Krenk et al. v. Murfreesboro Medical Clinic

A Tennessee Court authorized this Settlement Website. This is not an advertisement.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION – READ CAREFULLY
 

A Settlement has been proposed in class action litigation against Murfreesboro Medical Clinic, P.A. (“MMC”). This class action alleges that in April 2023, MMC was the subject of a ransomware attack data breach (“the Data Breach”), resulting in third-party criminals gaining access to certain private information and certain personally identifiable health information of some of MMC’s patients and employees. MMC promptly notified potentially affected patients of the event and offered them certain credit monitoring and identity theft protection free of charge for a period of time. Plaintiffs Pamela Taylor, Alisha Holmes, Thomas Stoquert III, Angela Stoquert, individually and as next friend of E.S., and Wyatt A. Stoquert, Genna Holder, individually and on behalf of two minor children, Brenda Scales, Donna Scott, and Sherri Krenk (“Plaintiffs”) thereafter filed this and other lawsuits, all of which were eventually consolidated, alleging that MMC’s negligence and breach of other statutory and common law duties contributed to the circumstances that allowed the third-party criminals to compromise its computer systems and patient data. MMC denies all the allegations made in the lawsuits, denies any wrongdoing whatsoever, and maintains that its practices were in all respects lawful and proper, and that it was merely a victim of the criminal acts of third parties. However, MMC has agreed to this settlement in order to avoid the costs and burdens of further litigation.

You are included in this Settlement, and your rights may be affected by this Settlement if you are a Settlement Class Member. The Settlement Class Members are all persons whose Private Information may have been compromised as a result of the Data Breach that MMC discovered in or about April 2023, and to whom MMC sent or caused to be sent notice of the Data Breach, whether or not the addressee received that notice. The Settlement Class specifically excludes: (i) MMC, and its officers and directors; (ii) all Settlement Class Members who timely and validly request exclusion from the Settlement Class; (iii) the presiding judge, and his or her staff and family; and (iv) any other Person found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be guilty under criminal law of initiating, causing, aiding or abetting the criminal activity occurrence of the Data Breach or who pleads nobo contendere to any such charge.

The Settlement Website summarizes the proposed Settlement and your legal rights. For the precise terms of the Settlement, see the Settlement Agreement available here.

Under the Settlement, MMC has agreed to provide certain monetary relief, further described below.

The Settlement allows each Settlement Class Member to file a personally signed and verified claim in order to qualify for the benefits offered by the Settlement, which include potential reimbursement for certain documented out-of-pocket expenses resulting from the Data Breach event; the opportunity to receive additional credit monitoring and identity theft protection; and the opportunity to receive reimbursement for certain time spent addressing the Data Breach. In addition, the Settlement provides that MMC will separately pay attorneys’ fees and expenses to Class Counsel of up to $350,000 and will separately pay a service award to each Class Representative of up to $3,000 (for a total aggregate payment of $24,000). In exchange for the benefits the Settlement provides, Settlement Class Members will release any and all claims they may have (whether known or unknown) regarding the Data Breach event, as further explained in Question 20 of the FAQs available here.

The Court will decide whether to approve the proposed Settlement. If approved, the Settlement will resolve all claims that were or could have been asserted as a result of MMC’s Data Breach event and will resolve each and all of the following lawsuits filed on behalf of various members of the Settlement Class: Sherri Krenk, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Murfreesboro Medical Clinic P.A. d/b/a Murfreesboro Medical Clinic and Surgicenter, Case No. 75CC1-2023-CV-81005 (Ruth. Cir. Ct.), filed May 18, 2023; Pamela Taylor, individually, and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Murfreesboro Medical Clinic P.A., Case No. 2023-CV-81191 (Rutherford Cir. Ct.), filed July 10, 2023; Alisha Holmes, individually, and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Murfreesboro Medical Clinic and Surgicenter and Murfreesboro Medical Clinic, P.A., Case No. 23-CV-1323 (Ruth. Chanc. Ct.), filed July 10, 2023; Thomas Stoquert, III, and Angela Stoquert, individually and as next friend of E.S., and Wyatt A. Stoquert, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Murfreesboro Medical Clinic, P.A. d/b/a Murfreesboro Medical Clinic & SurgiCenter, Case No. 81186 (Ruth. Cir. Ct.), filed July 11, 2023; Genna Holder, individually & on behalf of two minor children, individually, and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Murfreesboro Medical Clinic P.A., et al., Case No. 75CC1-2023-CV-81208 (Ruth. Cir. Ct.), filed July 13, 2023; and Donna Scott, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Murfreesboro Medical Clinic, P.A., Case No. 75CC1-2023-CV-81296 (Ruth. Cir. Ct.), filed on August 3, 2023.

The class action settlement approval process may take several months, or more if there is an appeal. Benefits will not be paid unless and until this process is completed and final court approval is obtained. Please be patient.