Judge gives preliminary approval to Five Guys data breach settlement

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Update:

• A federal judge in Virginia granted preliminary approval to a $700,000 settlement made by Five Guys to end claims the fast food chain waited more than three months to report a 2022 data breach. 
• The judge ruled the settlement is “fair, reasonable and adequate” and the class, which consists of nearly 38,000 individuals, meets all the requirements to be certified. 
• Five Guys was accused in several now-consolidated class action lawsuits of identifying the data breach on Sept. 17, 2022, but allegedly waiting until Dec. 29, 2022, to report the incident to those affected and various state attorney generals. 
• The data breach affected individuals who sent private information to Five Guys as part of its employment application process. 
• A final fairness hearing for the class action settlement is set for July 12. 

Five Guys data breach overview: 

• Who: Five Guys, a fast-food burger chain, disclosed that it suffered a data breach. 
• Why: The breach exposed files containing private information sent to the company as part of its employment application process. 
• Where: Five Guys has locations nationwide. 

(Jan. 5, 2023)

Five Guys, a fast food burger chain, disclosed that it suffered a data breach that exposed the private information of individuals who applied for employment with the company. 

Five Guys says it identified the breach on Sept. 17, 2022, later determining the exposed files “contained information submitted to us in connection with the employment process,” according to a sample notification letter dated Dec. 29, 2022. 

“We wanted to notify you of this incident and to assure you that we take it seriously,” Five Guys says in its notification letter. 

The Five Guys data breach exposed sensitive data that includes names, Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers, according to the law firm Turke & Strauss. 

Five Guys says it “immediately implemented our incident response plan” upon discovering the breach, took steps to contain the breach and launched an investigation into how it happened. 

Five Guys contacted law enforcement after discovering data breach 

The burger chain also contacted law enforcement and continues to support its investigation, according to the Five Guys breach notification letter. 

Five Guys says it arranged for individuals affected by the breach to receive free IDX credit monitoring and identity protection services, which it says will include one year of credit and CyberScan monitoring. 

The burger chain faced a class action lawsuit last month from a consumer arguing Five Guys violates biometric privacy law by having its employees use a fingerprint scanner for its time clock system. 

Have you been affected by the Five Guys breach? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented Steven T. Webster of Webster Book LLP, Patrick A. Barthle of Morgan & Morgan PA, Ryan D. Maxey of Maxey Law Firm PA, Raina Borrelli of Turke & Straus LLP, David K. Lietz of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman PLLC, M. Anderson Berry and Gregory Haroutunian of Arnold Law Firm, Rachele R. Byrd of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman Herz LLP and Laura Van Note of Cole & Van Note.

The Five Guys data breach class action lawsuit is Brittany May, et al. v. Five Guys Enterprises LLC,
Case No. 1:23-cv-00029, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

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