Target’s Legal Exposure From Data Breach Is Not Clear

Target’s data breach, which exposed the personal information of millions of consumers to hackers, has spurred dozens of would-be class action lawsuits against the company, but the extent of its potential liability is unclear. Courts have been wary of arguments that claim a loss of privacy led to loss of money. In at least one similar case where consumers prevailed, plaintiffs showed that those affected by the breach had spent money to prevent ensuing fraud. But Target seems to have some protection from that argument, as it has offered free credit monitoring to impacted customers and promised that actual fraud victims would be covered.