How to Join a Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit

A class action lawsuit is one of the ways that you could be compensated for losses caused by a data breach. The class action lawyers at Federman & Sherwood can hold the company that was supposed to protect your personal information legally responsible.

Joining a class action lawsuit is a step that you must take unless you are the named plaintiff. If your case is won, or there is a settlement agreement reached, you would need to take action to claim your share of the money. You could also opt out of the class action if you choose if your damages would not be adequately compensated by your share of the settlement.

Contact the data breach attorneys at Federman & Sherwood to learn more about your legal rights when your information has been compromised. We can help you file an individual or class action lawsuit to seek compensation for your losses. See our current data breach investigations.

You Must Submit a Claim to Join a Class Action

It can be easy to join a data breach class action lawsuit. You do not have to take any action to prosecute the case if you are not a named plaintiff. All you would need to do is to submit a claim form. You may also need to submit documentation if you are seeking additional compensation for some of your own personal losses. One submission could put you in a position where you are able to receive money for your damages from a data breach.

You would learn of a data breach when you receive notice from the party who had possession of your personal information when it was compromised. Once there is a large data breach, there will invariably be individual or class action lawsuits. In many cases, a large group of individuals who have suffered similar harms will band together in one lawsuit to achieve efficiencies and to maximize their own efforts. There will be one case against the defendant. There will be a lead plaintiff whose attorney would move the lawsuit through the legal process and potentially try it in court. In many cases, class action lawsuits would reach global settlement agreements.

Once there is a settlement reached, you would receive notice of your ability to join the class. Everyone who was affected by the data breach would get the same letter. At that point, you would need to make a decision whether to join the class. The letter would explain your options and inform you about what you need to do to join the class. Usually, you would need to submit a claim form. If you are just seeking a pro-rata cash share of the settlement, you may not need to submit any additional documentation.

In many cases, you spent a fair amount of time dealing with the fallout of the data breach. You may have taken the time to freeze your credit, and you may even have had to deal with identity theft. Then, you may be able to claim a certain amount of compensation for the time that you expended to address the data breach. Then, you may need to provide additional documentation to support your claim.

You Have a Limited Amount of Time to File a Claim

The notice that you receive will give you a deadline by which you would need to submit your claim form. If you do not do anything by the deadline, you would not be eligible for financial compensation, and you would be leaving money that you would otherwise qualify for on the table. Thus, you would need to take an affirmative step to join the class before it is too late. That is the only way that you may qualify for a part of the settlement or award.

Of course, there is nothing that says that you have to join a class action lawsuit. You could always file your own individual lawsuit for a data breach. You may consider doing this if you suffered your own unique damages that may not be fully compensated by your share of the global settlement. You should consult with a data breach attorney about whether you want to opt out of the class action and pursue your own lawsuit. However, if you are just making this decision after a settlement has been reached, you may be close to missing the statute of limitations, or it may have already passed. 

Contact a National Data Breach Law Firm Today

Reach out to the data breach attorneys at Federman & Sherwood to schedule a time to discuss your case. We have offices in Texas and Oklahoma, and we help victims of data breaches nationwide. You can speak with one of our lawyers during a free initial consultation by calling us today at 800-237-1277.