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On July 28,
2020, Brown-Forman discovered it was the victim of a cyber-attack. The cyber-criminals
stole certain records containing information about some of Brown-Forman’s
current and former employees (and in some cases, limited information about
employee dependents or beneficiaries). Brown-Forman initially disclosed the
Data Breach on or about August 2020, and has notified current and former
employees whose personal information was or may have been compromised in the
Data Breach.
Thereafter,
Alissa Goodlett filed a class action lawsuit alleging that she and other
individuals were affected by the Data Breach. Alissa Goodlett is the
“Plaintiff” or “Class Representative” and she sued Brown-Forman the “Defendant”
on behalf of people who have similar claims (the “Class”). The lawsuit alleges
Brown-Forman did not adequately protect the Class Members personal information.
Brown-Forman denies all allegations of wrongdoing.
The Court did
not reach a final decision in favor of the Class or Brown-Forman.
Instead, both sides agreed to the February Settlement to resolve the lawsuit. A
settlement avoids the costs and uncertainty of a trial and related appeals,
while providing benefits to the Class.
The Class
Representative and Class Counsel believed the February Settlement was best for
all members of the Class. The Court in charge of the lawsuit approved the
February Settlement.
You are a
Class Member and are affected by the February Settlement if Brown-Forman
notified you before August 21, 2021 that your personal information was or may
have been compromised in the Data Breach.
If you have
questions about whether you are a Class Member, you may contact Class Counsel
(see FAQ 10 below).
If you are a Class Member and you submitted a valid Claim Form (Identity Protection) by July 7, 2021, you may obtain benefits under the February Settlement. The available benefits and process for submitting Claims to receive benefits are described in FAQ’s 4 and 6 below.
The February Settlement provided the following benefits:
1. Identity Protection Services.
Members of the Class could have elected to
enroll in Experian IdentityWorksSM Identity Protection
Services for a total period of three (3) years. Experian IdentityWorksSM includes credit
monitoring from all three bureaus, access to the Experian credit report, $1
million in identity theft insurance, and identity restoration services.
If you previously signed up for Identity
Protection Coverage through Brown-Forman after receiving notice of the Data
Breach, you must have submitted a valid Claim Form (Identity Protection) to
receive additional coverage for a period of three (3) years total. If you did
not previously sign up for identity protection services, and you submitted a
valid Claim Form (Identity Protection), you received three (3) years of
Identity Theft Protection Coverage.
To receive Identity Theft Protection Coverage, you must have submitted a completed Claim Form (Identity Protection) by Wednesday, July 7, 2021.
2. Reimbursement for Out-of Pocket Losses.
To be eligible to receive
reimbursement for Out-of-Pocket Losses, you must have signed up for Experian IdentityWorksSM by July 7, 2021 deadline
and submit a completed Claim Form (Other Benefits) by the date on which your
Experian IdentityWorksSM provided under the
Settlement expires.
If you incurred expenses that are fairly
traceable to the Data Breach, that were not reimbursed by insurance provided
through Experian IdentityWorksSM, you can be reimbursed up
to $5,000. Examples of reimbursable Out-of-Pocket Losses include:
• costs, expenses, losses or charges incurred a result of identity
theft or identity fraud, falsified tax returns, or other possible misuse of
your personal information;
• costs incurred on or after August 25, 2020, associated with
accessing or freezing/unfreezing credit reports with any credit reporting
agency; or
• other miscellaneous expenses incurred related to any
out-of-pocket loss such as notary, fax, postage, copying, mileage, and
long-distance telephone charges.
If you submit a claim for
reimbursement of Out-of-Pocket Losses, you must provide the
Settlement Administrator with your contact information as well as documents
that show what happened and how much you lost or spent so that you can be
repaid. You must also submit documents that show Experian IdentityWorksSM denied your claim(s).
Handwritten receipts are, by themselves, not enough to receive reimbursement,
but can be considered to add clarity to or support other submitted
documentation.
Out-of-Pocket Losses are deemed
fairly traceable to the Data Breach if the timing of the loss occurred on or
after July 14, 2020, and the personal information used to commit identity theft
or fraud consisted of the same type of personal information that was provided
to Brown-Forman prior to the Data Breach.
To be reimbursed for Out-of-Pocket Losses, you must have first signed up for Experian IdentityWorksSM provided through the Settlement by submitting a Claim Form (Identity Protection) by Wednesday, July 7, 2021, submitted a claim for reimbursement to Experian IdentityWorksSM that was denied in whole or in part by Experian, and have exhausted Experian’s claims process.
3. Reimbursement for Attested Time.
To be eligible to receive
reimbursement for attested time, you must have signed up for the Identity
Protection by the July 7, 2021 deadline and submit a completed Claim Form
(Other Benefits) by the date on which your Experian IdentityWorksSM provided under the Settlement expires.
If you spent time remedying issues related to
identity theft directly caused by the Data Breach, you can submit a claim for
$20 per hour for up to eight (8) total hours.
If you submit a claim for reimbursement for attested
time, you must provide the Settlement Administrator with your
contact information as well as the actions you took in response to the Data
Breach and the time each action took. Class Members must attest that the
information is provided under penalty of perjury.
