Crawford v. thyssenkrupp Materials NA, Inc.

The Summary Notice was posted relating to a class action brought against Defendants related to a Data Incident that occurred on or about December 28, 2020, in which tk Materials’ servers and workstations were encrypted in a ransomware attack that Plaintiffs allege involved a compromise of the personally identifiable information of certain current and former employees, including, but not limited to, exposure of names, addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, direct deposit information, health information, and contact information.

The Court provided the Summary Notice because Class Members have a right to know about the proposed class action settlement, and about their options, before the Court decides whether to approve the settlement. The Detailed Notice and this Settlement Website explain the lawsuit, the settlement, Class Members’ legal rights, what benefits are available, and how to claim those benefits. A copy of the Detailed Notice can be found here.

The Court in charge of the case is the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri, and the case is known as Crawford v. thyssenkrupp Materials NA, Inc. The people who sued are called the Plaintiffs, and the companies they sued are called the Defendants.

The lawsuit claims that the Defendants failed to properly safeguard the personally identifiable information that Plaintiffs allege was compromised in the Data Incident. Defendants contend that they acted in accordance with applicable law and that they have no liability or fault relating to the Data Incident.

In a class action lawsuit, one or more people called “Class Representatives” sue on behalf of themselves and other people who have similar claims. All of these people are called a Class or Class Members. This is a class action because the Court has decided it meets the legal requirements to be a class action. Because the case is a class action, one court resolves the issues for everyone in the Class, except for those people who choose to exclude themselves from the Class.

The Court did not decide in favor of the Plaintiffs or the Defendants. Instead, both sides agreed to a settlement. The Plaintiffs have the duty to act in the best interests of the class as a whole and, in this case, it is their belief, as well as Class Counsel’s opinion, that this settlement is in the best interest of all Class Members for at least the following reasons:

There is legal uncertainty about whether a judge or a jury will find that the Defendants are legally responsible, whether this case could proceed as a class action if litigated, whether Plaintiffs would be able to prove causation and damages at trial, and whether any verdict would withstand appeal, which might result in Class Members receiving no recovery, or a substantially smaller recovery than that being offered here. Even if the Plaintiffs were to win at trial, there is no assurance that the Class Members would be awarded more than the current settlement provides, and it may take years of litigation before any payments would be made. By settling, the Class Members will avoid these and other risks and the delays associated with continued litigation in exchange for access to defined benefits now.

While Defendants dispute Plaintiffs’ claims, they have agreed to settle the lawsuit to avoid the costs, distractions, and risks of litigation. Thus, even though Defendants deny that they did anything improper, they believe settlement is in the best interests of all the parties. The Court will evaluate the settlement to determine whether it is fair, reasonable, and adequate before it approves the settlement.

If the Summary Notice was addressed to you, then you are a member of one or more of the Settlement Classes, you will be a part of the settlement, and you will be eligible to receive the benefits of the settlement, unless you exclude yourself. If you are not sure whether you have been properly included, you can check with the Settlement Administrator using the contact information provided on the Contact page of this website

You can no longer file a claim, the deadline has now passed. The court has granted final approval of the settlement.

The settlement provides for a number of benefits, and Class Members were able to claim as many of the benefits to which they were entitled.

First, Class Members who signed up for Defendants’ original offer to provide, at no cost, credit monitoring and identity theft protection services (including $1,000,000 in identity theft insurance) for two years through TransUnion Interactive’s myTrueIdentity product, will automatically receive an additional one-year extension of that service, with no need to make a claim for that benefit.

Second, Class Members who did not sign up for Defendants’ original offer of myTrueIdentity monitoring and protection, could have submitted a claim to receive, at no cost, two years of myTrueIdentity credit monitoring and identity theft protection services (including $1,000,000 in identity theft insurance).

Third, Class Members who suffered out-of-pocket losses or lost time related to the Data Incident could have submitted a claim for a cash reimbursement. Defendants will pay Ordinary Losses ($200 max), Lost Time ($25 per hour, 6 hours or $150 max), and Extraordinary Losses ($8,000 max) that a Class Member experienced related to the Data Incident. These categories are explained in detail on the Claim Form. If valid claims exceed $750,000, payments will be reduced pro rata.

