- Americold agrees to a $5.25 million settlement after failing to use reasonable cybersecurity protections in response to two data breaches.
- Eligible class members may receive up to $25,000 for documented breach-related losses, along with three years of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services worth at least $1 million.
- The settlement deadline for objections or exclusions is Sept. 22, with a final approval hearing scheduled for Oct. 6, and claims must be filed by Oct. 22 to receive benefits.
A $5.25 million settlement could put money back in the hands of people affected by two Americold data breaches after the company was accused of failing to use reasonable cybersecurity protections.
Here’s what to know
After claims tied to data breaches in November 2020 and April 2023, Americold agreed to a class action settlement
Americold, which operates temperature-controlled storage facilities and has thousands of employees nationwide, maintained that it did nothing wrong.
According to the lawsuit, the company did not have reasonable cybersecurity safeguards in place. Plaintiffs said the exposure of consumer information left affected people facing a greater chance of fraud or identity theft.
Plaintiffs also said that the repeat issue showed a failure to take reasonable steps to secure sensitive information.
Now, people can qualify for a piece of the $5.25 million if Americold notified them that their information was involved in one or both of the breaches.
The settlement allows eligible class members to seek as much as $25,000 for breach-related documented losses, such as communication expenses, credit report charges, credit monitoring costs, and damages related to identity theft, per Top Class Actions.
Top Class Actions also noted that a residual cash payment of up to $200 may be available to people who received notice about both breaches, while those notified about just one may be eligible for $100.
What’s being done?
In addition to possible cash payments, the settlement includes credit protection benefits for everyone in the class. Class members may receive three years of free credit monitoring along with identity theft protection services worth at least $1 million, per Top Class Actions.
Sept. 22 is the deadline to object or ask to be excluded from the settlement, and the approval hearing is scheduled for Oct. 6. Anyone seeking benefits must file a claim by Oct. 22.
Where can I learn more?
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• Apple was hit with a lawsuit over allegedly misleading carbon-neutral product claims.
• U.S. and EU officials weighed new rules to curb greenwashing across consumer markets.
• At Target, shoppers are learning how to spot greenwashing in everyday labels and ads.
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