Planned Parenthood Los Angeles $6,000,000 Settlement for Data Breach

Planned Parenthood Los Angeles has agreed to pay $6,000,000 to settle a class action lawsuit for alleged failure to adequately protect patient information, resulting in a data breach. This settlement provides various benefits to affected individuals, including credit monitoring, identity theft protection, and cash payments.

Who Benefits? Individuals who received a notice from Planned Parenthood Los Angeles in or around November 2021 about the data breach are eligible.

How much can I get? Eligible claimants can receive three years of credit monitoring and identity theft insurance, cash payments for documented time and out-of-pocket costs, and a statutory payment depending on the participation rate.

Important Dates

• Deadline to File a Claim: July 6, 2024
• Fairness Hearing: August 8, 2024

Can I Claim an Award?

If you received a postcard or email notice of this settlement, you have been identified as a Settlement Class Member. Specifically, you are a Settlement Class Member if you received a notice from Planned Parenthood Los Angeles in or around November 2021 concerning the data breach. This includes approximately 409,437 patients whose personally identifiable information and protected health information may have been accessed, viewed, and/or acquired by unauthorized parties.

The class members are those who were potentially affected by the data breach that occurred between October 9 and October 17, 2021. The information compromised includes names, addresses, insurance information, dates of birth, and clinical information such as diagnosis, procedure, and/or prescription information.

Who is Excluded?

The settlement does not include any judge, justice, or judicial officer presiding over this matter and the members of their immediate families and judicial staff; the Defendant, any entity in which the Defendant has a controlling interest, and the Defendant’s officers, directors, legal representatives, successors, subsidiaries, and assigns; and any individual who timely and validly requests to be excluded from the Settlement Class and their successors or assigns.

What Awards Can I Claim?

The settlement provides several benefits to the Settlement Class Members:

First, Settlement Class Members can receive three years of comprehensive Credit Monitoring and Insurance Services through TransUnion. This includes unlimited updates to your TransUnion Credit Report and Score, email updates of critical changes, instant email alerts for credit applications in your name, the ability to lock and unlock your TransUnion and Equifax Credit Reports, personalized debt analysis, credit score trending, score simulator, unlimited toll-free access to ID theft specialists, and up to $1,000,000 in ID Theft insurance.

Second, Settlement Class Members may qualify for a cash “Statutory Payment.” Each Participating Settlement Class Member electing to receive a Statutory Payment will receive a check from the Settlement Fund for the claims brought under the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, Cal. Civ. Code § 56 et seq. The check amount will depend on the participation rate for the settlement and will be a pro rata share of the remaining Net Settlement Fund after all other Settlement Benefits have been paid.

Third, Settlement Class Members can receive a cash payment of up to $210 for documented time spent remedying or addressing issues fairly traceable to the data breach. This includes time spent on identity fraud or theft, fraud, bank fees, card cancellations, credit card fees, late fees, declined payment fees, overdraft fees, returned check fees, customer service fees, card cancellation or replacement fees, credit-related costs associated with purchasing credit reports, credit monitoring or identity theft protection, placing a freeze or alert on credit reports, replacing a driver’s license, state identification card, or social security number.

Fourth, Settlement Class Members can receive a cash payment of up to $10,000 for documented losses and/or out-of-pocket costs fairly traceable to the data breach. This includes unreimbursed costs or losses incurred on or after October 9, 2021, such as late fees, declined payment fees, overdraft fees, returned check fees, customer service fees, card cancellation or replacement fees, credit-related costs associated with purchasing credit reports, credit monitoring or identity theft protection, costs to place a freeze or alert on credit reports, and costs to replace a driver’s license, state identification card, or social security number.

Products or Services Subject to the Settlement

The settlement covers the following products and services:

• Credit Monitoring and Insurance Services through TransUnion
• Cash payments for Statutory Payment
• Cash payments for Documented Time
• Cash payments for Fraud/Out-of-Pocket Costs

Is Proof Required to Claim the Reward?

Yes, proof is required to claim certain rewards. For the Statutory Payment, no additional proof is required beyond submitting a valid Claim Form. For Documented Time, claimants must state the actual time spent remedying issues fairly traceable to the data breach, swear that the information provided is true and accurate under penalty of perjury, and provide reasonable documentation such as credit card statements, bank statements, invoices, telephone records, and receipts. For Fraud/Out-of-Pocket Costs, claimants must sign the attestation regarding the information provided and include reasonable documentation such as credit card statements, bank statements, invoices, telephone records, and receipts.

How to Claim Your Award

To claim your award, you can submit a Claim Form online at . If you received a postcard notice by mail or an email notice, use your Claim Number and Last Name, located directly above your name, to file your Claim Form online. If you lost or do not know your Claim Number, email info@pplasettlement.com to obtain it. The deadline to complete and submit a Claim Form is July 6, 2024.

If you prefer not to provide your email address on the tear-away Claim Form mailed to you, you may instead submit a Claim Form online or mail a Claim Form to the Settlement Administrator. Instructions for filling out a claim for Credit Monitoring and Insurance Services, Statutory Payment, Documented Time, and Fraud/Out-of-Pocket Costs are included on the Claim Form.

$6,000,000 Settlement

The total settlement amount is $6,000,000. This fund will be used to provide three years of Credit Monitoring and Insurance Services to each Settlement Class Member who submits a valid claim, a cash payment for Statutory Payment if applicable, an additional cash payment of up to $210 to each Settlement Class Member who submits a valid claim for Documented Time, and a cash payment of up to $10,000 to each Settlement Class Member who submits a valid claim for Fraud/Out-of-Pocket Costs.

Any court-approved attorneys’ fees and costs, service awards to the Class Representatives, taxes due on any interest earned by the Settlement Fund, if necessary, and any notice and settlement administration expenses will be paid out of the Settlement Fund. The balance, or Net Settlement Fund, will be used to pay for the above benefits.

Why is There a Class Action Settlement?

In November 2021, Planned Parenthood Los Angeles announced that between October 9 and October 17, 2021, unauthorized parties potentially accessed, viewed, and/or acquired copies of some documents on PPLA’s systems. These documents may have contained the personally identifiable information and protected health information of approximately 409,437 patients, including their names, addresses, insurance information, dates of birth, and clinical information such as diagnosis, procedure, and/or prescription information.

The plaintiffs claim that Planned Parenthood Los Angeles failed to adequately protect their information, resulting in the data breach. Planned Parenthood Los Angeles denies any wrongdoing, and no court or other entity has made any judgment or other determination of any wrongdoing or that the law has been violated. By entering into the settlement, Planned Parenthood Los Angeles is not admitting any wrongdoing.