Morrisons share price: Grocer granted Supreme Court appeal permission

Wm Morrison Supermarkets (LON:MRW) has been granted permission to appeal to the Supreme Court over a data leak case, City A.M. has reported. The news comes after the blue-chip grocer lost an appeal against a High Court ruling last year, with the court concluding that the company was legally liable for a former employee leaking personal information about 100,000 staff members.

Wednesday’s trading has seen a small rise in the Morrisons share price, with the grocer’s shares changing hands 0.22 percent higher at 223.40p as of 08:55 BST. The stock is outperforming the blue-chip FTSE 100 index which has slipped marginally into the red and currently stands 0.1 percent lower at 7,462.85 points.

Supreme Court appeal permission

City A.M. reported yesterday that Morrisons had won approval to appeal the judgment on the data leak case at Britain’s highest court. The blue-chip grocer had previously argued at the Court of Appeal that it was not responsible for the breach and could not be held directly or vicariously liable for it. The court, however, disagreed, paving the way for a mass payout, with more than 5,000 Morrisons workers having brought the claim.

“While the decision to grant permission for a further appeal is of course disappointing for the claimants, we have every confidence that the right verdict will, once again, be reached,” Nick McAleenan, a partner and data privacy law specialist at JMW Solicitors, which is representing the claimants, commented, as quoted by City A.M.

Analysts on blue-chip supermarket

The 15 analysts offering 12-month targets for the Morrisons share price for the Financial Times have a median target of 240.00p on the shares, with a high estimate of 290.00p and a low estimate of 195.00p. As of April 12, the consensus forecast amongst 20 polled investment analysts covering the blue-chip grocer advises investors to hold their position in the company.