To receive any of the cash benefits or the two years of identity theft protection services available from the settlement, a Claim Form must have been submitted online (through this website here) or by mail postmarked no later than March 8, 2023. Class Members who already signed up for two years of identity theft protection services offered by Defendants in 2021 will automatically receive a one-year extension of those services from two to three years, if the settlement is finally approved by the Court, but will need to have submitted a claim to receive reimbursement for Lost Time, Ordinary Losses, or Extraordinary Losses, if any.

For Class Members who need to update their address or contact information, please use the Address Update page of this website here. Class Members may also update their address or contact information by sending written notification of the changes to the Settlement Administrator. All correspondence must include the Class Member's Unique ID and phone number in case the Settlement Administrator needs to contact them in order to complete their request.

In addition to these benefits, Defendants have agreed to pay for the costs of notice and settlement administration, attorneys’ fees and expenses up to $435,000, and service awards to both Plaintiffs of $3,500 each, all in addition to the other benefits described above.

The Court held a Final Approval Hearing on February 27, 2023, and the settlement was approved. Note that there may be a period when appeals can be filed. Once any appeals are resolved or if no appeals are filed, it will be possible to distribute the funds. This may take several months and perhaps more than a year.

Unless you excluded yourself, you stayed in the Class, and that means you can’t sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against Defendants relating to the Data Incident. It also means that all of the Court’s orders apply to you. Once the settlement is final, your claims relating to this case will be released.

The deadline has passed, and you can no longer opt out.

To exclude yourself from this settlement, you must have sent a letter by mail saying that you wanted to opt-out or be excluded from Crawford v. thyssenkrupp Materials NA, Inc. You must have mailed your exclusion request postmarked no later than January 23, 2023.

You could not exclude yourself on the phone or by email. If you asked to be excluded, you will not get any settlement benefits, and you cannot object to the settlement. You are not legally bound by anything that happens in this lawsuit. You may be able to sue (or continue to sue) the Defendants in the future.

The deadline has passed, and you can no longer opt out.

No. Unless you excluded yourself, you gave up the right to sue the Defendants for the claims that this settlement resolves. If you have a pending lawsuit, speak to your lawyer in that suit immediately. You must have excluded yourself from this settlement to continue your own lawsuit. Remember that the exclusion deadline was January 23, 2023.

No. If you excluded yourself, you are not eligible for any money or forgiveness from this settlement.

The Court appointed the law firms of Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings, PLLC; Carey Danis & Lowe; Cohen & Malad, LLP; and Muchnick Haber Margolis, LC to represent you and other Class Members. Together, the 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.

Class Counsel will ask the Court for attorneys’ fees and expenses of up to $435,000, and service awards to both of the two Plaintiffs for $3,500 each, all to be paid by the Defendants separate from, and in addition to, the benefits offered to Class Members under the Settlement.

The deadline has passed, and you can no longer object.

If you’re a Class Member, you could have objected to the settlement if you didn’t like any part of it. To object, you must have sent a letter saying that you objected to the settlement, or part of it, in Crawford v. thyssenkrupp Materials NA, Inc. If you intended to appear at the Final Approval Hearing either yourself or by a lawyer, you must also have stated your intention to appear. You must have mailed the objection to the Settlement Administrator no later than January 23, 2023.

The deadlines have passed, and you can no longer opt out or object.

Objecting is simply telling the Court that you don’t like something about the settlement. You could have objected only if you stayed in the settlement. Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you don’t want to be part of the settlement. If you excluded yourself, you had no basis to object because this case no longer affects you.

The Court held a Final Approval Hearing at 9:00 a.m. CST on February 27, 2023. The Settlement received final approval on February 27, 2023.

No. You were welcome to come at your own expense if you wished, but Class Counsel answered questions the Court had. If you sent an objection, you didn’t have to come to Court to talk about it, unless you wanted to. As long as you mailed your written objection on time, the Court considered it. You could have also paid your own lawyer to attend, but it was not necessary unless you wanted to.

You could have asked the Court for permission to speak at the Final Approval Hearing along with your objection as set forth in FAQ 14.

If you did nothing, you will be a part of this settlement, but you must have submitted a claim by the deadline of March 8, 2023, to receive any benefits (other than automatic extension of myTrueIdentity, if you signed up in response to Defendants’ original offer). You won’t be able to start a lawsuit, continue with a lawsuit, or be part of any other lawsuit against the Defendants relating to the Data Incident.

This website and the Detailed Notice summarize the proposed settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement on file with the Court and available here. You can also contact the Settlement Administrator by calling 1-877-750-0348 (toll free) or at info@CrawfordClassAction.com.