Federal Judge Dismisses Target Directors from Data Breached Related Derivative Suit After Special Litigation Committee Recommends Not Pursuing Claims

A special litigation committee—including former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Kathleen Blatz and University of Minnesota law professor John Matheson, neither of whom were on the board at the time of the breach—undertook a 21-month investigation to pursue whether Target executives did enough to prevent the cyberattack and whether they should be held individually liable for disseminating inaccurate information to consumers after the attack. The committee issued a 91-page report finding that Target should not pursue the claims against the officers and directors, and argued that, under Minnesota law, the court should defer to the committee’s determination. Motions to dismiss from the committee and the individual defendants followed and were granted two months later.