Home Depot Settles Major Data Breach Suit with Financial Institutions for $25 Million
Client Alert | 1 min read | 03.13.17
On Wednesday, in one of the most high-profile data breach settlements to date, The Home Depot agreed to pay $25 million to settle a consolidated class action involving more than 60 nationwide financial institutions harmed by the retailer’s September 2014 data breach. That month, the home improvement giant announced that hackers had installed malware on Home Depot’s checkout kiosks and, over a five-month period, stolen credit card information of more than 56 million shoppers. Immediately thereafter, financial institutions filed more than 25 suits seeking compensation for reissuance fees and fraudulent transaction reimbursements, suits that were then consolidated before a federal court in Atlanta.
The agreement requires the retailer to establish a $25 million settlement fund to reimburse financial institutions for the reissuance of credit cards compromised by the data breach. The Home Depot has also agreed to a series of additional security measures, including implementing new safeguards developed through a risk exception process and enacting new vendor security programs.
Prior to Wednesday’s announcement, The Home Depot had already spent more than $140 million to settle claims by many of the nation’s large credit card issuers – including MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and Discover – for damages sustained in this breach.
Contacts
Senior Counsel
She/Her/Hers
Insights
Client Alert | 3 min read | 05.20.25
On May 19, 2025, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a Memorandum creating the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative that will “utilize the False Claims Act to investigate and . . . pursue claims against any recipient of federal funds that knowingly violates federal civil rights laws.” According to the Memorandum, though racial discrimination has “always been illegal,” the Administration posits that “many corporations and schools continue to adhere to racist policies and preferences—albeit camouflaged with cosmetic changes that disguise their discriminatory nature.” In an effort to prevent federal funds from being used in connection with or support of these purportedly racist policies and preferences, the Initiative will wield the power of the False Claims Act, the government’s most powerful tool to fight fraud, waste, and abuse.
Client Alert | 8 min read | 05.19.25
Client Alert | 2 min read | 05.19.25
