Fraser Child and Family Center Agrees to $750,000 Data Breach Settlement
Fraser Child and Family Center has agreed to pay $750,000 to settle class action litigation over a 2024 data breach. Fraser Child and Family Center is a Minnesota-based provider of autism, mental health, behavioral health, and disability services. Between May 30, 2024, and June 2, 2024, an unauthorized third party was able to access parts of its IT environment that contained the protected health information of approximately 67,000 individuals. Information potentially stolen in the incident included names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and medical information. The affected individuals were notified about the breach in September 2024.
Class action lawsuits were filed in response to the data breach by four plaintiffs, individually and on behalf of their minor children and similarly situated individuals. Since the lawsuits had overlapping claims and were based on the same facts, they were consolidated into a single lawsuit – In re: Fraser Child and Family Center – which was filed in the District Court for Hennepin County, Minnesota.
The lawsuit asserted several claims, including negligence, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, invasion of privacy – intrusion upon seclusion, unjust enrichment, and a failure to provide adequate breach notifications. Fraser Child and Family Center denies wrongdoing and liability and filed a motion to dismiss. Shortly thereafter, all parties began to explore the possibility of early resolution of the litigation, and a settlement was agreed upon that was acceptable to all parties. The settlement agreement has now been finalized and has received preliminary approval from the court.
Following the data breach, Fraser Child and Family Center implemented additional safeguards to further protect information stored on its network. In addition, a $750,000 settlement fund will be established to cover attorneys’ fees and expenses, settlement administration costs, service awards for the plaintiffs, and benefits for the class members.
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All class members are entitled to claim two years of credit monitoring services, which can be either the CyEx Identity Defense Complete package for adults or the CyEx Minor Defense package for minors. In addition, a claim may be submitted for reimbursement of documented, out-of-pocket losses due to the data breach up to a maximum of $2,500 per class member. In lieu of a claim for reimbursement of losses, class members may submit a claim for a cash payment. Cash payments will be paid after all the above costs and expenses have been paid, and the funds will be divided equally between class members who submit a claim for a cash payment.
Class members wishing to object to the settlement or exclude themselves must do so by November 3, 2025. Claims must be submitted by December 1, 2025, and the final fairness hearing has been scheduled for November 20, 2025.
