Ashley Madison Data Breach Class Action Settlement

A recent data breach class action settlement will provide various benefits for members of the Ashley Madison extramarital dating website.

Ashley Madison is a dating website specifically set up to help married persons date outside their marriages. According to the plaintiffs’ complaint, Ashley Madison describes itself as “the most famous name in infidelity and married dating.”

In June 2015, Ashley Madison announced that hackers had broken into its computer network, taken personal information about Ashley Madison users, and released that information publicly.

Eighteen named individual plaintiffs, all Ashley Madison members, joined the consolidated Ashley Madison class action lawsuit. The plaintiffs accused the Ashley Madison companies of failing to properly secure the personal information of its website’s users. They sought to hold the defendants responsible for all ensuing fallout related to the breach.

Named defendants in the Ashley Madison class action lawsuit Avid Life Media Inc., now renamed as Ruby Corporation, and Avid Dating Life, now renamed as Ruby Life. Noel Biderman, Avid’s former CEO, is also a named defendant.

In addition to claims directly related to the breach, the plaintiffs also raised claims over Ashley Madison’s “full delete” or “paid delete” services. Ashley Madison allegedly promised its members that these services would “remove all traces of your usage[.]”

Those promises allegedly turned out to be false. Plaintiffs claimed that users who purchased these services still had their personal information exposed in the Ashley Madison data breach.

The plaintiffs further claimed that many Ashley Madison profiles were fake. These fake profiles allegedly used conversation-simulating software known as “bots” or “engagers” to communicate with real users. Under the false impression that these engagers were real Ashley Madison members, users paid to communicate with them by purchasing and spending credits, the plaintiffs claimed.

Terms of the Ashley Madison class action settlement require the defendants to create a settlement fund worth as much as $11.2 million. Each Class Member who submits a valid and timely claim with any necessary supporting documentation can receive up to $3,500 in benefits. Class representatives will receive incentive awards of up to $5,000.

The settlement also requires Avid to implement several changes in their business practices. The company must undergo a comprehensive audit of its information security practices by a third-party reviewer, and it must create an information security program with a new position of Chief Information Security Officer.

Employees will be required to undergo enhanced security training. Website members will be offered the Full Delete option free of charge.

Avid also asserts that it has sent takedown demand letters to all websites it has found publishing Ashley Madison user’s exposed information.

Who’s Eligible

Class Members include all persons in the U.S. who used Ashley Madison on or before July 20, 2015. Within that group, those who may be entitled to receive monetary benefits include but aren’t limited to:

• Those whose personal information was exposed in the data breach;
• Those who purchased either the Paid Delete or Full Delete option from Ashley Madison;
• Those who suffered losses because of the data breach; and
• Those who purchased credits and believe they used those credits to interact with engagers or bots on the website.

Potential Award

Up to $3,500.

Class Members who submit timely and valid claims can qualify for payments of up to $3,500 per claimant. Benefits are available depending on what losses the Class Member incurred:

• Class Members who purchased Full Delete on or before July 20, 2015 and whose personal information was exposed in the breach can qualify for payments of $19 per Full Delete purchase, not to exceed a total of $500.
• Class Members who purchased credits and have a good faith belief that they used those credits to communicate with engagers will be reimbursed for those credits on a dollar-for-dollar basis, not to exceed a total of $500.
• Class Members who submit documentation of other unreimbursed losses, including losses related to identity theft, can receive reimbursement for those losses on a dollar-for-dollar basis, not to exceed a total of $2,000.

Note: “Remaining funds will be divided equally amongst Settlement Class Members who submit a Valid Claim Form and Reasonable Documentation demonstrating that his or her Personal Information was released publicly as a result of the Data Breach. Settlement Class Members submitting such a claim are eligible to receive no more than five hundred dollars ($500) for such claim.”

Proof of Purchase

In addition to the Claim Form, claimants may need to submit additional documentation showing that, for example, they created an Ashley Madison account, purchased credits, purchased a Full Delete option, or incurred losses because of the data breach.

Claim Form

CLICK HERE TO FILE A CLAIM »

Claim Form Deadline

1/2/2018

Case Name

In re: Ashley Madison Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, Case No. 4:15-MD-02669, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri

Final Hearing

11/20/2017

UPDATE: The Ashley Madison Data Breach Class Action Settlement was granted final approval on November 20, 2017.  Please note that claims will not be paid until after the claim deadline, which is currently January 2, 2018. Let Top Class Actions know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our  Facebook page

UPDATE 2: On Jan. 31, 2018, Top Class Actions viewers who filed a valid claim for the Ashley Madison data breach class action settlement started receiving checks worth as much as $2,915. Congratulations to everyone who got PAID!

Settlement Website

www.WebsiteDataBreach.com

Claims Administrator

Website Data Breach Settlement Administrator
c/o Angeion Group
1801 Market Street, Suite 660
Philadelphia, PA 19103
844-474-8293
WebsiteDataBreach@AdministratorClassAction.com

Class Counsel

Douglas P. Dowd
DOWD & DOWD PC

John J. Driscoll
THE DRISCOLL FIRM PC

W. Lewis Garrison, Jr.
HENINGER GARRISON DAVIS LLC

Defense Counsel

Counsel for Avid:
Richard P. Cassetta
BRYAN CAVE LLP

Robert A. Atkins
PAUL WEISS RIFKIND & GARRISON LLP

Counsel for Noel Biderman:
William S. Ohlemeyer
Christopher M. Green
Ian M. Dumain
BOIES SCHILLER FLEXNER LLP