Federal judge recuses self from Anchor Bank lawsuit over Home Depot's data breach

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The Home Depot Inc.’s Sept. 2 data breach is estimated to have put payment card information at risk for 56 million payment debt/credit cards.

David Allison

Editor- Atlanta Business Chronicle

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The federal judge in a St. Paul-based bank's lawsuit against Home Depot for its data breach has stepped away from the dispute.

Judge Timothy C. Batten Sr. in Atlanta recused himself from Anchor Bank's lawsuit Friday, citing an unspecified conflict.

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Anchor Bank claims it and other financial institutions "have incurred significant damages totaling in the hundreds of millions of dollars, including but not limited to: reissuing debit and credit cards, loss of customers, costs of covering fraudulent charges, notifying customers of the breach, and handling customer service inquiries and investigations related to the breach."

The bank is asking the court to award its lawsuit class-action status, meaning it would represent others claiming to have also been hurt by the data breach. To read Anchor Bank's lawsuit, click here.

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Atlanta-based Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is facing at least 21 lawsuits stemming from the data breach, which reportedly may affect 60 million customers. Two other judges serving in the Atlanta court recused themselves or otherwise declined hearing lawsuits related to the data breach.

Federal court rules allow judges to disqualify themselves from proceedings in which their impartiality might be questioned, such as when they previously represented a party as a lawyer or when they have a financial interest in one of the parties involved in a a dispute.

The judges are not required to disclose what conflicts caused them to decline to hear a case.