LaFratta v. Medical Healthcare Solutions, Inc.

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 that the Settlement allows. The Notice explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, your legal rights, what payments are available, who is eligible for them, and how to get them.

The Court in charge of this case is the Essex County Superior Court, Massachusetts. The case is known as LaFratta v. Medical Healthcare Solutions, Inc., No. 2277CV00106 (Essex Sup. Ct.) (the “Lawsuit”). The person who filed the Lawsuit is called the Plaintiff and the entity she sued, Medical Healthcare Solutions, Inc., is called the Defendant.

The Lawsuit claims that MHS was responsible for the Data Breach and asserts claims such as: negligence, breach of express and implied contract, and unjust enrichment. The Lawsuit seeks, among other things, payment for persons who were injured by the Data Breach.

MHS 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 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.

The Court did not decide in favor of Plaintiff or Defendant. Instead, the Plaintiff negotiated a settlement with MHS and MCI that allows both the Plaintiff and MHS and MCI to avoid the risks and costs of lengthy and uncertain litigation and the uncertainty of a trial and appeals. It also allows Settlement Class Members to obtain payment and credit monitoring services without further delay. The Class Representative and her attorneys think the Settlement is best for all Settlement Class Members. This Settlement does not mean that MHS or MCI did anything wrong.

You are part of this Settlement as a Settlement Class Member if your personal information was accessed in the Data Breach or you previously received a notification from MHS pertaining to the Data Breach.

Yes. Specifically excluded from the Settlement Class are: MHS and MCI and their respective affiliates, parents, subsidiaries, officers, agents, and directors, as well as the judge(s) presiding over this matter and the clerks of said judge(s).

The Settlement will provide payments and credit monitoring services to people who submit valid claims. The Settlement also provides for equitable relief in the form of data security enhancements.

Settlement Class Members can claim (i) up to $150 for Ordinary Loss Reimbursements (FAQ 8, below); (ii) Lost Time of up to 3 hours (FAQ 8, below); (iii) up to $5,000 in Extraordinary Loss Reimbursements (FAQ 8, below). You may submit a claim for any or all of these types of payments. In order to claim each type of payment, you must provide related documentation with the Claim Form. Settlement Class Members can also make a claim for (iv) up to 24-months of credit monitoring and identity protection services (FAQ 9, below).

Alternatively, Class Members can forgo these benefits in exchange for a one-time Cash Payment of approximately $50, subject to proration (FAQ 10, below).

Settlement Class Members are eligible to receive reimbursement of up to $150 (in total) for the following categories of documented out-of-pocket expenses resulting 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; and
• gasoline for local travel.

Settlement Class Members can also receive reimbursement of fees for credit reports, credit monitoring, or other identity theft insurance products, purchased between October 4, 2021, and the date of the close of the claims period.

In addition to these reimbursements, Settlement Class Members may make a claim for up to three (3) hours of lost time spent dealing with the Data Breach, to be paid out at $25 per hour. At least one-half hour of documented time must have been spent dealing with the Data Breach to obtain compensation for lost time.

Settlement Class Members may also make a claim for up to $5,000 in Extraordinary Loss Reimbursements. To obtain reimbursement for Extraordinary Losses, Settlement Class Members must prove that he or she suffered a monetary loss directly arising from identity theft or other fraud perpetuated on or against the Settlement Class Member if: (i) the loss is an actual, documented, and unreimbursed monetary loss; (ii) the loss was more likely than not the result of the Data Breach; (iii) The loss is not already covered by the “Compensation for Ordinary Losses” category; and (iv) the Settlement Class Member made reasonable efforts to avoid, or seek reimbursement for, the loss, including but not limited to exhaustion of all available credit monitoring insurance and identity theft insurance and other available insurance.

Claims for Ordinary Loss Reimbursements and Extraordinary Loss Reimbursements must be supported by reasonable documentation. Claims for Lost Time must be reasonably described and supported by an attestation under penalty of perjury that the time spent was reasonably incurred dealing with the Data Breach.

