Hannaford's Motion to Dismiss: Victory for Merchants (Part 2)
As detailed in ISC's first post on the Hannaford case, I detailed the District Court's rationale for either dismissing or generally recognizing various legal theories around payment card number security breaches. The net result of the Court's analysis was the existence of three possible theories of recovery for the consumer plaintiffs:
- Breach of implied contract
- Negligence
- Violation of Maine's Unfair Trade Practices Act ("UTPA")
While the partial recognition of these theories of liability might be viewed as a positive development for plaintiffs, based on the Court's analysis of the "cognizable harm" (e.g. damages) elements of each theory, this decision ends up being bad for plaintiffs (or better stated plaintiff law firms desiring to pursue class actions in the wake of a payment card security breach). This post explains the Court's rationale and indicates aspects that may present difficulties for Hannaford on appeal.
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