Court Grants Preliminary Approval to $1.5 Million Data Breach Settlement with Hope College

Hope College Data Breach

Hope College, a private Christian liberal arts college in Holland, Michigan, experienced a cyber security incident that compromised Hope’s network on or around September 27, 2022. Hope College, however, did not announce the data breach until December 15, 2022, possibly leaving many individuals at risk of fraud without knowing the potential cause. The incident impacted sensitive information including first and last name, and social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and Student ID numbers of impacted individuals. The data breach exposed approximately 156,783 individuals.

Shub & Johns attorney, Benjamin F. Johns, filed a class action lawsuit against Hope College on December 26, 2022 in the United States Court for the Western District of Michigan. On March 15, 2023, Shub & Johns, along with co-counsel, filed a Consolidated Amended Complaint after the Michigan Court granted the Plaintiff’s motion to consolidate all actions against Hope College concerning the data breach.

Preliminary Approval of the Hope College Settlement

On January 3, 2024, The Michigan Court granted preliminary approval for a class action Settlement in the consolidated Hope College Data Breach litigation. The Court found that Benjamin F. Johns, along with co-counsel, were experienced enough to be provisionally designated as Settlement Class Counsel. A Final Approval Hearing is set for May 20, 2024. Individuals impacted will have the chance to submit a claim before the final approval hearing. Impacted Consumers can learn more about the data breach and settlement by visiting the settlement site here.

The case is In Re Hope College Data Security Breach Litigation, No. 1:22-cv-01224-PLM. You can review the Preliminary Approval Order here.