Your financial institution may have issued payment cards identified in one of the alerts (or a similar document) sent out by the card brands (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or JCB) related to the Cyber Attack.

The Court authorized this notice because you have a right to know about your financial institution’s rights under a proposed class action settlement before the Court decides whether to approve the Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement, and after objections and appeals are resolved, a Settlement Administrator appointed by the Court will make the cash payments that the Settlement allows.

This package explains the lawsuit, Settlement, your financial institution’s rights, what benefits are available, who is eligible for them, and how to get them.

The Court in charge of the case is the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, and the case is known as Veridian Credit Union v. Eddie Bauer LLC, No. 2:17-cv-00356. The financial institution that sued is called the “Plaintiff,” and the company it sued, Eddie Bauer, is the “Defendant.”

The lawsuit, Veridian Credit Union v. Eddie Bauer LLC, No. 2:17-cv-00356 (W.D. Wash.), alleges that Eddie Bauer is legally responsible for the Cyber Attack and asserts claims for negligence and violation of RCW 19.255.020 and the Washington Consumer Protection Act, RCW 19.86. The financial institution seeks to recover damages in the lawsuit for the expense of payment card reissuance, amounts paid to cover fraudulent payment card charges, and other costs allegedly incurred as a result of the Cyber Attack. Eddie Bauer denies any wrongdoing.

In a class action, one or more entities called “class representatives” sue on behalf of themselves and other entities with similar claims. All of these entities together are the “class” or “class members.” One court resolves the issues for all class members, except for those who exclude themselves from the settlement class.

The Court has not decided in favor of Plaintiff or Eddie Bauer. Instead, both sides, with the assistance of a mediator, agreed to the Settlement. The Settlement is not an admission that Eddie Bauer did something wrong, but rather a compromise to end the lawsuit. By agreeing to settle, both sides avoid the costs, risks, and uncertainties of a trial and related appeals, while providing benefits to members of the Settlement Class. The Settlement Class Representative and the attorneys for the Settlement Class think the Settlement is best for all class members.

If your financial institution is a Settlement Class Member and does nothing, it will remain a part of the Settlement Class, but will not get any payments from the Settlement. And, unless your financial institution excludes itself, it will not be able to sue Eddie Bauer about the claims being resolved through this Settlement ever again. See the Settlement for more details about the releases.

Your financial institution is a member of the Settlement Class and affected by the Settlement if:

• It is a financial institution, bank, credit union, or other entity in the United States (including its Territories and the District of Columbia); and
• It issued one or more payment card (including debit and credit cards) that was identified as having been at risk as a result of the Cyber Attack in an alert or similar document by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or JCB, including: (i) in an alert in the Visa US-2016-0665 series (e.g., US-2016-0665a-PA, US-2016-0665b-PA, US-2016-0665c-PA, US-2016-0665d-PA, US-2016-0665e-IC, US-2016-0665f-IC, US-2016-0665g-IC, US-2016-0665h-IC); (ii) in an alert in the MasterCard ADC001253-16 series; (iii) in an alert in the Discover DCA-USA-2016-6710 series; or (iv) in an alert or similar document by JCB similar to the foregoing Visa and MasterCard alerts.

Specifically excluded from the Settlement Class is the judge presiding over this matter and any members of his judicial staff, Eddie Bauer, and persons who timely and validly request exclusion from the Settlement Class.

If your financial institution excludes itself from the Settlement, it is no longer part of the Settlement Class and will no longer be eligible to receive any of the Settlement benefits. This process of excluding your financial institution is also referred to as “opting-out” of the Settlement.

If you are still not sure whether your financial institution is included, you can ask for free help.  You can call 888-335-2947 or email us at info@eddiebauerdatabreachsettlement.com.com for more information. Or you can fill out and return the Claim Form available here, to see if you qualify.

