$7M Brightline Data Security Settlement Offers Cash Payouts, Credit Monitoring

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Brightline, Inc. has agreed to pay a $7 million settlement to resolve a proposed class action lawsuit filed over a January 2023 data breach of the Fortra file-transfer software that allegedly compromised the sensitive information of roughly one million people whose data was in Brightline’s custody.

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The $7 million Brightline settlement, which was preliminarily approved by the court on September 24, 2024, covers all United States residents who received notice about the Brightline data breach indicating that their private information may have been impacted in the incident. 

The official Brightline data security settlement website can be found at BrightlineDataSecuritySettlement.com. 

To file a Brightline settlement claim form, head to this page. To fill out and submit a claim online, you will need the Unique ID and PIN found on the postcard settlement notice you should have received in the mail. If you did not receive a postcard notice or lost yours, contact the settlement administrator. You may also print out a PDF claim form to submit by mail here. 

Brightline data breach settlement claim forms must be submitted online or by mail by February 26, 2025.

Related Reading: IntelliHartx Data Breach Lawsuits Added to Fortra Cyberattack MDL 

A class member covered by the Brightline settlement can elect to receive either a flat cash payout of $100 or cash compensation of up to $5,000 with reasonable documentation of losses related to the data breach. 

In addition to the foregoing settlement benefits, California residents may also elect to receive a statutory payout of $100, the website states. 

In addition to these settlement benefits, all Brightline class members may submit a claim for three years of free credit monitoring, or one additional year of credit monitoring for those who already elected to receive two free years of monitoring offered by Brightline. 

According to the settlement website, all settlement payouts and benefits are subject to increase or decrease on a pro rata basis depending on the total number of valid claims filed and the total amount of cash payments, California statutory awards and credit monitoring claimed through the deal. 

Related Reading: What is multidistrict litigation (MDL)?

A final approval hearing for the Brightline data security settlement is set for February 10, 2025. It is typically after the court grants final approval to a class action settlement, and any appeals are resolved, that payouts and other settlement benefits and rebates begin to go out to eligible class members. 

The initial class action lawsuit against Brightline, a virtual behavioral healthcare provider, alleged that the company failed to protect the private information of approximately one million people from unauthorized disclosure as a result of a cyberattack on the Fortra GoAnywhere MFT application used by Brightline.

The Fortra data breach MDL was created in February 2024 as a means to streamline the litigation over the cyberattack. 

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