$10 Million Target Data Breach Settlement Proposed

May 14, 2015, 8:00AM. By Gordon Gibb

Minneapolis, MNGiven the propensity to conduct banking, purchasing and other activities online that involves the sharing of sensitive personal data, any revelation of a data breach can evoke feelings of fear and violation akin to a robbery or personal assault. A data breach is, indeed, an assault on one’s privacy. The Target data breach of 2013 left scores of consumers unnerved and fearful.

Such seriousness extends to the nation’s courts, given the damage a data breach can bring to an individual’s credit rating and overall financial well-being. To that end, a massive data breach affecting Target Corporation in late 2013 has resulted in a proposed settlement that any Target consumer having suffered a loss due to the breach can join.

There is a deadline, however, for several aspects of the Target data breach settlement participation, and they all appear to fall on July 31 of this year.

Here are the particulars. The Target data breach was discovered December 19 of 2013, involving a breach that occurred beginning November 27, 2013 and extending through to December 18 of that same year - a period of about three weeks. Any Target consumer who used a credit or debit card within those dates, or provided information to Target prior to December 18, 2013 is considered a Class participant, unless you expressly opt out.

A Target consumer is also eligible for the Class if your bank, credit card provider or other financial institution issued you a new credit or debit card shortly after December 2013 and informed you that your old card may have been compromised. For that matter, if you received a notice directly about the Target Data Breach, you are a Class member by default.

The proposed settlement is worth about $10 million and will pay as much as $10,000 to reimburse documented losses. There is a secondary aspect of the fund that will compensate for undocumented losses. This compensation only comes into play once the documented losses have been compensated. After that, consumers claiming undocumented losses will be eligible for an equal share of whatever portion of the overall settlement fund remains after documented losses have been paid.

If you have been harmed or have suffered losses of any kind in association with the Target data breach, you may consider remaining a Class member and seek compensation from the proposed settlement. There is a caveat, however. By remaining a Class member and deriving compensation from the Fund, you forfeit your right to launch your own, individual lawsuit against Target over the data breach issue. To protect and maintain your right to litigate against Target individually, you must exclude yourself from the Class. And you have to do this by July 31 of this year.

Bear in mind that your inclusion as a Class member is automatic if you qualify against the criteria noted above. If you wish to opt out of the Class - or file an objection to the settlement terms - your file has to be made and received by July 31 of this year. A hearing will be undertaken by the Court on November 10 to consider approval of the settlement as proposed, including proposed legal fees and so on.

A claim for documented or undocumented losses must be received from Class members by July 31.

Again, if a Target consumer qualifies under the aforementioned criteria, then he or she is automatically bound by the decision(s) of the Court, regardless of whether an actual claim is submitted. Consumers who wish to opt out - or object - must do so also by July 31.

The Target settlement has provided the following contact and access information in order to further investigate the proposed settlement: 1-866-680-5931 or TargetBreachSettlement.com.