Fidelity clients eligible to participate in a $2.5 million settlement over a 2024 data breach have until June 26 to object or opt out of the agreement.
The settlement, which the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts preliminarily approved in March, arose from a class-action lawsuit and calls for Fidelity to establish a fund and to set up or keep enhanced business practices.
All class members may claim a pro rata cash payment, which is expected to be $100 but may be higher or lower, depending on the total claims filed, according to the settlement information website. Clients with documented monetary losses may be reimbursed for up to $5,000.
Notifications were mailed to class members April 27. Following the opt-out and objection deadlines, the court has scheduled a final approval hearing for July 9. Class members have until July 27 to submit a claim form.
In the agreement, Fidelity denied every allegation against it in the lawsuit but said it decided to settle given the risks inherent in litigation. The class includes about 155,000 individuals or joint account holders.
In addition to pro rata payments or reimbursement, class members are entitled to two years of credit monitoring and identity theft protection services, $1 million in fraud and identity theft insurance, and, for California residents, $50 in consumer privacy law payments.
The Boston-based asset manager reported in October 2024 that a hacker had set up two accounts and used them to obtain personal information for nearly 77,100 clients. The breach occurred from Aug. 17-19, 2024.
The lawsuit, filed within days, contended that thanks to Fidelity's "failure to protect the breach victims' personal information, cyber criminals were able to steal everything they could possibly need to commit nearly every conceivable form of identity theft and wreak havoc on the financial and personal lives of potentially millions of individuals."
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