Privacy Lawsuits Against Maine Grocer Consolidated by Federal Court

More than 20 lawsuits stemming from a massive security breach of Hannaford Bros. Co.’s computer system have been consolidated and assigned to a federal court in Maine.

The case will be heard by U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby in Portland.

The decision means lawsuits already filed in Maine, New Hampshire, Florida and New York will be consolidated into a single case under the federal court’s multi-district litigation program.

The breach last winter allowed hackers to access more than 4 million credit and debit card numbers used at 165 Hannaford stores in the Northeast and 106 Sweetbay stores in Florida. In all, the breach has generated 14 lawsuits in Maine, seven in Florida and one each in New Hampshire and New York.

___

Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com