Frequently Asked Questions

This is a Court-authorized Notice of a proposed settlement (the “Settlement” or “Settlement Agreement”) in a class action lawsuit, Kleeberg, et. al. v. St. Joseph’s Candler Health System, Inc., Civil Action No. STCV21-01638 (the “Litigation”), pending in the State Court of Chatham County, Georgia. The Settlement would resolve the Litigation brought on behalf of Persons who allege that their information was impacted by the Data Incident announced by St. Joseph’s Candler Health System, Inc. (“SJ/C”) that occurred between December 18, 2020, and June 17, 2021, (the “Data Incident”). The Court has granted preliminary approval of the Settlement Agreement and has conditionally certified the Settlement Class for purposes of settlement only. This Notice explains the nature of the class action lawsuit, the terms of the Settlement Agreement, and the legal rights and obligations of members of the Settlement Class. Please read the instructions and explanations below so that you can better understand your legal rights.

Beginning in or around August 2021, SJ/C announced that it had been the target of the Data Incident, which may have impacted the information of certain patients and employees. SJ/C provided notice to individuals whose Private Information may have been impacted beginning on December 18, 2020. The Litigation alleges that SJ/C failed to adequately protect the information of the potentially affected individuals, and asserts various claims, including negligence, breach of implied contract and breach of fiduciary duty. SJ/C disputes these claims and denies any wrongdoing.

A class action is a lawsuit in which an individual called a “Class Representative” brings a single lawsuit on behalf of other people who have similar claims. All of these people together are a “Settlement Class” or “Settlement Class”. When a class action is settled, the Settlement, which must be approved by the Court, resolves the issues for the Settlement Class, except for those who exclude themselves from the Settlement.

To resolve this matter without the expense, delay, and uncertainties of litigation, the Settling Parties reached a Settlement that resolves all claims by the Settlement Class related to the Data Incident. If approved by the Court, the Settlement Agreement requires SJ/C to provide certain compensation to Settlement Class Members who submit Valid Claims. The Settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing by SJ/C and does not imply that there has been, or would be, any finding that SJ/C violated the law.

The Court already has preliminarily approved the Settlement Agreement. Nevertheless, because the settlement of a class action determines the rights of all Settlement Class Members, the Court overseeing this Litigation must give Final Approval to the Settlement Agreement before it can be effective. The Court has conditionally certified the Settlement Class for settlement purposes only, so that Settlement Class Members can be given this Notice and the opportunity to exclude themselves from the Settlement Class, and to voice their support or opposition to Final Approval of the Settlement Agreement. If the Court does not give Final Approval to the Settlement Agreement, or if it is terminated by the Settling Parties, the Settlement Agreement will be void, and the Litigation will proceed as if there had been no Settlement and no certification of the Settlement Class.

You are a Settlement Class Member if your Private Information was impacted by the Data Incident, and you were sent a notice of the Data Incident from or on behalf of SJ/C.

SJ/C has agreed to provide the following benefits to Settlement Class Members under the Settlement, which are two-part:

1. Claims Made Benefit: All Settlement Class Members who file Valid Claims for Out-of-Pocket Losses may receive reimbursement up to $5,000 (per individual) for actual, documented, unreimbursed monetary losses that were more likely than not, caused by the Data Incident and were incurred on or after December 18, 2020, if the Settlement Class Member made reasonable efforts to seek reimbursement for the loss. This reimbursement is available for losses that are not already covered by another reimbursement category in the Settlement Agreement and are subject to a $4.7 million aggregate cap and other terms and conditions in the Settlement Agreement.
2. Common Fund Benefit: Separately, Settlement Class Members may submit a claim for time spent dealing with the Data Incident, at $25/hour, for up to three (3) hours ("Lost Time"). Alternatively, Settlement Class members may submit a claim for a cash payment of $50 in lieu of Lost Time and Out-of-Pocket Losses. The Lost Time and cash payment benefits are subject to a $3 million aggregate cap and other terms and conditions in the Settlement Agreement.

Additional details about the terms, conditions, and limits for these benefits can be found in the Settlement Agreement and at the Settlement Website the "Document" section.

