100 lawyers in a room: Target case draws the suits to St. Paul

[Audrey McNeil <audrey () riskbasedsecurity com>]

http://www.twincities.com/Business/ci_25762454/100-lawyers-in-a-room:-Target

The Target data breach is now the subject of a massive court case, and
Wednesday, nearly 100 lawyers from across the country crowded into a St.
Paul courtroom as the legal jockeying began.

More than 140 lawsuits -- filed against Target by consumers, shareholders
and banks -- have been consolidated before U.S. District Judge Paul
Magnuson. With so many players, the judge made it clear that resolving the
mess will be a long slog, and he won't tolerate stalling.

"I know Target would like to have big, long, indefinite stays," Magnuson
said at Wednesday's case management conference. "I don't think it's
appropriate."

Gathered in the courtroom were scores of attorneys who had variously
handled huge cases, including 9/11 lawsuits, the NFL antitrust case, the
Sony data breach, the TJX data breach and the Heartland Payment data breach.

"I'm beginning to learn this data breach business is quite a cottage
industry," Magnuson said.

Those lawyers are now focusing their firepower on Target Corp., where 40
million shoppers had their credit- and debit-card data stolen by
cyberthieves during the past holiday shopping season. Much of the stolen
information was sold online to other criminals, which alarmed shoppers and
led to sizeable losses.

And possibly some 70 million additional shoppers had other data compromised.

Some consumer fraud was reported, and over the winter, banks began
proactively canceling and replacing people's credit cards.

Yet for all the lawsuits, Target drew praise Wednesday from an unexpected
quarter: a succession of local lawyers who had filed cases against the
Minneapolis-based discounter.

"Target is an important and valued citizen of our community," attorney
Bucky Zimmerman of Minneapolis told the judge, who later selected Zimmerman
to be lead counsel in the cluster of the bank-related cases.

Zimmerman vowed to be the banks' advocate, but he said of Target: "I want
to give them the respect that they deserve."

Added Karl Cambronne of Minneapolis, who was named overall lead counsel: "I
echo entirely Bucky Zimmerman's notion that we're not dealing here with a
villain."

Wednesday marked the first time all parties in the cases had gathered
together, as Magnuson and U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Keyes tried to lay
down the process that would let the complex lawsuit proceed.

The cases will be grouped into three clusters. The largest group of 111
cases is the consumer lawsuits.

A second group of 29 cases was filed by banks and credit unions, which
suffered fraud losses and the costs of reissuing cards.

A third group of four cases is shareholder lawsuits.

Under an initial timetable, trials are scheduled for early in 2016 --
unless the cases are settled first, an outcome that Magnuson said he'd
welcome.

"Courts encourage settlement," Cambronne said later. "Especially in a case
like this; it's a complex can of worms."

In recent Minnesota history, few cases have had such national prominence
and so many attorneys. The NFL antitrust case was one. The tobacco industry
case was another.

But it's a short list. The Target data breach case is a mix of 110 million
affected consumers, a $72 billion-a-year corporation, an untold number of
unhappy banks and a shady underground of cybercriminals.

"Conceivably, any bank located in the United States could be affected by
this data breach," Bryan Bleichner, an attorney with Chestnut Cambronne,
the Minneapolis firm of the case's lead counsel. "We don't yet know the
full extent."

It's not yet clear whether class-action status will be granted in the case.
If it is, that could clear the way for millions of Target shoppers to join
in.

"I'd put it this way," Magnuson told the attorneys. "If there isn't a class
motion pending, there's sure going to be one."

Target officials offered no comment about Wednesday's courtroom activity.

Magnuson was tasked Wednesday with choosing lead attorneys for the overall
case and the three sub-clusters. He opted for Minnesota attorneys where
possible.

"I feel rather strongly this is a Minnesota litigation," Magnuson said.

Meanwhile, many of the attorneys who had flown to St. Paul left as quickly
as they came. But as the case moves along, they will be back.

"The mayor's very happy you're here spending your money," Magnuson said.

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