Frequently Asked Questions

The Court authorized this notice because you have a right to know about the settlement, and all of your options, before the Court decides whether to give “final approval” to the settlement. This notice explains the nature of the Litigation that is the subject of the settlement, the general terms of the settlement, and your legal rights and options.

Judge Julie R. Rubin of the United States District Court, District of Maryland is overseeing this case captioned as Rentschler, et al. v. Atlantic General Hospital Corporation, Case No.: 1:23-cv-01005-JRR. The people who brought the Litigation are called the Representative Plaintiffs. The company being sued, Atlantic General Hospital (“AGH”), is called the Defendant

The Litigation alleges that on or around January 20, 2023, cybercriminals breached AGH’s computer and information systems and accessed Private Information belonging to AGH’s current and former patients (the “Data Incident”). Specifically, Plaintiffs allege that the following categories of information were compromised in the Data Incident: names, Social Security Numbers, driver’s license numbers, dates of birth, medical record numbers, physician information, health insurance information, subscriber numbers, medical history information, diagnosis/treatment information, and financial account information.

Defendant denies these claims and says it did nothing wrong. No court or other judicial entity has made any judgment or other determination that Defendant has done anything wrong

In a class action, one or more people called class representatives or Representative Plaintiffs sue on behalf of all people who have similar claims. Together, all of these people are called a “Settlement Class,” and the individuals are called “Settlement Class Members.” One court resolves the issues for all Settlement Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Settlement Class.

The Court has not decided in favor of the Plaintiffs or Defendant. Instead, both sides agreed to the settlement. The settlement avoids the cost and risk of a trial and related appeals, while providing benefits to Settlement Class Members. The “Representative Plaintiffs” appointed to represent the Settlement Class, and the attorneys for the Settlement Class (“Settlement Class Counsel,” see Question 18) think the settlement is best for all Settlement Class Members.

You are affected by the settlement and potentially a Settlement Class Member if you are a Person in the United States to whom AGH mailed a notification that their Private Information may have been impacted in the Data Incident.

 

Only Settlement Class Members are eligible to receive benefits under the settlement. Specifically excluded from the Settlement Class are: (i) AGH and its respective officers and directors; (ii) all members of the Settlement Class who timely and validly request exclusion from the Settlement Class; (iii) the Judge and Magistrate Judge assigned to evaluate the fairness of this settlement; and (iv) any other Person found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be guilty under criminal law of initiating, causing, aiding, or abetting the Data Incident or who pleads nolo contendere to any such charge.

If you are not sure whether you are included in the settlement, you may call (833) 425-4343 with questions. You may also write with questions to:

Settlement Administrator - 83035

c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC

PO Box 5324

New York, NY 10150-5324

The settlement provides that Defendant will fund a Settlement Fund of $2,250,000, which will be used to pay Costs of Settlement Administration, Fee Award and Costs, and Service Awards to Representative Plaintiffs, along with: (a) documented loss payments (b) Cash Award; and (c) Credit Monitoring and Insurance Services (“CMIS”) for Valid Claims.

If there are any monies remaining in the Net Settlement Fund after the distribution of Settlement Payments to participating Settlement Class Members, a “Subsequent Settlement Payment” may be evenly made to all Participating Settlement Class Members who submitted Valid Claims and cashed or deposited their initial Settlement Payment, provided the average Subsequent Settlement Payment is equal to or greater than $10.

Also, as part of the settlement, Defendant either has undertaken or will undertake certain reasonable steps to further secure its systems and environments.

Settlement Class Members who submit a Valid Claim are eligible to receive:

a) documented loss payment: Settlement Class Members may submit a Settlement Claim for a Settlement Payment of up to $5,000 for reimbursement of losses incurred as a result of the Data Incident in the form of a documented loss payment. To receive a documented loss payment, a Settlement Class Member must choose to do so on their Claim Form and submit to the Settlement Administrator the following: (i) a valid Claim Form electing to receive the documented loss payment benefit; (ii) an attestation regarding any actual and unreimbursed documented loss; and (iii) reasonable documentation that demonstrates the documented loss to be reimbursed. Examples of losses incurred as a result of the Data Incident, include but are not limited to: 

• bank fees, long distance phone charges, cell phone charges (only if charged by the minute), data charges (only if charged based on the amount of data used), miscellaneous qualified expenses subject to explanation, such as postage, notary, fax, copying, mileage, and/or gasoline for local travel; 