Additionally, the attorneys who brought this lawsuit and who were appointed by the Court to represent the Settlement Class (Class Counsel listed below) will ask the Court to award them a Fee Award and Expenses  up to 35% of the Settlement Fund ($1,050,000) and costs and expenses up to $50,000 for the time, expense, and effort expended in investigating the facts, litigating the case, and negotiating the Settlement Agreement, and they will ask the Court to award the Class Representatives a service award of up to $2,000 each, if and as permitted by the law, for their time, effort, and service in this matter.

Unless you exclude yourself from this Settlement, you will be considered a Settlement Class Member, which means you give up your right to file or continue a Litigation against SJ/C and any other Released Persons, relating to the Data Incident. Giving up your legal claims is called a release. The precise terms of the release are in the Settlement Agreement, which is available on the Settlement Website. Unless you formally exclude yourself from this Settlement, you will release your claims. Each releasor is given the opportunity to read and review the following provision of California Civil Code Section 1542: 

A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release, which if known by him or her must have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party.

Your release shall apply according to their terms, regardless of any provision of law or legal authority similar to California Civil Code Section 1542 identified above. If you have any questions, you can talk for free to the Class Counsel attorneys identified below who have been appointed by the Court to represent the Settlement Class, or you are welcome to talk to any other lawyer of your choosing at your own expense.

To accept the Settlement, you may submit a Claim Form by May 1, 2025. You can obtain a Claim Form here and you may submit your Claim Form online at the here or to the Claims Administrator via U.S. Mail at SJ/C Claims Administrator – 83092, c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, PO Box 5324, New York, NY 10150-5324. If the Settlement is approved by the Court and your claim is deemed valid pursuant to the terms of the Settlement, a payment will be sent to you. Submitting a valid and timely Claim Form, with any required supporting documentation, is the only way to receive monetary compensation from this Settlement.

You may exclude yourself from the Settlement. If you do so, you will not receive any benefits from the Settlement, but you will not release any claims you may have against SJ/C and the Released Persons and are free to pursue whatever legal rights you may have by pursuing your own lawsuit at your own risk and expense. To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must mail a signed letter to the Claims Administrator at SJ/C Claims Administrator – 83092, c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, PO Box 5324, New York, NY 10150-5324 by April 1, 2025. The opt-out request must state that you wish to exclude yourself from this Settlement and must include the name and case number of this Litigation, as well as your full name, address, telephone number, and signature, and a statement that you wish to be excluded.

If you wish to object to the Settlement, you must submit your objection in writing to the Clerk of the Court of the State Court of Chatham County, State of Georgia, 133 Montgomery St. #501, Savannah, GA 31401. The objection must be received by the Court no later than April 1, 2025. You must also send a copy of your objection to the attorneys for all Parties to the Litigation, including Class Counsel (John A. Yanchunis, MORGAN & MORGAN COMPLEX LITIGATION GROUP, 201 N. Franklin St., 7th Floor, Tampa, Florida 33602, Gary M. Klinger, MILBERG COLEMAN BRYSON PHILLIPS GROSSMAN, 227 W. Monroe Street, Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60606, and MaryBeth V. Gibson, GIBSON CONSUMER LAW GROUP, LLC, 4279 Roswell Road, Suite 208-108, Atlanta, GA 30342), as well as the attorneys representing SJ/C (Christopher A. Wiech, Chelsea M. Lamb, Georgia L. Bennett of BAKER & HOSTETLER LLP, 1170 Peachtree Street, Suite 2400, Atlanta, GA 30309-7676), postmarked no later than April 1, 2025. Any objection to the proposed Settlement must include: (a) the title of the case; (b) the objector’s name, address, and telephone number; (c) all legal and factual bases for any objection; (d) copies of any documents that the objector wants the Court to consider; and (e) a list of all other objections submitted by you, or on your behalf, to any class action settlement in the United States in the previous three years. If you hire an attorney in connection with making an objection, that attorney must also file with the Court a notice of appearance by the objection deadline of April 1, 2025. If you do hire your own attorney, you will be solely responsible for payment of any fees and expenses the attorney incurs on your behalf. If you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you cannot file an objection. 

