FAQs


BASIC INFORMATION

The Court directed that the Notice be provided because you have a right to know about a proposed settlement that has been reached in this class action lawsuit and about all of your options before the Court decides whether to grant final approval of the Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement, and after objections or appeals, if any, are resolved, the Settlement Administrator appointed by the Court will distribute the payments and other benefits the Settlement allows. The Notice explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, your legal rights, what payments and other benefits are available, who is eligible for them, and how to get them.

The Court in charge of this case is the 4th District Court, County of El Paso, State of Colorado. The case is known as Hall et al. v. AspenPointe, Inc., Consolidated Case No. 2020CV32175 (the “Lawsuit”). The people who filed the Lawsuit are called the Plaintiffs and the entity they sued, AspenPointe, Inc., is called the Defendant.

The Lawsuit claims Defendant was responsible for the Data Breach and currently asserts claims such as: negligence, breach of implied contract, and breach of fiduciary duty. The Lawsuit seeks, among other things, payment for persons who were injured by the Data Breach.

Defendant has denied and continues to deny all of the claims made in the Lawsuit, as well as all charges of wrongdoing or liability against it.

In a class action, one or more people called Class Representatives (in this case, Lennie Hall, Agnes Coursey, and Tammy Nichols) sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. Together, all these people are called a Class or Class members. One Court and one judge resolves the issues for all Class members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Settlement Class.

The Court did not decide in favor of the Plaintiffs or Defendant. Instead, the parties negotiated a settlement that allows them to avoid the risks and costs of lengthy litigation and the uncertainty of a trial and appeals. It also allows Settlement Class members to obtain payments as specified and credit monitoring services without further delay. The Class Representatives and their attorneys think the Settlement is best for all Settlement Class members. This Settlement does not mean that Defendant did anything wrong.

WHO IS INCLUDED IN THE SETTLEMENT

You are part of this Settlement as a Settlement Class member if your full name and other personally identifiable information and/or protected health information was accessed during the Data Breach.

Yes. Specifically excluded from the Settlement Class are: (i) Defendant and its officers and directors; (ii) all Settlement Class Members who timely and validly request exclusion from the Settlement Class; (iii) the Judge assigned to evaluate the fairness of this settlement; and (iv) any other Person found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be guilty under criminal law of initiating, causing, aiding or abetting the criminal activity occurrence of the Data Breach or who pleads nolo contendere to any such charge.

THE SETTLEMENT BENEFITS—WHAT YOU GET IF YOU QUALIFY

Each Settlement Class Member can claim up to $500, in total for: (1) Ordinary Expense Reimbursements and (2) Lost Time (FAQ 8). Settlement Class Members can also claim up to an additional $4,500 in Extraordinary Expense Reimbursements (FAQ 8). You may submit a claim for either or both types of payments. To claim each type of payment, you must provide specified documentation with the Claim Form.

Settlement Class Members can also make a claim for up to 24-months of credit monitoring and identity protection services (Question 9, below).

Ordinary Expense Reimbursements, Lost Time, Extraordinary Expense Reimbursements, Credit Monitoring and the cost of Notice and Claims Administration combined are capped at $1,300,000. Should the valid claims and costs of administration total over $1,300,000, the awards to class members will be reduced on a pro rata basis.

The Settlement also addresses remedial measures and security enhancements undertaken by Defendant and Defendant’s security obligations over a 24-month period.

Class Members are eligible to receive reimbursement of up to $500 (in total) for the following attested to out-of-pocket expenses, as supported by documentation substantiating the full extent of the amount claimed and having resulted from the Data Breach including but not limited to:

  • bank fees,
  • long distance phone charges,
  • cell phone charges (only if charged by the minute),
  • data charges (only if charged based on the amount of data used),
  • postage
  • gasoline for local travel
  • reimbursement of fees for credit reports, credit monitoring, or other identity theft insurance products purchased between November 19, 2020 and the date of the close of the claims period.

Included within the $500, Settlement Class Members may make a claim for up to four (4) hours of time spent dealing with the Data Breach, to be paid at $15 per hour. To receive payment, the time spent must be reasonably described and supported by an attestation. Such time can include:

  • time spent dealing with replacement card issues, reversing fraudulent charges, rescheduling medical appointments and/or finding alternative medical care and treatment, retaking or submitting to medical tests, locating medical records, retracing medical history, and any other demonstrable form of disruption to medical care and treatment, but only if at least one full hour was spent.

Settlement Class Members may also make a claim for up to $4,500 in Extraordinary Expense Reimbursement for actual documented losses fairly traceable to the Data Breach and meeting other requirements set forth in Settlement Agreement, which is available here.

Class Members who submit a valid claim are eligible to enroll in a total of 24-months of credit monitoring services through Pango Group. Pango Group services include: 1 Bureau Credit Monitoring; Monthly Credit Score; Real Time Inquiry/Authentication Alerts; High Risk Transaction Monitoring; Dark Web Monitoring; USPS Address Change Monitoring; Lost Wallet Protection; Security Freeze Capability; $1,000,000 in comprehensive insurance with $0 deductible; and Customer Support & Victim Assistance.

More details are provided in the Settlement Agreement, which is available here.

