Trevor Maxwell of The Portland Press Herald reports that Judge D. Brock Hornby of the U.S. District Court in Maine has dismissed nearly all of the claims filed again Hannaford Bros. for the massive breach they suffered in 2007 and early 2008. Only consumers who were not reimbursed by their banks for fraudulent charges on their accounts will be allowed to proceed with their claims. Maxwell quotes the ruling (which is not yet available online):
“There is no way to value and recompense the time and effort that consumers spent in reconstituting their bill-paying arrangements or talking to bank representatives to explain what charges were fraudulent,” Hornby wrote.
“Those are the ordinary frustrations and inconveniences that everyone confronts in daily life with or without fraud or negligence. Maine law requires that there be a way to attach a monetary value to a claimed loss. These fail that requirement.”