Frequently Asked Questions

Defendant’s records indicate that you may have been part of a data breach of Brady Martz’s systems in November 2022 that may have exposed certain personal information of yours. If you qualify, you could be eligible to receive a payment as part of the Settlement.

The person who has sued Brady Martz is called the Plaintiff(s). Brady Martz is the Defendant that has been sued in the class action lawsuit.

In November 2022, Brady Martz noticed unusual activity on its networks and retained an independent cybersecurity specialist to investigate. Plaintiffs allege an unauthorized third party accessed certain Brady Martz files containing customers, and some third-party contractors personal information. Upon receiving notice that their information was part of the data breach, Plaintiffs brought this lawsuit on behalf of themselves and all potential Class Members alleging claims of negligence to implement adequate data security safeguards, which allowed cybercriminals to access their personal information. Defendant denies that it acted negligently in protecting Plaintiffs’ personal information.

In a class action lawsuit, one or more people called “Class Representatives” have sued on behalf of themselves and other people who have similar claims. These people and entities together are called a “Class” or “Class Members.” The company Plaintiffs sued on an individual basis and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Brady Martz & Associates, P.C., is called the Defendant. In a class action, one court resolves the issues for all Class Members, except for those who choose to exclude themselves.

The Court did not decide in favor of Plaintiffs or Defendant. Instead, both parties agreed to a Settlement to resolve the claims. A class-wide settlement avoids the costs and risk of a trial, and Class Members can receive the available settlement compensation benefits. The Class Representatives and Class Counsel believe the Settlement is in the best interest of the Class.

All individuals in the United States who were sent a notification letter regarding the Data Incident that Brady Martz discovered in November 2022.

Excluded from the Class are Brady Martz, the Judge assigned to the Action, and that Judge’s immediate family and Court staff, and also Class Members who submit a valid Request for Exclusion prior to the Opt-Out Deadline.

If you are not sure whether you are included in the Class, you can request free assistance by calling the Settlement Administrator or calling 1-888-776-9026 for more information.

The Settlement Fund will provide:

• $75 to each Class Member upon submission of a valid claim;**
  The $75 cash payments may be increased or decreased pro rata from funds remaining in the Settlement Fund after all claims are submitted.
• Up to $250 for unreimbursed ordinary losses and supporting documentation;
  • Including out-of-pocket expenses incurred as a result of the data breach, which must be fairly traceable to the November 2022 data breach and must not have been previously reimbursed by a third-party, along with supporting documentation or sworn attestation;
  • Including up to 4 hours of lost time at $25/hour spent mitigating the effects of the Brady Martz data breach with sworn attestation;
• Up to $5,000 in compensation to each valid claim for proven monetary loss;
  • If the loss is an actual, documented, and unreimbursed monetary loss;
  • The loss was more likely than not cause by the Brady Martz data breach;
  • The loss occurred after November 19, 2022;
  • The loss is not already covered by unreimbursed ordinary losses category;
  • The Settlement Class Member made reasonable efforts to avoid, or seek reimbursement for, the loss, including but not limited to exhaustion of all available credit monitoring insurance and identity theft.

To receive money from the Settlement, you must be a Class Member – meaning that you were sent a notice of the November 2022 Data Breach from Brady Martz. The determination of settlement funds available to each valid claimant is described in Question #7 above.

If you are a Class Member (see Question #5 above), unless you exclude yourself with an opt-out request (see Questions #16- 18 below), you cannot sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against Defendant concerning the same issues as in this lawsuit. The “Release” section in the Settlement Agreement describes the legal claims that you are giving up if you remain in the settlement class. The Settlement Agreement can be viewed in Important Case Documents.

By submitting a valid claim form on or before the claim deadline of JUNE 24, 2025. If you were sent the November 2022 data breach notification letter, you can make a claim by filling out and submitting the claim form online.

You can also contact the Settlement Administrator to request a paper claim form by telephone (1-888-776-9026), email (info@BradyMartzDataSettlement.com), or U.S. mail (Brady Martz Data Breach Settlement, c/o Settlement Administrator, PO Box 2009, Chanhassen, MN 55317-2009).

To be eligible for payment from the Settlement, your valid claim form must be received or postmarked no later than JUNE 24, 2025.

The Court will hold a hearing on August 11, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. to decide whether to approve the Settlement. Payments will be made after the Settlement is approved and becomes final, meaning there is no appeal from the Court’s order approving the Settlement.

Updates regarding the Settlement will be posted on the Settlement website.

Yes. The Court appointed the following attorneys to represent you and other Settlement Class Members as “Class Counsel.”

For substantive questions about the settlement, you can obtain additional contact information for Messrs. Prosser and Goodwin at their respective law firm websites: hjlawfirm.com and gustafsongluek.com. For All other questions, please contact the Settlement Administrator (see Question 26 below).

You do not need to hire your own attorney. If you want your own attorney, you may hire one, but you will be responsible for any payment for that attorney’s services. For example, you can ask your own attorney to appear in court for you if you want someone other than Class Counsel to speak on your behalf. You may also appear for yourself without an attorney.