HOW TO GET BENEFITS—SUBMITTING A CLAIM FORM

To ask for a payment, you must complete and Submit a Claim Form. Claim Forms is available here, or you may request one by mail by calling 1-833-335-0777. Read the instructions carefully, fill out the Claim Form, and mail it postmarked no later than October 18, 2022, to:

The Claims Administrator will initially decide whether the information provided on a Claim Form is complete and valid. The Claims Administrator may require additional information from any claimant. If the required information is not timely provided, the claim will be considered invalid and will not be paid.

Additional information regarding the claims process can be found in Section V of the Settlement Agreement, available here.

The Court will hold a Final Fairness Hearing at 8:30 a.m. MT on November 21, 2022, to decide whether to approve the Settlement. The hearing will be held via WebEx and can be accessed at https://www.courts.state.co.us/Courts/District/Index.cfm?District_ID=4. If the Court approves the Settlement, there may be appeals. It is always uncertain whether appeals can be resolved favorably and resolving them can take time. It also takes time for all the Claim Forms to be processed, depending on the number of claims submitted and whether appeals are filed. Please be patient.

REMAINING IN THE SETTLEMENT

You do not have to do anything to remain in the Settlement, but if you want to qualify for a payment or credit monitoring services you must submit a valid Claim Form postmarked by October 18, 2022.

If the Settlement becomes final, you will give up your right to sue AspenPointe for the claims being resolved by this Settlement. The specific claims you are giving up against AspenPointe are described in Section XIV of the Settlement Agreement. You will be “releasing” AspenPointe, and all related people or entities as described in Paragraph 10.bb of the Settlement Agreement. The Settlement Agreement is available here.

The Settlement Agreement describes the released claims with specific descriptions, so read it carefully. If you have any questions about what this means you can talk to the law firms listed in Question 18 for free or you can, of course, talk to your own lawyer at your own expense.

EXCLUDING YOURSELF FROM THE SETTLEMENT

If you do not want a payment from this Settlement, but you want to keep the right to sue AspenPointe about issues in the Litigation, then you must take steps to get out of the Settlement Class. This is called excluding yourself from – or is sometimes referred to as “opting out” of – the Settlement Class.

No. If you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you will not be entitled to any benefits of the Settlement, but you will not be bound by any judgment in this case.

No. Unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you give up any right to sue AspenPointe for the claims that this Settlement resolves. You must exclude yourself from the Settlement Class to start your own lawsuit or to be part of any different lawsuit relating to the claims in this case. If you exclude yourself, do not submit a Claim Form to ask for a payment or other benefits.

The deadline to exclude yourself from the Settlement ended on October 18, 2022. 

THE LAWYERS REPRESENTING YOU

Yes. The Court appointed Todd S. Garber, of Finkelstein, Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber, LLP located at One North Broadway, Suite 900, White Plains, New York 10601; Rick D. Bailey of the Law Office of Rick D. Bailey, located at 1085 Lafayette St., Ste 702, Denver, Colorado, 80218; Gary E. Mason of Mason LLP, located at 5101 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Ste 305, Washington, District of Colombia, 20016; William H. Anderson of Handley Farah & Anderson PLLC, located at 4730 Table Mesa Drive, Suite G-200, Boulder, Colorado 80305; and Seth A. Meyer and Alex J. Dravillas of Keller Lenkner LLC, located at 150 N. Riverside Plaza, Suite 4100, Chicago, Illinois 60606, to represent you and other Settlement Class members. These lawyers are called Class Counsel. 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.

If the Settlement is approved and becomes final, Class Counsel will ask the Court to award attorneys’ fees and litigation costs in the amount of $412,500. Class Counsel will also request approval of a service award of $2,500 for each of the three Class Representatives. If approved, these amounts, as well as the costs of notice and settlement administration, will be paid separately by Defendant and will not reduce the amount of total payments available to Settlement Class members.

OBJECTING TO THE SETTLEMENT

You can tell the Court that you do not agree with the Settlement or some part of it.

The deadline to object to the Settlement ended on October 18, 2022.

 

Objecting is telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Class in this Settlement. If you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you have no basis to object or submit a Claim Form because the Settlement no longer affects you.

THE COURT’S FINAL FAIRNESS HEARING

On October 31, 2022, The Court vacated the hearing that was scheduled for November 21, 2022, and granted final approval of the Settlement.  Click here to view the Final Approval Order.

No. On October 31, 2022, The Court vacated the hearing that was scheduled for November 21, 2022, and granted final approval of the Settlement.  Click here to view the Final Approval Order.

On October 31, 2022, The court vacated the hearing that was scheduled for November 21, 2022, and granted final apporval of the Settlement. Click here to view the Final Approval Order

IF YOU DO NOTHING

If you do nothing, you will not receive any compensation from this Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement, you will be bound by the Settlement Agreement and the Release. This means you will not be able to start a lawsuit, continue with a lawsuit, or be part of any other lawsuit against Defendant or related parties about the issues involved in the Lawsuit, resolved by this Settlement, and released by the Settlement Agreement.

GETTING MORE INFORMATION

Yes. The Notice summarizes the proposed Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement, which is available here, or by writing to the AspenPointe Data Breach Settlement Administrator, 1650 Arch St, Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19103.

Visit this website, call 1-833-335-0777, or write to the AspenPointe Data Breach Settlement Administrator1650 Arch St, Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19103.

Please do not call the Court or the Clerk of the Court for additional information.
They cannot answer any questions regarding the Settlement or the Lawsuit