Berry, Dunn, McNeil & Parker, LLC (BerryDunn) opted to negotiate a class action lawsuit that claimed negligence for not stopping a data breach that impacted over 1.1 million people. BerryDunn has consented to set up a $7.5 million settlement fund to pay for attorneys’ fees, legal expenses, class members’ expenditures, and claims.
Accounting and consultancy company BerryDunn in Portland, ME, offers services to many industries, such as health data analytics services to medical companies, health insurance companies, government agencies, and healthcare policy organizations. On September 14, 2023, the BerryDunn Health Analytics Practice Group received notification from its partner Reliable Networks of Maine, a managed service provider, about a systems breach.
The investigation revealed that hackers got access to the personal data and protected health information (PHI) of 1,107,354 people, such as their names, addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers, medical insurance policy numbers, Medicaid or Medicare numbers, passport numbers, state or governmental ID numbers, and medical data. BerryDunn Health Analytics Practice Group sent notification letters to the impacted people in April 2024 and offered free identity theft protection and credit monitoring services to those people.
Individuals impacted by the data breach filed lawsuits. However, these lawsuits were combined into one lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, the In re: Berry, Dunn, McNeil & Parker Data Security Incident Litigation. BerryDunn opted to resolve the lawsuit without admitting wrongdoing and liability to avoid the risks and expenses linked to ongoing litigation.
Based on the settlement terms, class members could file a claim for about $5,000 in refund for recorded losses sustained because of the data breach. Class members who didn’t suffer any losses or don’t want to file a claim could choose to get a $100 cash payment which is going to be paid pro rata after deducting the costs, claims, and expenditures from the settlement fund. Individuals may receive higher or lower than $100 cash payments depending on the claims obtained. Besides the claim and cash payments, BerryDunn also offered class members 3 years of free identity theft protection and credit monitoring services, worth $270.
The court has given preliminary approval of the settlement. Eligible individuals can file claims on or before May 22, 2025. People who want to object to or exclude themselves from the settlement should do so on or before May 7, 2025. The schedule of the final approval hearing is June 6, 2025.