December 4, 2014 - A US judge has given financial institutions the go-ahead to proceed with their lawsuit against Target over losses associated with last year's data breach at the retailer.

Target had tried to get the suit dismissed but US District Judge Paul Magnuson ruled that three of the four claims made by the five plaintiff banks can proceed.

The firms are claiming millions of dollars from Target as they seek to claw back money spent on reimbursing customers and issuing new cards in the wake of the data beach, which saw the details of around 40 million cards stolen.

According to Magnuson, quoted by Reuters: "Plaintiffs have plausibly alleged that Target's actions and inactions - disabling certain security features and failing to heed the warning signs as the hackers' attack began - caused foreseeable harm to plaintiffs...Plaintiffs have also plausibly alleged that Target's conduct both caused and exacerbated the harm they suffered."

The plaintiffs - Umpqua Bank, Mutual Bank, Village Bank, CSE Federal Credit Union and First Federal Savings - are seeking class-action status on behalf of financial institutions with customers who used cards at Target in late 2013.