Eddie Bauer has agreed to pay, on a claims-made basis, at least $1,000,000, and up to $2,800,000, into an Escrow Account out of which the Settlement Administrator will make payments to eligible Settlement Class Members. A Settlement Class Member who submits a valid claim will receive $2.00 for each eligible payment card it issued, subject to a pro rata increase if the total value of eligible claims submitted is less than $1,000,000. In addition, Eddie Bauer has agreed to continue to maintain compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, for which Eddie Bauer has expended, and expects to expend, approximately $5,000,000. Eddie Bauer also has agreed to pay up to an additional $2,000,000 to cover the Costs of Settlement Administration, which may include any attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses and Service Award payments that are approved by the Court.

If your financial institution is eligible to participate in the Settlement and does not “opt-out” of the Settlement, it may be eligible for benefits under the Settlement. If your financial institution issued any payment cards (including debit and credit cards) that were identified as having been at risk as a result of the Cyber Attack in an alert (or similar document) by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or JCB, it may be eligible for a payment from the Escrow Fund. Eddie Bauer has agreed to pay, on a claims-made basis, at least $1,000,000, and up to $2,800,000, into an Escrow Account out of which the Settlement Administrator will make payments to eligible Settlement Class Members.

All Settlement Class Members who file a valid claim are eligible to receive a cash payment from the Settlement Fund per each payment card (including debit and credit cards) that was identified as having been at risk as a result of the Cyber Attack in an alert (or similar document) by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or JCB. You are not required to submit any documentation or evidence of your financial institution’s losses to receive a payment. A Settlement Class Member, who submits a valid claim, will receive $2.00 for each eligible payment card it issued, subject to a pro rata increase if the total value of eligible claims submitted is less than $1,000,000.

To qualify for a payment, you must validly complete and submit a Claim Form, which is included with the Notice.  You may also get a PDF of a Claim Form here or obtain access to an online Claim Form here.  All Settlement Class Members that wish to obtain compensation must complete and submit the Claim Form. No documentation of losses is required.

To properly complete and timely submit a Claim Form, you should read the instructions carefully, include all information required by the Claim Form, sign it, and either submit the signed Claim Form electronically here by October 10, 2019 or mail it to the Settlement Administrator postmarked no later than October 10, 2019 at the following address:

Eddie Bauer Data Breach Settlement
c/o Analytics Consulting LLC, Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2005
Chanhassen, MN 55317-2005

The Settlement Administrator will review your claim to determine the amount of your financial institution’s payment.

The Court will hold a hearing on October 25, 2019, at 9:00 a.m. to decide whether to approve the Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement, there may be appeals. It is always uncertain whether these appeals can be resolved and resolving them takes time, perhaps more than a year. Payments to Settlement Class Members will be made after the Settlement is finally approved and any appeals, or other required proceedings, have been completed, as set forth in the Settlement.  You may visit the Settlement Status section of this website for updates on the progress of the Settlement.  Please be patient.

Unless you exclude your financial institution from the Settlement, your financial institution cannot sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against, Eddie Bauer or Defendant’s Released Persons (as defined in the Settlement) relating to the Cyber Attack. The specific claims your financial institution is giving up against Eddie Bauer are described in the Settlement. The terms of the release are described in §IX of the Settlement. Read it carefully. The Settlement is available here.

If you have any questions, you can talk to the law firms listed here for free, or you can, of course, talk to your own lawyer if you have questions about what this means.

If your financial institution wants to keep its rights to sue Eddie Bauer based on claims this Settlement resolves, your financial institution must take steps to exclude itself from the Settlement Class (see Information available here).

Instructions on how to exclude your financial institution from the Settlement, or “opt out,” are available here.

No. Unless you exclude your financial institution from the Settlement, your financial institution gives up any right to sue Eddie Bauer (as further detailed in the Settlement) for the claims that this Settlement resolves. If you have a pending lawsuit, speak to your lawyer in that case immediately. Your financial institution must exclude itself from this Settlement to continue its own lawsuit. Remember, the exclusion deadline is September 10, 2019.

No. If you exclude your financial institution, do not send in a Claim Form asking for a payment.

