TJX reaches settlement in class-action suit over data breach

Framingham, Mass. TJX Cos. on Wednesday said it has reached a settlement with several financial institutions tied to the massive data breach of customer information in 2005 and 2006.

TJX said that it paid $525,000 under the settlement, primarily reimbursing the banks for some of their expenses that stemmed from litigation tied to the incident.

The four remaining financial institutions that sought to join as plaintiffs in a class-action suit -- AmeriFirst Bank, HarborOne Credit Union, SELCO Community Credit Union and Trustco bank -- agreed to drop all their claims against TJX.

TJX denied any wrongdoing and said the settlement payment was covered in a reserve taken earlier.

The theft of information from Massachusetts-based TJX Cos. involved at least 45 million card numbers of customers at its stores, one of the largest breaches on record.