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The $600 million Floridacentral Credit Union in Tampa, Fla., has recently agreed to settle a class action lawsuit for $505,000 to resolve a 2024 member data breach.
Last October, Floridacentral reported in public filings with the Maine's Attorney General that 36,479 persons may have been affected by a security breach incident that involved its email system, which may have exposed the personally identifiable information (PII) of their members.
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The credit union, which serves 42,704 members, discovered the suspicious activity in one employee’s email account on July 31 but the actual data breach occurred three months earlier, in April.
Last May, Adelaida Cucuta filed a class action lawsuit in Florida’s Hillsborough County Court against Floridacentral, claiming it failed to prevent the data breach and to protect members’ PII.
In the settlement agreement, Floridacentral stated it does acknowledge, admit to, or concede to any of the allegations from the class action lawsuit, and that it disclaims and denies any fault, liability or wrongdoing. Additionally, the credit union said it decided to enter into this agreement to resolve all controversies and disputes arising out of the lawsuit’s allegations and to avoid litigation costs, distractions and disruption to its business operations associated with further litigation.
The credit union has agreed to deposit $505,000 into a settlement fund that will cover claims.
Under the proposed settlement agreement, members can receive a $100 payment or a larger payment of up to $5,000 if members can document those losses such as fraudulent charges, identity theft expenses, credit monitoring expenses and more.
All members will be eligible to receive credit monitoring services for three years.
Cucuta, who filed the lawsuit, will receive a service award not to exceed $2,500 for her time and work as the class action representative.
The lawsuit’s attorneys who represented the class action members will receive payment of 33% of the $505,000 settlement fund, plus reimbursement of costs of not more than $5,000.
A final approval hearing for the settlement is scheduled for June 16.
For additional information about the settlement, visit floridacentralcreditunionsettlement.com.
Peter Strozniak can be reached at [email protected].
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Peter Strozniak
Credit Union Times reporter covering credit union operations, fraud, M&As, leagues, business continuity, and breaking news.
