Challenged Equifax Data Breach Settlement Gets Final Approval

A federal judge recently gave a $425 million Equifax class action settlement final approval despite objections from consumer advocacy groups.

U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. determined that the landmark settlement is fair and has earned final approval in an oral ruling on Dec. 19. A written ruling will reportedly follow in the coming weeks.

Final approval was granted despite nearly 400 objections lodged against the settlement.

“Judge Thrash rejected the objections to the settlement — including specifically those from serial objectors — finding that the settlement is an exceptional result for the class, particularly in light of the risk, and that the relief is at the ‘high range’ of what likely could have been recovered at trial,” plaintiffs’ counsel told Law360.

Plaintiffs’ counsel notes that the settlement is historical in its size and has support from nearly every state attorney general and several federal regulators such as the Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Although many consumers and officials support the settlement, one of the settlement’s most vocal objectors reportedly remains opposed to the deal. Hamilton Law Institute’s Center for Class Action Fairness has routinely opposed the settlement, finding the deal to be unfair, unreasonable, and inadequate. Ted Frank, the director of litigation at the Institution, took to Twitter following the final approval and vowed to appeal the decision.

“The settlement on its face violates [U.S. Supreme Court] precedent on Rule 23(a)(4), and @HamLincLaw looks forward to an appeal,” Frank wrote on his Twitter account.

Issues with the Equifax class action settlement reportedly include nearly $80 million in attorneys’ fees, an award that was granted by Judge Thrash based on the “exceptional” outcome of the case. However, objectors also take issue with the case’s outcomes – especially considering the decreased cash payments from the settlement.

Originally, the settlement set aside $31 million to fund cash payments to consumers. These payments were initially estimated to be as high as $125 per claimant.

Due to the estimated 147 million consumers affected by the breach and the high level of media attention, more claims for cash payment were made than were anticipated. As a result, the Federal Trade Commission announced that cash payments would not be as high as estimated.

Objectors to the settlement argued that this was unfair and that the settlement “throttled” monetary claims by only putting aside a small amount of the fund for cash payments.

The rest of the settlement fund, apart from the amount directed to costs and fees, reportedly provides free credit monitoring and expense reimbursement for damages “fairly traceable” to the data breach.

Consumers who are eligible for the Equifax data breach class action settlement have until Jan. 22, 2020 to file an initial claim with the fund. Extended claims for the settlement will be accepted through Jan. 22, 2024.

Are you eligible for the recently approved Equifax settlement? Let us know in the comment section below.

The consumers in the multidistrict litigation and settlement are represented by co-lead counsel Amy Keller of DiCello Levitt Gutzler LLC, Kenneth Canfield of Doffermyre Shields Canfield & Knowles LLC and Norman Siegel of Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP. Barnes Law Group LLC and Evangelista Worley LLC  serve as co-liaison counsel. Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, Girard Gibbs LLP, Hausfeld LLP, Tadler Law LLP, Morgan & Morgan Complex Litigation Group, Murphy Falcon & Murphy and The Doss Firm LLC are on the plaintiffs’ steering committee. Griffin & Strong PC serves as state court coordinating counsel.

The Equifax Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit is In re: Equifax Inc. Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, Case No. 1:17-md-02800, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

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