Kroger Agrees to $5M Settlement Over Accellion Data Breach

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Kroger customers who had their personal information compromised in a data breach could be eligible for a cash payment of around $91 — and even more for California consumers — thanks to a new class action settlement.

On Wednesday, a Class of Kroger consumers asked a California federal court for preliminary approval of a $5 million settlement with the grocer, to settle claims their privacy was violated in a data breach, Law360 reported.

The claims stemmed from a hack of cloud-based transfer giant Accellion’s database that resulted in the theft of confidential Kroger data, as well as data from institutions around the world.

The settlement Class would include all U.S. residents who were notified by Kroger that their information was compromised as a result of the breach.

According to the proposed settlement, each affected consumer would get an estimated average cash payment of $91 for non-California residents, and $181 for California residents. California consumers benefit from a higher level of protection under state law. 

Alternatively, affected consumers could get two years of credit monitoring and insurance services, or a payment for reimbursement of documented losses of up to $5,000, Law360 reported.

The settlement would end claims filed against Kroger in Northern California, Ohio and Indiana. 

“The settlement delivers tangible and immediate benefits to the settlement class that address all the potential harms of the data breach suffered by class members without protracted class action litigation including multiple parties and serious inherent risks,” the proposed settlement reportedly says. 

“It delivers a fair, adequate, and reasonable resolution for the class and merits approval.”

Kroger was not the only victim of the Accellion hack in Dec. 2020 and January this year. Other victims included Harvard’s business school, Washington’s state auditor and New Zealand’s central bank.

Reporting back on the hack, Accellion said the breaches affected a 20-year-old system that reached the end of its lifespan on Nov. 30, 2020.

Several other consumers have taken legal action in the wake of the Accellion data breach. A Kroger worker filed a class action lawsuit against the grocery chain accusing it of failing to properly protect employee data by continuing to use Accellion. Flagstar Bank customers also filed a class action lawsuit claiming they had their sensitive personal information exposed to criminals in the Accellion data breach. 

Were you affected by the Accellion data breach? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Tina Wolfson, Robert Ahdoot, Andrew W. Ferich and Theodore Maya of Ahdoot & Wolfson PC, and Ben Barnow and Anthony L. Parkhill of Barnow and Associates PC.
The Kroger Accellion Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit is Ricky Cochran et al. v. The Kroger Co. et al., Case No. 5:21-cv-01887, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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