"PSECU is at most an incidental beneficiary of the member agreement between Visa and Fifth Third, but an incidental beneficiary has no right to enforce a contract," District Judge William Caldwell wrote in his opinion. "Needless to say, I'm disappointed with the court's ruling," PSECU president Greg Smith said in an e-mailed comment. "It's a little frustrating to know that PSECU was the one party in this situation that kept its word [and] honored its contracts, but when someone else didn't, we're still the one to pay," he said.

As a result of the BJ's breach, Fifth Third has paid close to $900,000 in fraud-related charges to several credit card issuers, according to court documents.

"The court seems to be saying that the Visa system provides relief for issuers who suffered fraud losses but Visa won't cover the costs of reissuing cards, which is the best defense against fraudulent charges," Smith said.

Stephanie Hagen, a spokeswoman for Fifth Third, said the bank does not comment on litigation issues.

The PSECU is one of several institutions that have filed claims over the BJ's breach. Others include the CUNA Mutual Group, Sovereign Bank and Banknorth NA.