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Dickey’s BBQ Data Breach Class Action Settlement Overview:
- Who: Dickey’s BBQ responded to opposing attorneys’ argument against Dickey’s settlement with other plaintiffs.
- Why: Dickey’s argued the attorneys improperly used a motion to become lead counsel as a guise to criticize the mediated settlement.
- Where: The class action lawsuit is pending in Texas federal court.
Dickey’s BBQ is fighting a $2.35 million settlement over a data breach, calling class action developments an “internecine money grab.”
After several class action plaintiffs reached the multimillion dollar settlement with Dallas-based Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants Inc, the attorneys of another group of plaintiffs called the settlement inadequate in their bid to become lead counsel for the class, which Dickey’s BBQ has called an “internecine money grab.”
The settlement was reached between Dickey’s and three out of six class action cases consolidated in Texas courts. The complaints stem from breaches of Dickey’s online systems in 2019 and 2020 that exposed customers’ payment information and its delay in informing customers of the issue.
The disputing counsel, representing plaintiffs Ross Diczhazy and Wesley Etheridge II, argue that they could have reached a deal with a larger settlement amount and more extensive security changes and therefore should be made class counsel.
Dickey’s BBQ Call Attorneys ‘Monday-Morning Quarterbacks’
In response, Dickey’s argued that the lead counsel motion has nothing to do with the settlement, acting more as a “Trojan horse” for the counsel to sit as “Monday-morning quarterbacks.” Citing court precedent, Dickey’s BBQ noted that a lead counsel motion is not the “proper vehicle” to make arguments about the settlement.
In reality, the motion is the move of “disgruntled plaintiffs’ lawyers jockeying for attorneys’ fees,” who do not care about the class, the settlement, or its repercussions, argued Dickey’s.
Dickey’s Defends ‘Outstanding’ $2.35M Class Action Settlement
Not only was the counsel out of turn, but its claims about the settlement are “baseless,” Dickey’s said.
For one, the restaurant maintains that the $2.35 million “more than sufficiently compensates” the plaintiffs. Plaintiffs who can prove out-of-pocket losses can recover up to $5,000. Without losses, California plaintiffs recover up to $100, and non-California residents can recover $50. The continued litigation that would stem from a granted lead counsel motion would raise uncertainty around these compensations, says Dickey’s.
Further, Dickey’s said that the existing settlement is “laser-focused at preventing this type of cyberattack from happening again” and disputed the counsel’s claims that the settlement should have demanded more money given Dickey’s financial position and insurance coverage.
Were you affected by Dickey’s data breach? Tell us about it in the comments below!
The settling plaintiffs are represented by Bruce W. Steckler, Paul D. Stickney, and Austin P Smith of Steckler Wayne Cochran Cherry PLLC, and more.
The Dickey’s BBQ Data Breach Class Action Settlement is Kotska v. Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants Inc., Case No. 3:20-cv-3424-K, in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas Dallas Division.
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