• fees for credit reports, credit monitoring, and/or other identity theft insurance product purchased between the date of the Data Incident and August 22, 2024; Settlement Class Members submitting claims for Out-of-Pocket Losses must submit documentation supporting their claims by an attestation under penalty of perjury, which is part of this Claim Form.

b) Cash Award: In the alternative of reimbursement for documented losses, Settlement Class Members who submit a Valid Claim may elect a Cash Award. The amount of the Cash Award depends on the total of Post Loss Payment Net Settlement Funds remaining after payment of all other claim types.

c) Credit Monitoring and Insurance Services: In addition to a Cash Award or documented loss payment, each Settlement Class Member who submits a Valid Claim may elect to receive three (3) years of Credit Monitoring and Insurance Services (“CMIS”), including $1,000,000 in identity theft insurance, regardless of whether they also make a Settlement Claim for the Settlement Benefits above at no cost to you.

To receive a Settlement Benefit, you must complete and submit a Settlement Claim online at www.aghdatasettlement.com, or by mail to Settlement Administrator – 83035, c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, PO Box 5324, New York, NY 10150-5324. Read the Claim Form instructions carefully, fill out the Claim Form, provide the required documentation, and submit online by August 22, 2024 or by mail postmarked by August 22, 2024.

The Settlement Administrator will decide whether and to what extent any Settlement Claim made on each Claim Form is valid. The Settlement Administrator may require additional information from you. If you do not provide the additional information in a timely manner, the Settlement Claim will be considered invalid and will not be paid.

The Court will hold a hearing on September 5, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. ET to decide whether to approve the settlement. If the Court approves the settlement, there may be appeals from that decision and resolving them can take time, perhaps more than a year. It also takes time for all of the Claim Forms to be processed. Please be patient.

The Released Persons get a release from all claims covered by this settlement. Thus, if the settlement becomes Final and you do not exclude yourself from the settlement, you will be a Settlement Class Member and you will give up your right to sue AGH and Related Entities, including and each of their past or present parents, subsidiaries, divisions, and related or affiliated entities, and each of their respective predecessors, successors, directors, officers, employees, principals, agents, attorneys, insurers, and reinsurers from all known and unknown claims, demands, damages, causes of action or suits seeking damages, or other legal or equitable relief arising out of or in any way related to the claims asserted or which could have been asserted in this lawsuit relating to the Data Incident. This release is described in the Settlement Agreement, which is available at www.aghdatasettlement.com. If you have any questions, you can talk to the law firms listed in Question 18 for free or you can talk to your own lawyer.

No. If you exclude yourself, you will not be entitled to receive any Settlement Benefits and you will not be bound by any Judgment.

No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up any right to sue any Released Person for the claims that this settlement resolves. You must exclude yourself from the Settlement Class to start your own lawsuit or to be part of any different lawsuit relating to the claims in this case. If you exclude yourself, do not submit a Claim Form to ask for any benefit under the settlement.

To exclude yourself, send a letter that says you want to be excluded from the settlement in Rentschler, et al. v. Atlantic General Hospital Corporation, Case No. 1:23-cv-01005-JRR. The letter or Request for Exclusion must clearly manifest a Person’s intent to opt-out of the Settlement Class.  You must mail your Request for Exclusion request postmarked by the Opt-Out Date July 23, 2024, to:

 

Settlement Administrator - 83035

c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC

PO Box 5324

New York, NY 10150-5324

You can tell the Court that you do not agree with the settlement or some part of it by objecting to the settlement. To object, you must mail your objection to the Settlement Administrator as well as to Settlement Class Counsel, Daniel O. Herrera, Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP, and counsel for AGH, Mullen Coughlin LLC, at the mailing addresses listed below, postmarked by no later than the Objection Date, July 23, 2024:

 

Settlement Administrator	Settlement Class Counsel	Counsel for AGH
Settlement Administrator - 83035 c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC PO Box 5324 New York, NY 10150-5324	Daniel O. Herrera, Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP 135 S. LaSalle Street, Suite 3210 Chicago, IL 60603	Michael Jervis, Mullen Coughlin LLC 426 W. Lancaster Avenue, Suite 200 Devon, PA 19333

 

