A key federal judicial panel has ruled that the lawsuits against Heartland Payment Systems stemming from the processor's record-breaking card data breach will be heard in the Southern District of Texas.

In its order, the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, which resolves multi-jurisdictional disputes, recognized that both Heartland and the plaintiffs had agreed that Southern Texas would be a good district for the consolidated suits.

"We are persuaded that the Southern District of Texas is an appropriate transferee forum for this litigation. Defendant and various plaintiffs maintain that discovery related to the data breach will be found in the Southern District of Texas, and Judge Lee H. Rosenthal has the time and experience to steer this litigation on a prudent course," the panel wrote.

Credit unions are among the plaintiffs in several of the 19 suits filed so far.

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