Yes. The Court appointed the following law firms to represent your financial institution and other members of the Settlement Class: Carlson Lynch LLP, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP, in New York, New York. You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

The law firms representing Plaintiff and the Settlement Class have not yet received any payment to compensate them for the time and expenses and financial risk that they undertook when they agreed to represent Plaintiff on a contingent basis, which means that they would receive a fee only if the lawsuit was successful. The lawyers intend to ask the Court to approve an award of up to $2,000,000 to cover: (i) the Costs of Settlement Administration; (ii) reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses; and (iii) a service award of up to $10,000 to the Settlement Class Representative for the efforts that it has expended on behalf of the Settlement Class (the “Administration and Fee Amount”).

Eddie Bauer has agreed not to object to the lawyers’ motion to the Court to seek an Administration and Fee Amount of up to $2,000,000, and Eddie Bauer will pay any Court-approved Administration and Fee Amount in addition to any cash distributions that are made to Settlement Class Members.

The Court will determine whether to approve the amount of fees and expenses requested by Plaintiff’s lawyers and the proposed Service Award to the Settlement Class Representative at the Final Approval Hearing scheduled for October 25, 2019. Plaintiff’s lawyers will file an application for fees, costs, and expenses and a service award no later than September 20, 2019. The application will be available here or you can request a copy contacting the Settlement Administrator.

If your financial institution is a Settlement Class Member, you can object to the Settlement if you do not think it is fair, reasonable, or adequate. You can give reasons why you think the Court should not approve it. The Court will consider your views. If you object to the Settlement and seek to exclude your financial institution, your financial institution will be deemed to have excluded itself.

Instructions on how to object to the Settlement are available here.

Objecting is simply telling the Court that you don’t like something about the Settlement. You can object to the benefits provided by the Settlement or other terms of the Settlement only if your financial institution stays in the Settlement Class. Excluding your financial institution or “opting out” is telling the Court that you don’t want to be included in the Settlement Class. If your financial institution excludes itself, you have no basis to object to the Settlement and related releases because the Settlement no longer affects you.

The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on October 25, 2019, in Courtroom Suite 14106 before U.S. District Judge James L. Robart of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, United States Courthouse, 700 Stewart Street, Seattle, Washington 98101. This hearing date and time may be moved. Please refer to the Settlement Status page for notice of any changes.

By no later than September 20, 2019, Class Counsel shall file a motion for final approval of the Settlement and a motion for attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses and a service award. The deadline to file an objection and any response to Class Counsel’s motions is no later than October 4, 2019. By no later than October 18, 2019, responses shall be filed, if any, to any filings by objectors, and any replies in support of final approval of the Settlement and/or Class Counsel’s application for attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses and a service award shall be filed.

At the Final Approval Hearing, the Court will consider, among other things, whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate; how much Plaintiff’s lawyers will receive for attorneys’ fees and expenses; and whether to approve a service award to the Settlement Class Representative. If there are objections, the Court will consider them. The Court will listen to people at the hearing who file in advance a timely notice of their intention to appear (see instructions here).  At or after the Final Approval Hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the Settlement. There is no deadline by which the Court must make its decision.

No. Class Counsel will answer questions the Court may have. You are welcome, however, to come at your own expense. If you submit an objection, you do not have to come to the Court to talk about it. As long as you submitted your objection timely and in accordance with the requirements for objecting, as outlined in the Settlement (see instructions here), the Court will consider it. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend, but it is not necessary.

If your financial institution is a Settlement Class Member and does nothing, it will remain a part of the Settlement Class, but will not get any payments from the Settlement. And, unless your financial institution excludes itself, it will not be able to sue Eddie Bauer about the claims being resolved through this Settlement ever again. See the Settlement for more details about the releases.

The Class Notice summarizes the Settlement. More details are in the Settlement itself. You can get a copy of the Settlement here or from the Settlement Administrator by calling toll-free 888-335-2947.