Your objection must be written and must include all of the following: (i) your full name and address; (ii) the case name and docket number—Rentschler, et al. v. Atlantic General Hospital Corp., Case No. 1:23–CV–01005 (D. Md.);  (iii) a written statement of all grounds for the objection, accompanied by any legal support for the objection you believe applicable; (iv) the identity of any and all counsel representing you in connection with the objection; (v) a statement whether you and/or your counsel will appear at the Final Fairness Hearing; and (vi) your signature or the signature of your duly authorized attorney or other duly authorized representative (if any) representing you in connection with the objection; (vii) proof that you are of the Settlement Class Member (e.g., copy of settlement notice, copy of original notice of the Website Usage Disclosure); (viii) copies of any documents that you wish to submit in support of your position; (ix) a list, including case name, court, and docket number, of all other cases in which you and/or your counsel has filed an objection to any proposed class action settlement in the past three (3) years.

 

Objecting is telling the Court that you do not like the settlement and why you do not think it should be approved. You can object only if you are a Settlement Class Member. Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement Class and do not want to receive any payment from the settlement. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object because you are no longer a Settlement Class Member, and the case no longer affects you. If you submit both a valid objection and a valid Request for Exclusion, you will be deemed to have only submitted the request to be excluded.

Yes. The Court appointed Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP; Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman PLLC; and Kramon & Graham, P.A. as Settlement Class Counsel to represent the Settlement Class in settlement negotiations. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

Settlement Class Counsel will ask the Court for attorneys’ fees of up to 33.3% of the Settlement Fund or $750,000, plus reasonable expenses. Defendant has agreed to pay any Fee Award and Costs up to those amounts, to the extent approved by the Court. This payment for Fee Award and Costs will be made out of the Settlement Fund. Any such award would compensate Settlement Class Counsel for investigating the facts, litigating the case, and negotiating the settlement and will be the only payment to them for their efforts in achieving this settlement and for their risk in undertaking this representation on a wholly contingent basis.

Settlement Class Counsel will also ask the Court for a Service Award up to $1,500 for each Representative Plaintiff.

Any Fee Award and Costs for Settlement Class Counsel, and for Service Awards to the Representative Plaintiffs must be approved by the Court. The Court may award less than the amounts requested. Settlement Class Counsel’s papers in support of final approval of the settlement will be filed no later than July 9, 2024, and their motion for the Fee Award and Costs will be filed no later than July 9, 2024 and will be posted on the Settlement Website

The Court will hold a Final Fairness Hearing at 2:00 p.m. ET on September 5, 2024, at the U.S. District Court located at 101 W. Lombard Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201 in Courtroom 3A as ordered by the Court. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. If there are timely and valid objections, the Court will consider them and will listen to people who have asked to speak at the hearing if such a request has been properly made. The Court will also rule on the request for a Fee Award and Costs, as well as the request for Service Awards for the Representative Plaintiffs. After the hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the settlement.  We do not know how long these decisions will take. The hearing may be moved to a different date or time without additional notice, so Settlement Class Counsel recommends checking the Settlement Website www.aghdatasettlement.com, or calling (833) 425-4343.

No. Settlement Class Counsel will present the Settlement Agreement to the Court. You or your own lawyer are welcome to attend at your expense, but you are not required to do so. If you send an objection, you do not have to visit the Court to talk about it. As long as you filed your written objection on time with the Court and mailed it according to the instructions provided in Question 16, the Court will consider it.

You may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Final Fairness Hearing. To do so, you must file an objection according to the instructions in Question 16, including all the information required. Your objection and notice of intent to appear must be mailed to the Settlement Administrator, Settlement Class Counsel and counsel for AGH, postmarked no later than July 23, 2024.

If you do nothing, you will not get any money from this settlement. If the settlement is granted final approval and the Judgment becomes Final, you will not be able to start a lawsuit, continue with a lawsuit, or be part of any other lawsuit against Defendant or the other Released Persons based on any of the Released Claims.

This notice summarizes the settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement itself.  A copy of the Settlement Agreement is available at Documents section (Important Documents (aghdatasettlement.com). You may also call or email the Settlement Administrator with questions or to receive a Claim Form at (833) 425-4343. To change your address you may write to the Settlement Administrator at Settlement Administrator – 83035, c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, PO Box 5324, New York, NY 10150-5324 or visit www.aghdatasettlement.com.  

You may update your contact information by contacting Kroll at (833) 425-4343. For more information, please visit www.aghdatasettlement.com