The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania will hold a final approval hearing Nov. 6 for the settlement in the Wendy’s data breach lawsuit. CUNA, state leagues and a number of credit unions are among the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which stems from a 2016 data breach at the restaurant chain.  

“While we’re pleased the result of CUNA’s legal advocacy, along with the work of our system partners, has resulted in a settlement in this particular data breach lawsuit, similar breaches are happening more and more. This settlement will help affected credit unions recover some losses, but a national data privacy and security standard are the only way to ensure businesses that handle sensitive information are properly protecting sensitive information,” said Lance Noggle, CUNA senior director of advocacy for payments and cybersecurity. “CUNA will continue its 360-degree advocacy in this area to work toward a permanent solution that ensures consumers’ data is protected.”

The court will consider at the hearing, among other things, whether the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate; how much plaintiffs’ lawyers will receive as attorneys’ fees and expenses; and whether to approve service awards to the settlement class representatives. If there are objections, the court will consider them.

At or after the final approval hearing, the court will decide whether to approve the settlement.

Financial institutions that filed valid claims will be paid based on the total number of alerted on cards for this breach.

Under the terms of the settlement:

• Wendy’s will pay $50 million into a fund to compensate financial institutions that issued payment cards that were alerted on cards in connection with the data breach;
• Wendy’s will adopt and/or maintain certain data security measures; and
• Financial institutions will be able to file claims for reimbursement without requiring supporting documentation.