More than four years after an expansive data breach occurred, customers of a Cumberland County-based payroll firm are asking a federal judge to approve a settlement of a class-action lawsuit.
The agreement before U.S. Middle District John E. Jones III calls for Paytime Inc. to provide 740 customers who joined the class action with a year of free credit monitoring and $1 million in identity theft insurance.
It also requires the company to pay “incentive awards” of $2,500 to each of the six lead plaintiffs in the case. In addition, Paytime is to cover more than $200,000 in fees amassed by lawyers representing the customers.
If approved by Jones, the settlement will avert any appeal of a ruling he issued in March 2015 dismissing the case. At that time, Jones found the customers who filed suit had suffered no financial injuries on which to recover damages because none of them had been hit with identity theft.
The customers contended in their suit that their finances were put at risk when hackers breached Paytime’s system in April 2014. The firm estimated the breach placed about 233,000 clients at risk nationwide.
Soon after the hacking was discovered Paytime offered customers free credit monitoring and identity restoration services.