Shorter University Data Breach Class Action Settlement

A settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit over a 2014 data breach that allegedly compromised the personally identifiable information (PII) or protected health information (PHI) of students of Shorter University Inc.

If you were a Shorter University student whose personally identifiable or protected health information was compromised as a result of the theft of hardcopy documents from the training room at the Winthrop-King Centre on the Rome, Ga., campus in September 2014, you may be entitled to benefits from the data breach class action settlement.

According to the Shorter University data breach class action lawsuit, an unknown person accessed and stole the PII and PHI of current and former students of Shorter University. Although Shorter University announced the data breach and notified students by letter, the plaintiffs claim Shorter University failed to adequately safeguard their personal information and were slow to provide notice of the data breach.

Shorter University denies any wrongdoing but agreed to settle the data breach class action lawsuit to avoid the cost and uncertainty of trial. The Shorter University class action settlement was preliminarily approved on May 19, 2017.

The deadline to opt out of or object to the Shorter University class action settlement is Sept. 1, 2017.

Who’s Eligible

Class Members of the data breach settlement include Shorter University students whose PII or PHI was stolen or compromised as a result of the September 2014 theft of hardcopy documents from the training room at the Winthrop-King Centre on the Shorter University campus in Rome, Ga.

Potential Award

Monitoring services and/or reimbursement of up to $175.

Cash Fund: Class Members are entitled to receive reimbursement of up to $175 for their losses related to the Shorter University data breach, including up to five hours of documented time at $15 per hour. These losses may include:

• Unauthorized charges on credit or debit cards that have not been reimbursed;
• Expenses associated with addressing identity theft or fraud that occurred as a result of the Shorter University data breach;
• Losses related to restricted access to funds (such as ATM fees or costs of taking out a loan);
• Costs of credit monitoring, placing freezes on credit reports or costs of obtaining credit reports for review;
• Losses due to email-related fraud;
• Late fees, overdraft fees, declined payment fees, returned check fees, customer service fees and/or card cancellation or replacement fees incurred as a result of the Shorter University data breach; and
• Any other documented losses that can reasonably be attributed to the Shorter University data breach.

Monitoring Services:
Class Members whose PII or PHI was located with the documents stolen from the Rome campus in September 2014 are eligible to enroll in 12 months of free Identity Guard Total Protection Monitoring Services.

NOTE: Class Members may make a claim for both cash and monitoring services.

Proof of Purchase

Class Members making a claim for reimbursement of their data breach-related losses must submit documentation of their out-of-pocket losses, unreimbursed charges and/or time spent remedying issues related to the data breach.

Claim Form

CLICK HERE TO FILE A CLAIM (PDF) »

Claim Form Deadline

2/15/2018

Case Name

Erin Bishop, et al. v. Shorter University Inc., Case No. 4:15-cv-00033-HLM, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

Final Hearing

10/17/2017

Settlement Website

www.ShorterDataBreach.com

Claims Administrator

Shorter University Data Breach
Epiq Systems Inc., Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 4390
Portland, OR 97208-4390
1-888-729-1603

Class Counsel

John A. Yanchunis Sr.
Rachel Soffin
MORGAN & MORGAN COMPLEX LITIGATION GROUP

Joel Rhine
RHINE LAW FIRM PC

Paul C. Whalen
LAW OFFICES OF PAUL C. WHALEN PC

Jasper D. Ward IV
JONES WARD PLC

Bradley King
AHDOOT & WOLFSON PC

Defense Counsel

J. Anderson Davis
BRINSON ASKEW BERRY SEIGLER RICHARDSON & DAVIS LLP