DiCello Levitt partner, Amy E. Keller, and her distinguished co-counsel, Norm Siegel of Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP, Ken Canfield of Doffermyre Shields Canfield & Knowles LLP, and Roy E. Barnes of Barnes Law Group, have been honored by AmLaw Litigation Daily as “Litigators of the Week” following the recent landmark Equifax data breach settlement. Already the youngest woman ever selected to lead a nationwide, multidistrict litigation, Amy is now responsible for the largest data breach settlement in U.S. history.
This is the largest settlement in a data breach case by several orders of magnitude. First, the settlement creates a non-reversionary fund of $380.5 million that will be supplemented by another $125 million if needed.
This fund will be used to pay out-of-pocket losses related to the breach and, importantly, up to 20 hours of lost time at $25 per hour. Second, the settlement provides for four years of high-quality three-bureau monitoring, a benefit worth $1,200 per class member. Following that, an additional six years of single bureau monitoring is available, an additional benefit worth $720 per class member. As part of this program, all class members, whether or not they make a claim, will have access to identity restoration services for seven years.
Third, Equifax will be obligated to overhaul its data security practices and spend at least $1 billion in incremental security upgrades. This provision is enforceable through a consent order that we negotiated as part of the settlement.
Importantly, if more than seven million consumers sign up for credit monitoring services, Equifax will have to pay even more into the settlement fund, increasing their potential exposure under the settlement to nearly $3 billion.
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