You may appear at the Final Approval Hearing, which is to be held, in person or by remote videoconference means (e.g., by Zoom), on May 13, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. ET.., in the State Court of Chatham County, State of Georgia, 133 Montgomery St. #501, Savannah, GA 31401, in person or through counsel to show cause of why the proposed Settlement Agreement should not be approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate. Attendance at the hearing is not necessary; however, Persons wishing to be heard orally in opposition to the approval of the Settlement, the request for attorneys’ fees and expenses, and/or the request for a service award to the Class Representative are required to indicate in their written objection their intention to appear at the hearing on their own behalf or through counsel and to identify the names of any witnesses they intend to call to testify at the Final Approval Hearing, as well as any exhibits they intend to introduce at the Final Approval Hearing.

If you do nothing, you will receive no benefits from the Settlement, but you will be bound by all Court orders and judgments. Unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you will not be able to file or continue a lawsuit against SJ/C and/or the Released Persons regarding any of the Released Claims. Submitting a valid and timely Claim Form is the only way to receive benefits from this Settlement.

The Settling Parties cannot predict exactly when (or whether) the Court will give Final Approval of the Settlement Agreement, so please be patient. However, if the Court gives Final Approval to the Settlement, eligible Settlement Class Members who submitted a Valid Claim will be paid as soon as possible after the Court order becomes Final. If there is an appeal of the Settlement, payment may be delayed. Updated information about the case is available at here, or you can call the Claims Administrator at (833) 876-6312, or contact Class Counsel at the information provided Question 14.

The Court has already given preliminary approval to the Settlement Agreement. A final hearing on the Settlement, called a Final Approval Hearing, will be held to determine the fairness of the Settlement Agreement. At the Final Approval Hearing, the Court will also consider whether to make Final the certification of the Settlement Class for settlement purposes, hear any proper objections and arguments to the Settlement Agreement, as well as any requests for a Fee Award and Expenses of attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses and for a service award to the Class Representatives that may be sought by the Class Counsel. The Court will hold the Final Approval Hearing, in person or by remote videoconference means (e.g., by Zoom), on May 13, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. ET, in., of the State Court of Chatham County, State of Georgia, 133 Montgomery St. #501, Savannah, GA 31401.

If the Settlement Agreement is given Final Approval, the Court will not make any determination as to the merits of the claims against SJ/C or its defenses to those claims. Instead, the Settlement Agreement’s terms will take effect, and the Litigation will be dismissed on the merits with prejudice. Both sides have agreed to the Settlement in order to achieve an early and certain resolution to the Litigation, in a manner that provides specific and valuable benefits to the Settlement Class Members. 

If the Court does not approve the Settlement Agreement, if it approves the Settlement Agreement and the approval is reversed on appeal, or if the Settlement Agreement does not become Final for some other reason, the Settlement Class Members will receive no benefits from the Settlement Agreement. Plaintiffs, SJ/C, and all of the Settlement Class Members will be in the same position as they were prior to the execution of the Settlement Agreement, and the Settlement Agreement will have no legal effect, no class will remain certified (conditionally or otherwise), and the Plaintiffs and SJ/C will continue to litigate the Litigation. If the Settlement Agreement is not approved, there can be no assurance that the Settlement Class will recover more than is provided in the Settlement Agreement, or indeed anything at all.

The Court has approved the following attorneys to represent the Settlement Class as “Class Counsel”. You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer instead, you may hire one at your own expense.

This Notice is only a summary of the proposed Settlement of this Litigation. More details are in the Settlement Agreement which, along with other documents, can be obtained at the Document section. If you have any questions or need to update your contact information, you can also call the Claims Administrator toll-free at (833) 876-6312 or Class Counsel at the numbers or email addresses in Question 14. In addition to the documents available on the this website, all pleadings and documents filed in Court may be reviewed or copied in the Office of the Clerk. Please do not call the Judge or the Clerk of the Court about this case. They will not be able to give you advice on your options.