Thousands of police officers and staff have commenced legal action against the Police Service of Northern Ireland following last year’s data breach.
Last summer, PSNI accidentally revealed the details of 10,000 staff in response to a Freedom of Information request that sought a breakdown of their work roles and where they are based.
When the information was shared their surnames and first initials remained on the document, which was published online before being removed.
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The document did not contain their addresses, but did note their rank or grade, where they are based, and the unit in which they work.
PSNI later found that the information had got into the hands of dissident republicans.
Now, almost 5,000 police officers and civilian staff are taking the police force to court. Three test cases for a liability-only hearing have been listed for 26 June.
Philip Gordon, partner at Belfast law firm Edwards & Co, told the BBC: “This decision by the High Court is very encouraging progress for our clients, who number almost 5,000.
“The management solicitors have served a statement of claim in each of the cases and the defendant was directed to enter their defence within the usual six-week period.
“It represents very encouraging progress. Each claim will still have to be considered individually in terms of the appropriate damages, taking into account that each plaintiff will have been affected differently.
“It may therefore take some time after a liability hearing to deal with each individual case, but we are committed to getting every client the best possible result.”
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