Americold agrees to $5.25 million settlement over multiple data breaches

Cold-storage giant Americold has agreed to pay $5.25 million to settle a class action lawsuit arising from two data security incidents that compromised the personal information of hundreds of thousands of individuals.

 

In December 2023, Americold disclosed that a cybersecurity incident involving malware had occurred in April, allowing an unauthorised party to remove sensitive data from its network. An investigation found that the breach affected nearly 130,000 individuals, exposing information including names, Social Security numbers, driver’s license details, and health information. 

 

The incident, along with a separate cyber security event reported in 2020, led to a class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, alleging that Americold failed to adequately safeguard the personal and protected health information of current and former employees and job applicants. 

 

While Americold denied any wrongdoing or negligence, both sides agreed to settle the case to avoid the costs and risks of continued litigation and allow Class members to receive benefits under the settlement.

 

Under the proposed settlement, Americold will establish a $5.25 million settlement fund to compensate eligible class members and cover credit monitoring, documented losses, attorneys’ fees, administration costs, and service awards.

 

Eligible class members may claim up to $25,000 for documented, unreimbursed losses related to either data incident. They may also receive an estimated $200 payment if affected by both incidents or $100 if affected by one. Additionally, class members can opt for three years of credit monitoring, including at least $1 million in identity theft protection services. 

 

Americold has also agreed to take reasonable measures to strengthen the security of its systems and protect affected individuals’ information.

 

The proposed settlement has been granted preliminary approval by the court but has not yet become final. A final approval hearing is scheduled for October 6, when the court will decide whether to approve the settlement.