
Using general contract interpretation principles, the Fifth Circuit reversed summary judgment in favor of an insurer and found a duty to defend Landry’s in a data breach lawsuit. Landry’s Inc. v. The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, No. 19-20430 (July 21, 2021). Landry’s contracted with Paymentech to process credit card payments at its restaurants, hotels, and casinos. Paymentech discovered a data breach across fourteen Landry’s locations resulting in $20 million of fraudulent credit card payments. The data breach involved an unauthorized program installed on Landry’s payment-processing devices. The program searched data from credit cards’ magnetic strips, including the cardholder’s name, card number, expiration date, and internal verification code, as the information was being routed through the payment-processing systems.…