4. Cash Payment for Inconvenience.
To be eligible to receive
cash payment for inconvenience, you must have signed up for the Identity
Protection by the July 7, 2021 deadline
and submit a completed Claim Form (Other Benefits) by the date on which your Experian IdentityWorksSM provided under the Settlement expires.
If you submitted and received an insurance
payment through Experian IdentityWorksSM relating to the Data
Breach, you can receive a cash payment of $250.
If you submit a claim for a cash payment for
inconvenience, you must provide the Settlement Administrator with your contact
information as well as documentation showing the insurance payment by Experian.
To receive a cash payment for inconvenience, you must (i) have signed up for Experian IdentityWorksSM through the February Settlement by July 7, 2021 and (ii) receive an insurance payment through Experian IdentityWorksSM relating to the Data Breach.
5. Business Practice Commitments. Brown-Forman agreed to adopt and implement certain business practice commitments and remedial measures within the following general categories until at least August 2024:
1. Enhanced cybersecurity training and awareness program.
2. Enhanced data security policies.
3. Enhanced security measures.
4. Further restricting access to personal information.
5. Enhanced monitoring and response capability.
The Court
approved the February Settlement. If you did not opt out of the February Settlement,
you can no longer sue Brown-Forman for claims relating to the Data Breach
(see FAQ 9 below).
The February Settlement
Agreement describes the released claims specifically. Section IV of the
Settlement Agreement describes the specific claims Class Members gave up
against Brown-Forman and all related people. The Settlement Agreement is
available here or you can request a
copy from the Settlement Administrator at 833-326-0772. Talk to Class
Counsel (see FAQ 10 in the section on “The Lawyers Representing
You” below) or your own lawyer if you have questions about the Released Claims
or what they mean.
You must have
submitted a Claim Form (Identity Protection) by July 7, 2021 to receive
Settlement benefits.
Note that
there are different deadlines that apply for each Claim Form, and to be
eligible for reimbursement for Out-of-Pocket Losses or cash payment for
inconvenience you must have first submitted a claim for identity
protection.
• The Claim Form (Identity Protection) submission
deadline has passed. The deadline was
July 7, 2021.
• The Claim Form (Other Benefits) must have been
submitted electronically or by mail on or
before the date on which your Experian IdentityWorksSM provided under the
Settlement expires. If submitted by mail, it must be postmarked on or
before that date.
If you moved
after submitting a Claim Form, it is your responsibility to provide your new
address to the Settlement Administrator. The Settlement Administrator will use
the most recent address it has on file for providing benefits under the
Settlement.
The objection
deadline was July 7, 2021.
If you objected,
you are still entitled to receive benefits under the Settlement that you
qualify for, but you must have submitted a valid Claim Form to do so (see FAQ 6 above). Submitting a Claim Form did not waive your objection to the
Settlement.
If you wanted to keep the right you had, if any, to sue Brown-Forman based on the Data Breach, you must have excluded yourself from the Settlement Class by July 7, 2021.
The opt-out deadline was
July 7, 2021.
No. If you did
not exclude yourself from the February Settlement, you gave up the right you had,
if any, to sue Brown-Forman and the Released Entities for any claims arising
out of the Data Breach. See the answer to FAQ 5 above.
The Court has appointed the following lawyers to represent you and the other Settlement Class Members: These lawyers are called Class Counsel.
You can contact Class Counsel at 585-272-0540 or
at [email protected].
J. Nelson Thomas Jessica L. Lukasiewicz Thomas
& Solomon, LLP 693
East Avenue Rochester,
NY 21607 | Jeremiah Frei-Pearson Greg Blankinship Finkelstein,
Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber, LLP One
North Broadway Suite
900 White
Plains, NY 10601 |
At the Final
Approval Hearing, the Court approved Class Counsel’s request for (1) $570,000
for attorneys’ fees and costs to Class Counsel and (2) $5,000 for a service
award to the class representative. These amounts have been paid by
Brown-Forman, and did not affect the benefits provided to eligible Settlement
Class Members as described above.
THE COURT’S FINAL APPROVAL HEARING
The Court held a Final Approval Hearing on Wednesday, August 11, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time, in Division Three of the Jefferson County Judicial Center, 700 W. Jefferson St., Louisville, KY 40202. The Court approved the February Settlement, finding it to be fair, reasonable, and adequate.
If you did
nothing, you are included in the Settlement Class, and are not able to pursue
any other lawsuit against Brown-Forman and the Released Entities concerning or
relating to the Data Breach. If you previously signed up for identity
protection services when Brown-Forman offered them, you will not receive any
further benefits other than the identity protection services you have already
received. If you did not previously sign up for identity protection services,
and you do nothing, you will not be eligible for reimbursement of Out-of-Pocket
Losses or the cash payment for inconvenience.
This Website summarizes the Settlement. For precise terms and conditions of the Settlement, please see the Settlement Agreement available here.
PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT BROWN-FORMAN, THE COURT, OR THE COURT CLERK’S OFFICE TO INQUIRE ABOUT THIS SETTLEMENT OR THE CLAIMS PROCESS. CLASS COUNSEL OR THE SETTLEMENT ADMINISTRATOR ARE AVAILABLE TO ASSIST YOU SHOULD YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.