Class Members who submit a valid claim are eligible to enroll in a total of 24-months of credit monitoring services through Identity Defense Total. Identity Defense Total services include: real time monitoring of the credit file at all three major credit bureaus, identity theft insurance (no deductible) of one million dollars ($1,000,000), and access to fraud resolution agents to help resolve identity thefts.

More details are provided in the Settlement Agreement, which is available on the Documents page.

In lieu of the benefits described in FAQ 8 and FAQ 9 above, Settlement Class Members may file a claim for a cash payment estimated at $50. This cash payment is subject to increase or decrease by proration depending on how much money is left in the Settlement Fund after other payments are made.

To ask for a payment, you must complete and submit a Claim Form. The Claim Form is available on the Documents page of this website. You can also submit your Claim Form online here. You may also request a Claim Form by mail by calling 1-888-823-2789. Read the instructions carefully, fill out the Claim Form, and either submit it online or mail it postmarked no later than February 5, 2024 to:

MHS and MCI Data Breach Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2079
Portland, OR 97208-2079

The Settlement Administrator will initially decide whether the information provided on a Claim Form is complete and valid. The Settlement Administrator may require additional information from any claimant and will specify a time within which any such additional information must be provided. If the required information is not provided within the time specified, the claim will be considered invalid and will not be paid.

Additional information regarding the claims process can be found in Section VI of the Settlement Agreement, available on the Documents page.

The Court will hold a Final Fairness Hearing at 2:00 p.m. on February 8, 2024 to decide whether to approve the Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement, there may be appeals. It is always uncertain whether any 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 any appeals are filed. Please be patient.

You do not have to do anything to remain in the Settlement, but if you want a payment or credit monitoring services you must submit a Claim Form postmarked or submitted online by February 5, 2024.

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

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 FAQ 18 for free or you can, of course, talk to your own lawyer at your own expense.

Yes. The Court appointed Ben Barnow and Anthony Parkhill of Barnow and Associates, P.C., located at 205 W. Randolph St., Ste. 1630, Chicago, IL 60606 and David Pastor of Pastor Law Office, located at 63 Atlantic Avenue, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02110, 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 in the amount of $242,422.00 plus reasonable litigation costs and expenses. Class Counsel will also request approval of a service award of $2,000 for the Class Representative. If approved, these amounts, as well as the costs of notice and settlement administration, will be taken from the settlement amount prior to payments made to Settlement Class Members.

If you are a Settlement Class Member, you can object to the Settlement if you do not like it or a portion of it. You can give reasons why you think the Court should not approve the Settlement. The Court will consider your views before making a decision. To object, you must file with the Court and mail copies to Class Counsel and MHS and MCI’s Counsel a written notice stating that you object to the Settlement in LaFratta v. Medical Healthcare Solutions, Inc., No. 2277CV00106.

Your objection must:

1. state the case name and number: LaFratta v. Medical Healthcare Solutions, Inc., No. 2277CV00106;
2. set forth the Settlement Class Member’s full name, current address, and telephone number;
3. contain the Settlement Class Member’s original signature;
4. state that the Settlement Class Member objects to the Settlement, in whole or in part;
5. set forth a statement of the legal and factual basis for the Objection; and
6. provide copies of any documents that the Settlement Class Member wishes to submit in support of his/her position;

Your objection must be filed with the Clerk of the Essex County Superior Court, 56 Federal Street, Salem, Massachusetts 01970, and served upon Class Counsel and MHS and MCI’s Counsel at the addresses below no later than January 5, 2024.

An objecting Settlement Class Member has the right, but is not required, to attend the Final Approval Hearing. If you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing, either with or without counsel, you must also file a notice of appearance with the Court (as well as serve the notice on Class Counsel and MHS and MCI’s Counsel) by the Objection Deadline.

If you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing through counsel, you must also identify the attorney(s) representing you who will appear at the Final Approval Hearing and include the attorney(s) name, address, phone number, e-mail address, state bar(s) to which counsel is admitted, as well as associated state bar numbers.

