By Beth St. Clair A consumer uses her credit card to make a purchase at a major retailer. Six months later she’s notified that, due to a recent hack on the retailer’s computer systems, her credit card number has been stolen. She quickly checks her accounts but there’s no activity. All is quiet over the next few weeks. Nonetheless, she’s nervous. She cancels the credit card and enrolls in a $4.99/month credit monitoring service. Based on these facts, should this consumer be able to join a class action suit against the retailer for the data breach? Until recently, the answer most likely would have been no. Consumer class actions were barred from bringing a federal suit because they lacked “imminent “ injury for Article III standing, a standard taken from Clapper v. Amnesty International. After all, many retailer defendants argued, no actual I.D. theft or fraudulent credit card charges had occurred. Enter Remijas v. Neiman Marcus Group,…
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