Preliminary Approval of $525K Settlement Granted in Philadelphia Inquirer Data Breach Class Action

Data Breach at Philadelphia Inquirer

On April 29, 2024, the Pennsylvania based newspaper organization, the Philadelphia Inquirer (“Inquirer”) began notifying individuals that their information was involved in a data breach that exposed individuals’ personally identifying information (“PII”).

The company learned that it had experienced a cybersecurity attack between May 11 and May 13, 2023, and conducted an investigation following the cyberattack. Through its investigation, the Inquirer discovered that a ransomeware group had gained access to the company’s information systems. Through further investigation, the Inquirer discovered that approximately 25,000 individuals’ PII was impacted. Although the data breach occurred in May of 2023, Inquirer did not alert consumers until April 2024.

Information including full name; Social Security numbers; drivers license and state identification numbers, account number and other financial account information, and account passwords or personal identification numbers and other access codes may have been acquired by the unauthorized third party.

Preliminary Approval of the Inquirer Settlement

On May 3, 2024, Shub & Johns LLC filed a class action lawsuit against the Philadelphia Inquirer for the potential impact that the data breach could have or has already had on affected individuals. On July 31, 2024, Plaintiffs in the case filed a consolidated amended complaint after the judge ordered that all matters against the Inquirer be consolidated.

Counsel for both parties engaged in lengthy discussions, and after months of arms-length negotiations  the Parties agreed on a tentative settlement of the class action suit.

On October 4, 2024, Plaintiffs filed a motion for preliminary approval of a class action settlement, with a $525K settlement fund. On October 25, 2024, Honorable Judge Karen S. Marston issued a memorandum granting Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Approval of the class action settlement, and appointing Benjamin F. Johns of Shub & Johns LLC as Co-Lead Class Counsel. Individuals impacted by the breach will be notified and have the chance to submit a claim until February 27, 2025 for participation in the class action settlement. The Court has scheduled a final approval hearing for March 18, 2025. Currently there is no live settlement website, but additional details regarding the Proposed Settlement will become available in the near future.

The case is captioned In re Philadelphia Inquirer Data Security Litigation, No. 2:24-cv-2106 (E.D. Pa.). You can read the Preliminary Approval Memorandum here.

Announcement Graphic with Benjamin F. Johns pictured. Text: Preliminary Approval of Settlement Granted.
Philadelphia Inquirer Settlement Notice

Hello, thank you for your interest in our data breach class action lawsuit. This class action suit is currently engaged in settlement proceedings on a class wide basis. Eligible consumers have been contacted via mailed notice, delivered by the settlement administrator.

 

Consumers seeking compensation for the effects of the data breach are able to make claims via the settlement site, which you can visit once the website becomes public. If you are an eligible class member and you have not submitted a claim as a part of this settlement, please make sure to do so before the claims submission deadline.

 

Thank you for visiting our website. If you have any additional class action inquiries, you can contact us by submitting an online intake form.