Caribou Coffee Data Breach Class Action Settlement

Caribou has agreed to pay nearly $6 million to resolve claims that they mishandled a data breach, adversely affecting banks and credit unions.

The data breach settlement benefits financial institutions (banks, credit unions, etc.) which issued Visa and/or Mastercard payment cards which were affected by Caribou’s data breach. Affected cards were reportedly subject to alerts from Visa and Mastercard.

Village Bank filed their data breach class action lawsuit in June 2019, challenging the way that Caribou, Breugger’s, and Einstein Coffee & Bagels handled a 2018 data breach. From August 2018 to December 2018, hackers allegedly stole payment card information from 473 locations across 24 states.

As a result of the breach, financial institutions like Village Bank were allegedly forced to bear the costs of the coffee and bagel brands’ “negligent conduct.” Between cancelling and reissuing cards and reimbursing fraudulent charges, banks and credit unions reportedly faced serious financial harm due to the data breach.

According to Village Bank, the data breach could have been avoided if the coffee and bagels brands took reasonable measures to protect consumer payment information. The bank argues that harm from the data breach can be directly traced to Caribou’s failings.

“Had Coffee & Bagel Brands put reasonable processes and procedures in place, they would have had a reasonable chance to prevent the breach,” the Caribou data breach class action lawsuit contends.

“In fact, Coffee & Bagel Brands’ data practices were so deficient that their customers’ data was exposed for over three months and Coffee & Bagel Brands failed to detect any issues.”

Village Bank sought to represent a Class of financial institutions affected by the data breach and argued that, since Caribou was responsible for poor cybersecurity, the coffee and bagel brands should compensate the Class for the financial injuries they suffered.

Caribou has not admitted any wrongdoing but has agreed to pay $5,816,250 in a data breach settlement to resolve the claims against them. The settlement allows Caribou to resolve any potential liability while also providing benefits to affected financial institutions. The deal also helps all involved parties avoid the costs and risks of continued litigation.

The Caribou data breach settlement provides cash payments to affected financial institutions. Exact payment amounts will depend on the number of valid claims filed, but payments will be distributed on a proportional basis. The settlement will also provide non-monetary injunctive relief including payment card data security measures.

In order to benefit from the Caribou data breach settlement, financial institutions have until Dec. 22, 2020 to file a claim. No proof is required with claim forms, but financial institutions must include their number of issued accounts (both Visa and Mastercard) affected by the data breach.

The deadline for exclusion and objection in the settlement is Oct. 22, 2020. The final approval hearing for the Caribou data breach settlement is scheduled for Dec. 1, 2020.

Who’s Eligible

Financial institutions (banks, credit unions, etc.) which issued Visa and/or Mastercard payment cards which were affected by Caribou’s data breach.

Affected cards were reportedly subject to alerts from Visa US-2018-0449 series (e.g., US-2018-0449a-PA, US-2018-0449b-PA, US-2018-0449c-PA, US-2018-0449d-IC, and US-2018-0449e-IC) or MasterCard ADC006148-US-18 series (e.g., ADC006148- US-18-1, ADC006148-US-18-2, and ADC006148-US-18-3).

Potential Award

Exact payment amounts will depend on the number of valid claims filed, but payments will be distributed on a proportional basis.

Proof of Purchase

Number of issued accounts (both Visa and Mastercard) affected by the data breach.

Claim Form

CLICK HERE TO FILE A CLAIM »

NOTE: If you do not qualify for this settlement do NOT file a claim.

Remember: you are submitting your claim under penalty of perjury. You are also harming other eligible Class Members by submitting a fraudulent claim. If you’re unsure if you qualify, please read the FAQ section of the Settlement Administrator’s website to ensure you meet all standards (Top Class Actions is not a Settlement Administrator). If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other open class action settlements you may be eligible for.

Claim Form Deadline

12/22/2020

Case Name

Village Bank v. Caribou Coffee Co. Inc., et al, Case No. 0:19-cv-01640, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota

Final Hearing

12/1/2020

Settlement Website

CaribouIssuingBankSettlement.com

Claims Administrator

Caribou Financial Institution Data Breach Settlement
c/o Analytics LLC
P.O. Box 2005
Chanhassen, MN 55317-2005
info@CaribouIssuingBankSettlement.com
1-844-905-2994

Class Counsel

Bryan L. Bleichner
Karl L. Cambronne
CHESTNUT CAMBRONNE PA

Defense Counsel

James Slater
Sam Camardo
BAKER LAW

Erin L. Hoffman
FAEGRE DRINKER BIDDLE & REATH LLP

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

Breonna Taylor’s Boyfriend Sues State, Local Officials in Connection with Her Death

Are Juul Pods Safe If You Have a History of Seizures?

PHH Mortgage Corp. Agrees to Settle Pay-to-Pay Class Action for $12.6M

Iraq and Afghanistan War: How Many US Soldiers Died?