Finn v. Empress Ambulance Service, LLC

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The Plaintiffs allege that in July 2022, Empress discovered that unauthorized persons gained access to Empress’ network systems, resulting in unauthorized access to certain files that may have contained information of Empress’ patients and other affiliated persons.

Empress specifically denies any and all wrongdoing, and no court or other entity has made any judgment other determination of any wrongdoing or that the law has been violated. By entering into the Settlement, Empress is not admitting that it did anything wrong.

In a class action, one or more people called the “Class Representatives” (in this Action, Plaintiffs John Finn and Salvatore J. Contristano) sue on behalf of all people who have similar claims. Together, all these people are called a “Settlement Class” or “Class Members”. One court resolves the issues for all Class Members, except for those Class Members who timely exclude themselves (opt out) from the Settlement Class.

The Plaintiffs and the Defendant do not agree with respect to the legal allegations asserted in this lawsuit. The Court has not decided in favor of the Plaintiffs or the Defendant. Instead, the Plaintiffs and the Defendant have agreed to settle the lawsuit. The Plaintiffs and the attorneys for the Settlement Class believe the Settlement is best for all Class Members because of the benefits of the Settlement and the risks and uncertainty associated with continued litigation and the nature of the defenses raised by Empress.

You are a Class Member if you are a resident of the United States, and your Personal Information was potentially compromised in the Network Incident that Defendant discovered on or about July 14, 2022. This includes all persons who were sent a notice by Empress via U.S. Mail that their Personal Information may have been compromised in the Network Incident.

Personal Information means email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers (SSN), drivers’ license information, tax records, bank account and routing information, and other personally identifying information, as well as information used to process health insurance claims, prescription information, medical records and data, and other medical or personal health information.

Yes. Excluded from the Settlement Class are:

1. the Judges presiding over the Action and members of their families;
2. Empress, its subsidiaries, parent companies, successors, predecessors, and any entity in which Empress or its parents, have a controlling interest, and its current or former officers and directors;
3. natural persons who properly execute and submit a Request for Exclusion prior to the expiration of the Opt-Out Period; and
4. the successors or assigns of any such excluded natural person.

If you are still not sure whether you are a Class Member, you may call the Settlement Administrator’s Settlement Toll-Free Number at 1-888-482-4942.

If you are a Class Member, you may receive only one of the following two Settlement Payment options as part of the Settlement, by submitting a timely and valid Claim Form.

Settlement Payment Options

1. Documented Loss Payment: You may submit a timely and valid Claim Form for a cash Settlement Payment of up to $10,000 for reimbursement in the form of a Documented Loss Payment.

   To request a Documented Loss Payment, your Claim Form must include all of the following:
   • Select the option to receive the Documented Loss Payment Settlement Benefit;
   • Sign the attestation regarding any actual and unreimbursed Documented Loss made under penalty of perjury; and
   • You must provide Reasonable Documentation to support your Documented Loss claim and that it is more likely than not related to the Network Incident. Reasonable Documentation means, but is not limited to, credit card statements, bank statements, invoices, telephone records, and receipts. Documented Loss costs cannot be documented solely by a personal certification, declaration, or affidavit from you.

   If you do not submit Reasonable Documentation supporting your Documented Loss Payment claim, or if your claim for a Documented Loss Payment is rejected by the Settlement Administrator for any reason, and you fail to cure your claim, the claim will be rejected and your claim will instead be automatically considered a claim for a Cash Fund Payment.

2. Cash Fund Payment: In the alternative to the Documented Loss Payment, you may submit a timely and valid Claim Form to receive a pro rata (a legal term that means equal share) cash Settlement Payment. This amount may increase or decrease as described in FAQ 9.

Credit Monitoring and Insurance Services:

In addition to or instead of selecting one of the above cash Settlement Payment options, you also may submit a timely and valid Claim Form for 12 months of free Credit Monitoring and Insurance Services provided by TransUnion, which includes three credit bureau monitoring services and $1 million in identity theft insurance.