Class Counsel have undertaken this case on a contingency-fee basis, meaning they have paid for all of the expenses in the case and have not been paid any money in relation to their work on this case. Accordingly, Class Counsel will ask the Court to award them attorneys’ fees of up to 1/3 ($283,333.33) of the Settlement Fund and reimbursement for costs and expenses not to exceed $5,000 to be paid from the Settlement Fund. The Court will decide the amount of fees and costs and expenses to be paid. You will not have to separately pay any portion of these fees yourself. Class Counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees and costs will be filed by May 11, 2025, and will be available to view on the settlement website in Important Case Documents.

• Your name;
• Address; and
• Telephone number;
• Name and number of this case;
• A statement that he/she wishes to be excluded from the Settlement; and
• Signature.

A request to be excluded that is sent to an address other than that designated as the Settlement Administrator address (Question #26 below), or that is not postmarked within the time specified, shall be invalid and the person serving such a request shall be considered a member of the Settlement class and shall be bound by the terms of the Settlement.

No. If you are a Class Member (see Question #5 above), unless you opt-out, you give up the right to sue Brady Martz for the claims resolved by the Settlement. So if you are a Class Member and you want to try to pursue your own lawsuit, you must opt out.

If you opt-out of the Settlement, you will not have any rights as a member of the Class under the Settlement terms; you will not receive any payment as part of the Settlement; you will not be bound by any further orders or judgments in this case; and you will keep the right, if any, to sue on the claims alleged in this lawsuit at your own expense.

You will have up to and including 90 days following entry of the Preliminary Approval Order (60 days after the Notice Date) to object to the Settlement. You may also appear at the Fairness Hearing, either in person or through your own attorney. If you appear through your own attorney, you are responsible for paying that attorney. To object, you must file a document with Court indicating that you object to the proposed Settlement in In re Brady Martz Data Security Litigation, No. 3:23-cv-0176 (D.N.D). You must include copies of such papers you propose to submit at the Final Approval Hearing with the Clerk of the Court; and send copies of such papers via U.S. Mail or overnight delivery to both Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel.

A copy of the objection must also be mailed to the Settlement Administrator at the address that the Settlement Administrator has established to receive requests for exclusion or objections, Claim Forms, and any other communication relating to the Settlement.

Any Class Member who intends to object to this Settlement must include in any such objection:

• Your full name, address, and current telephone number;
• Name and number of this case: In re Brady Martz Data Security Litigation, No. 3:23-cv-0176 (D.N.D);
• All grounds for the objection, with factual and legal support for the stated objection, and supporting material;
• Identification of any other objections you have filed, or have had filed on your behalf in any other class action case in the last four years; and
• Signature.

You must also include whether you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing, with or without counsel, and identify any witnesses you may call to testify at the Final Approval Hearing along with all exhibits you intend to introduce into evidence at the Final Approval Hearing.

Objecting is telling the Court that you don’t like something about the Settlement. You can object to the Settlement only if you are a Class Member and do not opt-out of the Settlement. Opting-out of the Settlement indicates to the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement. If you opt-out of the Settlement, you cannot object to it because it does not affect you. You cannot both opt-out of the Settlement and also object to the Settlement.

The Court will hold a Fairness Hearing at 9:00 a.m. on August 11, 2025, at the federal courthouse located at: Quentin N Burdick, U.S. Courthouse, 655 1st Ave North, #130, Fargo, ND 58102. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. If there are objections, the Court will consider them and listen to any arguments presented. The Court may also decide how much Class Counsel should receive in fees and expense reimbursements. After the hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the Settlement.

The Court may reschedule the Fairness Hearing or change any of the deadlines described in the notice. The date of the Fairness Hearing may change without further notice to the Class Members. Be sure to check the Important Dates on the Settlement website for news of any such changes.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. You may attend at your own expense if you wish. If you send an objection, you do not have to come to the hearing to talk about it. As long as you mailed or filed your written objection on time, the Court will consider it. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend, but it is not necessary.

You may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Final Approval Hearing. To do so, you must include a statement in your written objection (discussed above at Question #19) that you intend to appear at the hearing. Be sure to include your name, address, and signature as well.

You cannot speak at the hearing if you exclude yourself from the Class.

If you do nothing and you are a Class Member, you will not receive any money from this Settlement, and you will not be able to sue Brady Martz for the conduct alleged in this lawsuit. If you do nothing and you are not a Class Member, the Settlement will not affect or release any individual claim you may have.

Yes. The notice summarizes the proposed Settlement—more details are in the Settlement Agreement and other case documents. You can get a copy of these documents  in Important Case Documents, by accessing the docket in this case through the Court’s Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system at https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/, or by visiting the office of the Clerk of the Court for the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota, 655 1st Ave. North, #130, Fargo, ND 58102 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. CST, Monday through Friday, excluding federal Court holidays.

PLEASE DO NOT TELEPHONE THE COURT OR THE COURT CLERK’S OFFICE TO INQUIRE ABOUT THIS SETTLEMENT OR THE CLAIM PROCESS.