M.C. Dean, Inc. Settlement

Settlement Class Members are eligible to receive payment from a proposed settlement of the Lawsuit. The Court overseeing the Lawsuit authorized the Notice to advise Settlement Class Members about the proposed settlement that will affect their legal rights. The Notice explains certain legal rights and options Settlement Class Members have in connection with the settlement.

The Lawsuit is a proposed class action lawsuit brought on behalf of certain individuals whose information may have been accessed and exfiltrated by unauthorized individuals as part of the Incident. The affected information may include names, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers.

The Lawsuit claims Defendant is legally responsible for the Incident and asserts various legal claims, including negligence, breach of implied contract and a declaratory judgment claim. Defendant denies these claims and denies that it did anything wrong.

In a class action, one or more representative plaintiffs bring a lawsuit on behalf of others who have similar claims. Together, all of these people are the “class” and each individually is a “class member.” There are two Representative Plaintiffs in this case: Russell Domitrovich and Thomas Gussie. The class in this case is referred to in the Notice as the “Settlement Class.”

The Representative Plaintiffs in the Lawsuit, through their attorneys, investigated the facts and law relating to the issues in the Lawsuit. The Representative Plaintiffs and Class Counsel believe that the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate and will provide substantial benefits to the Settlement Class. The Court has not decided whether the Representative Plaintiffs’ claims or Defendant’s defenses have any merit, and it will not do so if the proposed settlement is approved. By agreeing to settle, both sides avoid the cost and risk of a trial, and people who submit valid claims will receive compensation. The settlement does not mean that Defendant did anything wrong, or that the Representative Plaintiffs and the Class would or would not win their case if it were to go to trial.

The Settlement Class is defined by the Court as all individuals whose Personal Identifying Information (“PII”) was impacted by the Incident that was discovered on June 2, 2022 (the “Incident”). Excluded from the Settlement Class are: (1) the Judge and Magistrate Judge presiding over the Lawsuits, any members of the Judges’ respective staffs, and immediate members of the Judges’ respective families; (2) officers, directors, members and shareholders of Defendant; (3) persons who timely and validly request exclusion from and/or opt-out of the Settlement Class; (4) the successors and assigns of any such excluded persons; and (5) any person found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be guilty under criminal law of initiating, causing, aiding or abetting the criminal activity or occurrence of the Incident or who pleads nolo contendere to any such charge.

The proposed settlement would create a Settlement Fund of $750,000 that would be used to pay all costs of the settlement, including: (i) payments to Settlement Class Members who submit valid claims, (ii) costs of administration and notice (approximately $80,620), (iii) any attorneys’ fees and costs awarded by the Court to Class Counsel (up to $250,000 plus litigation costs and expenses of up to $15,000), and (iv) any service awards to the Representative Plaintiffs awarded by the Court (up to $10,000 total). The settlement also releases all claims or potential claims of Settlement Class Members against Defendant arising from or related to the Incident, as detailed in the Class Action Settlement Agreement and Release.

Settlement Class Members who do not validly exclude themselves from the settlement will be bound by the Class Action Settlement Agreement and Release and any final judgment entered by the Court, and will give up their right to sue Defendants for the claims being resolved by the settlement, including all claims or potential claims of Settlement Class Members against Defendants arising from or related to the Incident. The claims that Settlement Class Members are releasing are described in Sections II.X, II.GG and IX of the Class Action Settlement Agreement and Release and the persons and entities being released from those claims are described in Section II.Y of the Class Action Settlement Agreement and Release. Section IX of the Class Action Settlement Agreement and Release explains when such releases will occur.

Settlement Class Members who submit valid claims and any required documentation may receive one or more of the following, to be paid from the Settlement Fund: (1) an Alternative Cash Payment of approximately $225, or (2) an out-of-pocket Reimbursement Award. Depending on how many valid claims are submitted, the amounts of the Alternative Cash Payment will be adjusted upward or downward proportionally among Settlement Class Members submitting valid claims for those awards, as explained further below in FAQ 11.

In the alternative to an out-of-pocket Reimbursement Award, every Settlement Class Member is eligible to receive a $225 Alternative Cash Payment, regardless of whether he or she experienced any unauthorized charges or identifiable losses related to the Incident. Settlement Class Members seeking an Alternative Cash Payment must provide the information required on the Claim Form. The $225 Alternative Cash Payment is subject to upward or downward adjustment as described below in FAQ 11.

Eligibility for any award, including the Alternative Cash Payment, is within the discretion of the Claims Administrator as outlined in FAQ 16.