If you elected to use a previous offer of Credit Monitoring and Insurance Services from Empress, or you obtained Credit Monitoring and Insurance Services from another provider as a result of the Network Incident, you will be permitted to postpone activation of you Credit Monitoring and Insurance Services Settlement Benefit for up to 12 months.

According to the Settlement Agreement, the $1,050,000 Settlement Fund established for the Settlement will be used to pay for: (1) Administrative Expenses reasonably incurred by the Settlement Administrator that are approved by the Parties, (2) Service Awards approved by the Court, (3) any amounts approved by the Court for attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses (“Fee Award and Costs”), and (4) taxes, if any. The amount remaining after these items are paid or allocated, if any is the “Net Settlement Fund.”

The Net Settlement Fund will be used to pay for Approved Claims for Class Members in the following order of priority: (1) Credit Monitoring and Insurance Services and Documented Loss Payments; (2) Cash Fund Payments, which will be calculated after Credit Monitoring and Insurance Services and Documented Loss Payments claimed benefits have been deducted, by dividing the remaining Net Settlement Fund amount by the number of valid claims designated to receive a Cash Fund Payment. This is called a pro rata share.

If the claims for Credit Monitoring and Insurance Services and Documented Loss Payments exceed the amount of money in the Net Settlement Fund, then no payments for claims for Cash Fund Payments will be made, and the value of the Documented Loss Payments and duration of the CMIS Settlement Benefit to be distributed to each Class Member shall be reduced, on a pro rata basis, such that the aggregate value of all Documented Loss Payments and CMIS claims does not exceed the Net Settlement Fund.

Unless you exclude yourself (opt out), you are choosing to remain in the Settlement Class. If the Settlement is approved and becomes final, all Court orders will apply to you and legally bind you. You will not be able to sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other action for all Released Claims, including Unknown Claims, against each of the Released Parties that relates to the Network Incident or otherwise arises out of the same facts and circumstances set forth in the complaint in this lawsuit. The specific rights you are giving up are called “Released Claims.”

The Settlement Agreement in Sections 1.38, 1.39, and 4 describe the Release, Released Claims, and Released Parties in necessary legal terminology, so please read these sections carefully. The Released Claims also includes the release of Unknown Claims, which is also described in necessary legal terminology in the Settlement Agreement in Section 1.52. The Settlement Agreement is available here or in the public Court records on file in this lawsuit. For questions regarding the Release or Released Claims and what the language in the Settlement Agreement means, you can also contact one of the lawyers listed in FAQ 15, or you can talk to your own lawyer at your own expense.

To submit a Claim Form for one of the cash Settlement Payment options (i.e., Documented Loss Payment or Cash Fund Payment) and/or Credit Monitoring and Insurance Services, you must submit a timely and valid Claim Form. Your Claim Form must be filed with the Settlement Administrator, postmarked, or submitted online on or before May 8, 2024. Claim Forms may be submitted online here or printed from the Settlement Website and mailed to the Settlement Administrator at the address on the Claim Form. The quickest way to submit a Claim Form is online.

Claim Forms are also available by calling 1-888-482-4942 or by writing to:

Finn v. Empress Ambulance
Empress Ambulance Settlement Administrator
PO Box 2059
Portland, OR 97208-2059

If you change your mailing address or email address after you submit a Claim Form, it is your responsibility to inform the Settlement Administrator of your updated information. You may notify the Settlement Administrator of any changes by calling 1-888-482-4942 or by writing to:

Finn v. Empress Ambulance
Empress Ambulance Settlement Administrator
PO Box 2059
Portland, OR 97208-2059

If you file a timely and valid Claim Form, cash Settlement Payments and Credit Monitoring and Insurance Services will be provided after the Settlement is approved by the Court and becomes final. It may take time for the Settlement to be approved and become final. Please be patient and check the Current Status section of the Home page for updates.

