Quest Data Breach Class Action Settlement Gets Initial OK

A federal judge in New Jersey has given preliminary approval to a $195,000 settlement between Quest Diagnostics Inc. and customers who claim that the company exposed their personal information in a 2016 data breach.

The preliminary approval states that the class action lawsuit was filed after Quest announced that protected health information from 34,000 patients was obtained by an unauthorized third party in November 2016.

The judge’s opinion notes that within 60 days after the effective date of the settlement, the settlement administrator will start paying out of the fund.

Those Class Members who submit evidence that they had “actual monetary loss” will be reimbursed up to $250 per claimant, the class action preliminary approval states.

In addition, Class Members whose HIV test results were acquired during the data breach will be paid $75, even if they cannot establish “actual monetary loss.”

“If the aggregate value of the valid and timely claims exceeds the Net Settlement Fund Amount, then the amount paid to Settlement Class Members who submit valid and timely claims will be reduced on a pro rata basis until the amount paid to Settlement Class Members who submit valid and timely claims equals the Net Settlement Fund Amount,” the judge’s preliminary approval states.

The original lawsuit was filed in state court in December 2016 by plaintiff Grant Morrow and the case was removed to federal court. The plaintiff claimed that Quest failed to safeguard the Protected Health Information (PHI) and Personal Identifying Information (PII) of their clients.

The plaintiff noted that PHI includes laboratory test results and PII includes names, dates of birth, and phone numbers, which the defendant collected from clients.

Morrow also claimed that Quest failed to provide “timely, accurate, and adequate notice” to the plaintiff and other Class Members that that their PII had been stolen and what types of information was taken from the company.

“Despite the fact that it was storing sensitive Private Information that it knew or should have known was valuable to and vulnerable to cyber attackers, Quest and its fellow Defendants failed to take adequate measures that could have protected user’s information,” the Quest class action lawsuit stated.

The Quest class action lawsuit also noted that the technology and medical industry is “rife” with examples of hackers going after users’ PII. This includes hacks at Anthem, Premera, and St. Joseph Health System. These hacks all predate the timeframe that Quest had identified about the data breach at issue in the current lawsuit.

A final hearing on the class settlement agreement is scheduled for Feb. 25, 2020.

“The Court preliminarily finds that the proposed settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate, was negotiated at arm’s length and was entered into by the parties in order to avoid the costs, uncertainty and risks of continuing litigation and the proposed class settlement reflects the strengths and weaknesses of the claims and defenses in the case,” the judge’s order reads.

Class Members include: “All persons residing in the United States whose personal information was obtained by an unauthorized third party in the Incident.”

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The plaintiff is represented by James A. Barry of Locks Law Firm LLC, John A. Yanchunis and Patrick Barthle of Morgan & Morgan PA, and Michael A. Galpern of Javerbaum Wurgaft Hicks Kahn Wikstrom & Sinins PC.

The Quest Diagnostics Data Breach Class Action is Morrow v. Quest Diagnostics Inc., Case No. 2:17-cv-00948, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

UPDATE: March 2020, the Quest data breach class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.

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