Global Data Review, a publication that analyses the law and regulation of data around the world, recently reported on the $63 million settlement of the data breach litigation against the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, noting that the settlement “could provide a playbook for securing other wins against federal government data breaches.” Girard Sharp serves as lead counsel in the OPM case.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson on June 7 preliminarily approved the $63 million class action settlement benefiting the approximately 22 million federal employees and job applicants whose personal information was compromised in a 2015 hack reportedly perpetrated by the Chinese government.
Girard Sharp partner Jordan Elias is featured in the Global Data Review article:
“Jordan Elias, who along with other attorneys brought the OPM lawsuit […] noted the uniqueness of the case including factors such as the volume of data breached, previous cybersecurity warnings from the OPM’s inspector general and more won’t be found in every breach. Plus, the US Supreme Court doesn’t allow individuals to sue without actual harm. ‘Victims of those types of data breaches have the ability to sue under the Privacy Act but the [U.S.] Supreme Court doesn’t let them sue the government for intangibles,’ Elias said.”
The settlement ends a seven-year legal effort to win compensation from the federal government. The settlement will compensate victims who suffered a financial loss as a result of the hack, providing for minimum payments of $700, even for those with minor expenses.
The Court’s order granting preliminary approval sets a deadline of December 22, 2022 for class members to file a claim. Claims may be submitted beginning July 1, at https://www.opmdatabreach.com.
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