 10, 2014, putative class action in the District of Minnesota, Case No. 0:14-cv-00643, by Umpqua Bank, Steinhafel's statement "omits" the fact that "it is the nation's financial institutions—and not Target—ensuring that this is the case."  According to Umpqua's complaint, financial institutions are the ones incurring the real costs associated with protecting customer accounts.  This includes providing notice to consumers, reissuing payment cards and refunding fraudulent charges.  The cost of card replacement alone is estimated to ultimately rest around $200 million.