If you fail to timely file and serve an Objection and notice, if applicable, of your intent to appear at the Final Approval Hearing in person or through counsel, you will not be permitted to object to the approval of the Settlement at the Final Approval Hearing and shall be foreclosed from seeking any review of the Settlement or the terms of the Settlement Agreement by appeal or other means.

The Court will hold a Final Fairness Hearing at 2:00 p.m. on February 8, 2024, in the Essex County Superior Court, Courtroom 2, 43 Appleton Way, Lawrence, Massachusetts 01841. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Court will take into consideration any properly-filed written objections and may also listen to people who have asked to speak at the hearing (see FAQ 18). The Court will also decide whether to approve fees and reasonable litigation costs to Class Counsel, and the service award to the Class Representatives.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. However, you are welcome to attend at your own expense. If you file an objection, you do not have to come to Court to talk about it. You may also hire your own lawyer to attend, at your own expense, but you are not required to do so.

Yes, you may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Final Fairness Hearing. To do so, you must follow the instructions provided in FAQ 18 above.

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 MHS and MCI or related parties about the issues involved in the Lawsuit, resolved by this Settlement, and released by the Settlement Agreement.

Yes. The Notice summarizes the proposed Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement, which is available on the Documents page, or by writing to the MHS and MCI Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 2079, Portland, OR 97208-2079.

Please call 1-888-823-2789 or write to the MHS and MCI Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 2079, Portland, OR 97208-2079.

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.

If you received an email from noreply@epiqpay.com, it is because you were determined to be eligible for a payment in a class action settlement titled MHS and MCI Data Breach. By default, individuals eligible for payments will receive a prepayment notification email a few days before they receive an email containing a link to claim their payment. This is normal. If you claim a payment, you will also receive one or more follow up emails from our payment partner, Tremendous, confirming where in the process your payment is. If you do not immediately claim your payment, you may also receive one or more reminder emails.

If you have any questions about the EpiqPay email you received, you may contact the Settlement Administrator at the address below. Please provide us with your full name, current email address, and any claim number or tracking number if either or both were listed in the EpiqPay emails.

MHS and MCI Data Breach Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2079
Portland, OR 97208-2079

EpiqPay is the official digital payment platform for Epiq Class Action & Claims Solutions, Inc. EpiqPay offers individuals who are eligible to receive payments in mass actions an easy, convenient, fast, and secure way to claim their payments. General information about EpiqPay is available at https://www.epiqglobal.com/en-us/technologies/epiq-pay, and case-specific information about the payment notification you may have recently received is available on this website.

According to our records, you are a class member eligible to receive a settlement payment in MHS and MCI Data Breach, and you filed a claim wherein you elected to receive your payment digitally. You are being sent your payment digitally based on a selection you made when submitting your claim.

According to our records, you are a class member eligible to receive a settlement payment in MHS and MCI Data Breach, and you filed a claim wherein you elected to receive your payment digitally. The email address you received your payment notification at, as well as the name listed in your emails, is based on information we received as part of a complete and approved claim submission.

Claiming your EpiqPay payment is simple and easy. All EpiqPay payment and reminder emails contain a ‘Claim Payment’ link. As long as you click the ‘Claim Payment’ link before the payment expiry date listed in your email, the link will take you to a payment dashboard where you can choose your preferred method of payment. Then click your preferred payment method. Depending on the method of payment you choose, you may be asked to confirm your selection or provide one or two pieces of information so your payment can be processed. After that, you will receive a small number of interim notifications from our payment partner rewards@tremendous.com letting you know your payment is ‘in process’, and eventually you will receive a link to your payment card, if you chose that as your option. Contact information for our payment partner is available on these notifications, in case you experience any issues using your card.

If you received an email from rewards@tremendous.com, this email is legitimate. You received this email as you selected a payment option that uses Tremendous, one of our third-party payment partners, to process your payment and notify you of your payment status.

Emails regarding digital payments for this matter will commence on or about March 26, 2024 and digital payments will be available to claim through June 24, 2024. During that window, Epiq digital payment emails were or will be sent from noreply@Epiqpay.com, so please review your inbox for messages from that email address. Due to variability in individual recipient email account SPAM and junk security settings, users are encouraged to review their junk and SPAM folders in case the digital payment emails went to those locations.