Settlement Class Members who, at any time from September 14, 2022 to June 28, 2024, suffered from verifiable financial losses that are reasonably traceable to the Incident or spent time remedying the issues related to the Incident, are eligible to receive an Ordinary Reimbursement Award of up to $500 as reimbursement for those charges and expenses. The following types of out-of-pocket expenses may be claimed:

• actual, documented, and unreimbursed costs, expenses or charges incurred addressing or remedying identity theft, fraud, or misuse of personal information and/or other issues reasonably traceable to the Incident. This can include Attested Time for up to 3 hours, at $35 per hour, for time spent addressing or remedying issues related to the Incident, including time spent monitoring credit, resolving disputes for unauthorized transactions, freezing or unfreezing your credit, remedying a falsified tax return, etc.

Settlement Class Members who experienced unauthorized or fraudulent charges or extraordinary documented out-of-pocket losses that are fairly traceable to the Incident and are losses that are not already covered by one or more of the Ordinary Reimbursement categories are eligible to receive an Extraordinary Reimbursement Award of up to $8,000 as reimbursement for those charges and expenses. The following types of out-of-pocket expenses may be claimed:

• actual, documented, and unreimbursed costs, expenses, losses, or charges incurred a result of identity theft or identity fraud, falsified tax returns, or other possible misuse of the Settlement Class Member’s personal information. The loss must have occurred between September 14, 2022 and June 28, 2024.

You cannot recover for emotional distress. Claimants must exhaust all available credit monitoring insurance and identity theft insurance before seeking a Reimbursement Award. Settlement Class Members seeking a Reimbursement Award must provide the information and documents required on the Claim Form.

The amounts paid for all Alternative Cash Payments will be adjusted upward or downward from the amounts listed in FAQ 9 depending on how many Settlement Class Members submit valid claims.

If the total dollar value of all valid claims is less than the amount of money available in the Settlement Fund for payment of those claims, the amounts for Alternative Cash Payments will be adjusted upward proportionally among all valid claims for those awards, until the amounts remaining in the Settlement Fund are exhausted (or as nearly as possible).

If the total dollar value of all valid claims is more than the amount of money available in the Settlement Fund for payment of those claims, the amount of the payments for Alternative Cash Payments will be adjusted downward proportionally among all Settlement Class Members who submitted valid claims for Alternative Cash Payments.

If there are any funds remaining after all valid claims are processed and the time to cash any payment checks has passed, those funds shall be distributed as directed by the Court, including potential distribution to a charitable organization. No remaining funds will be returned to Defendants.

The claim filing deadline was June 28, 2024.

The Claims Administrator will decide whether a Claim Form is complete and valid and includes all required documentation. The Claims Administrator may require additional information from any claimant. Failure to timely provide all required information will invalidate a claim and it will not be paid.

The exclusion deadline was May 31, 2024.

The objection deadline was May 31, 2024.

The Court held a Final Approval Hearing on August 23, 2024, and issued its order approving the Settlement on August 27, 2024.

If no party appeals the approval, then the Settlement Fund will be fully funded. The Settlement Administrator then will pay the attorneys' fees and costs awards and any Representative Plaintiff service awards. Then the Settlement Administrator will calculate and distribute Settlement benefits to claimants whose claims were approved.

If any appeal is taken, it is possible the settlement could be disapproved on appeal.

The Court has appointed the following Class Counsel to represent the Settlement Class in this Lawsuit:

Settlement Class Members will not be charged for the services of Settlement Class Counsel; Settlement Class Counsel will be paid out of the Settlement Fund, subject to Court approval. However, you may hire your own attorney at your own cost to advise you in this matter or represent you in making an objection or appearing at the Final Approval Hearing.

Settlement Class Counsel will request the Court’s approval of an award for attorneys’ fees up to one-third (33.3%) of the Settlement Fund (or up to $250,000), plus reasonable costs and expenses (up to $15,000), which shall be paid from the Settlement Fund. Settlement Class Counsel will also request approval of service awards of $5,000 to each of the Representative Plaintiffs (a total of $10,000), which shall also be paid from the Settlement Fund.

Defendant is represented by the following lawyers:

Edward J. McAndrew
Baker & Hostetler LLP
1735 Market Street
Suite 3300
Philadelphia, PA 19103-7501
emcandrew@bakerlaw.com
Telephone: 215-568-3100

The Notice and this website summarize the proposed settlement. For the precise terms and conditions of the settlement, please see the Class Action Settlement Agreement and Release available on the Important Documents page of this website, by contacting Settlement Class Counsel at the phone numbers provided in response to FAQ 25 above, by accessing the Court docket in this case, for a fee, through the Court’s Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system at https://ecf.vaed.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/ShowIndex.pl, or by visiting the Office of the Clerk, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse, 401 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, Virginia 22314 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:000 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Court holidays.

Epiq will act as the Claims Administrator for the settlement. You can contact the Claims Administrator at the following address:

M.C. Dean, Inc. Claims Administrator
P.O. Box 2498
Portland, OR 97208-2498

Please do not contact the Court.