Yes, the Court has appointed attorneys Tina Wolfson and Andrew W. Ferich of Ahdoot & Wolfson, PC, and Ben Barnow and Anthony L. Parkhill of Barnow and Associates, P.C. as Class Counsel to represent you and the Settlement Class for the purposes of this Settlement. You may hire your own lawyer at your own cost and expense if you want someone other than Class Counsel to represent you in this lawsuit.

Class Counsel will file a motion asking the Court to award attorneys’ fees and, separately, reimbursement of reasonable costs and expenses incurred in prosecuting the lawsuit. Class Counsel may also ask the Court to approve Service Awards not to exceed $1,500 per Class Representative, which are intended to recognize the Class Representatives for their efforts in the litigation and commitment on behalf of the Settlement Class. If awarded by the Court, attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses, and the Service Awards will be paid out of the Settlement Fund. The Court may award less than these amounts. The Settlement is not conditioned upon approval of these awards.

The March 8 2024 Exclusion deadline has passed. We are no longer accepting submissions at this time.

No. If you opt out, you are telling the Court you do not want to be part of the Settlement. You can only get Settlement Benefits if you stay in the Settlement.

No. Unless you opt out, you give up any right to sue the Released Parties (including the Defendant) for all claims and other matters released in and by the Settlement Agreement Section 4. You must opt out of this lawsuit to start or continue with your own lawsuit or be part of any other lawsuit against the Released Parties (including the Defendant) regarding the Released Claims. If you have a pending lawsuit, speak to your lawyer in that case immediately.

The March 8 2024 Objection deadline has passed. We are no longer accepting submissions at this time.

Objecting is simply telling the Court you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Settlement Class (meaning you do not opt out of the Settlement). Opting out of the Settlement is telling the Court you do not want to be part of the Settlement Class or the Settlement. If you opt out, you cannot object to the Settlement.

The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on April 3, 2024, at 9:30 a.m. before the Honorable Gretchen Walsh, at 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., White Plains, NY 10601. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate and decide whether to approve the Settlement, Class Counsels’ motion for attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses, and Service Awards for the Class Representatives. If there are objections, the Court will consider them. The Court will also listen to people who have asked to speak at the hearing.

Note: The date and time of the Final Approval Hearing are subject to change. The Court may also decide to hold the hearing via Zoom or by phone. Any change will be posted on the Current Status section on the Home page of this website.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. If you send an objection, you have the right to, but do not have to attend the Final Approval Hearing to speak about it. As long as you file or mail your written objection on time, the Court will consider it.

If you are a Class Member and you file an objection, you have the right, but are not required, to attend the Final Approval Hearing. If you are a Class Member and you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing, either with or without your own lawyer(s), you must also file a Notice of Appearance with the Court (as well as send the Notice of Appearance to Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel) at the addresses listed in FAQ 20, by March 8, 2024 (The March 8 2024 Exclusion deadline has passed. We are no longer accepting submissions at this time).

If you are a Class Member and you file an objection, and you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing through counsel, you must identify the lawyer(s) representing you who will appear at the Final Approval Hearing and include the lawyer(s) name, address, telephone number, email address, state bar(s) to which the lawyer(s) is admitted, as well as associated state bar number(s).

Any Class Member who does not submit a timely objection in compliance with all the requirements provided for in the Settlement Agreement, the Notice, and otherwise as ordered by the Court, will not be treated as having filed a valid objection to the Settlement and will be forever barred from raising any objection to the Settlement.

If you are a Class Member and you do nothing, you will not receive any Settlement Benefits. You will give up rights explained in the FAQ 17, FAQ 18, FAQ 19 and FAQ 21, including your right to start a lawsuit, continue with a lawsuit, or be part of any other lawsuit, etc. against the Released Parties (including the Defendant) regarding the Released Claims in this lawsuit.