No. Digital payments are processed quickly, but once a user selects their preferred payment option, it typically takes 2-5 business days for the value of the award to reach end user cards or accounts. Upon making your selection, you will start to receive a series of emails from EpiqPay and our digital payment partners, which will keep you apprised of the progress of your payment.

Those selecting the check option on the EpiqPay payment wall will generally receive a physical check 8-10 weeks after making their selection. Please be patient while we process your request. Processing and postal delivery times for checks may vary.

No. Once you have made your choice to redeem your payment digitally, Epiq can no longer convert your payment into a check. If you are having any issues receiving or using your chosen digital payment, please contact our payment partner at help@tremendous.com.

If you would prefer to receive a paper check instead of a digital payment, please contact the Settlement Administrator at the address below. If you request a paper check, your digital payment link will be marked as Inactive, and you will not be able to claim your payment digitally.

MHS and MCI Data Breach Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2079
Portland, OR 97208-2079

Please allow 2-4 business days for the funds to arrive in your account after receiving the ‘Payment Complete’ email. If you do not see the funds after this timeframe, please contact our payment partner Tremendous, at help@tremendous.com.

Please contact the Settlement Administrator at the address below, if you have not yet received your EpiqPay payment email. Please allow 1-3 days to receive your EpiqPay Link. Please continue to check your Spam folder of your email as well.

MHS and MCI Data Breach Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2079
Portland, OR 97208-2079

Please try to claim your payment on a different digital device, such as a computer or tablet. If you still are unable to claim your payment digitally, please let the claims administrator know, and we can have a physical check mailed to the address instead.

If you unsubscribe from any of the payment emails you receive on this matter, you will no longer be able to claim your payment digitally. If you unsubscribed from receiving digital payment notifications from EpiqPay, you will receive a paper check in the mail. If your address has changed, please mail change of address information to the Settlement Administrator at the address below. Please note that this process will take several weeks to complete.

MHS and MCI Data Breach Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2079
Portland, OR 97208-2079

Please check all folders of your email inbox, including the Spam folder. If you still are unable to find it, please contact the Settlement Administrator with a request to have the EpiqPay email resent to the address you filed a claim with. This process could take some time, please be patient.

If you need more information regarding the payment process, please call 1-888-823-2789 (Toll-Free), or write to the following address:

MHS and MCI Data Breach Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2079
Portland, OR 97208-2079

The terms of the Settlement provide that Claimants who submit valid claims and select the cash payment option will receive cash payment of approximately $50.00, dependent on the number claims filed. All other options depends on the amount of Out of Pocket expenses that can be reasonably substantiated up to maximum of $150.00 and/or the amount of Extraordinary Expenses that can be reasonably substantiated up to maximum of $5000.00, and/or payment for lost time of up to 3 hours at $25.00 per hour that is attested to and described as reasonably connected to the data breach, and/or 24 months of 3 credit bureau credit monitoring.

If you received a settlement payment, you will not receive any future payments.

If you have not provided your full Social Security number to the Claims Administrator, your payment cannot be issued.

Before we can process your payment, because the federal government is the defendant, we need your Social Security number. Section VII.B of the Settlement Agreement, which is available on the Documents tab, as well as federal law, makes all awards subject to review by the Treasury Offset Program (“TOP”). TOP collects past-due (delinquent) debts, such as tax liabilities, that people owe to state and federal agencies. All awards must be reviewed by the TOP programs before they may be disbursed. More information on TOP is available at www.fiscal.treasury.gov/top/. The Treasury Department needs your Social Security number for the TOP verification. All awards must be reviewed by the TOP program before they may be disbursed. If you do not provide your Social Security number for TOP verification, federal law prevents the Treasury Department from releasing the funds to issue your settlement payment. We cannot change this requirement.

If you require a replacement check and do not need to update your name or address, please send your request to the following address:

MHS and MCI Data Breach Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2079
Portland, OR 97208-2079

Please allow 6-8 weeks for the new check to arrive.