Sonic Data Breach Summary Notice

If you used a credit or debit card at certain Sonic Drive-In locations from April 7, 2017 through October 28, 2017, you may be eligible for a cash payment from a class action settlement.

A Settlement has been reached with Sonic in a class action lawsuit about a data breach that occurred at Sonic Drive-In locations from April 7, 2017 through October 28, 2017 (“Data Breach”). The Settlement provides cash payments to people who (i) made a purchase using a credit or debit card at one of the 325 impacted Sonic Drive-In locations during the Data Breach period, or (2) made a purchase at one of the 325 impacted Sonic Drive-In locations during the Data Breach period and experienced fraudulent or unauthorized charges on the credit or debit card used at the impacted Sonic Drive-In location any time thereafter up through February 28, 2018.

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio authorized this notice in the case, known as In re: Sonic Corp. Customer Data Breach Litigation, MDL Case No. 1:17-md-02807-JSG.

Go to www.SonicDataBreachSettlement.com for additional Settlement information, including the list of 325 impacted Sonic Drive-In locations.

WHAT IS THIS ABOUT?

The lawsuit claims that Sonic should be held responsible for the Data Breach. Sonic denies all of the claims and says it did not do anything wrong. The Court did not decide in favor of either side. Instead, both sides agreed to a settlement. This Settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing or an indication that any law was violated.

WHO IS INCLUDED?

You are included in the Settlement if you reside in the United States and made a purchase using a credit or debit card at one of the 325 impacted Sonic Drive-In locations from April 7, 2017 through October 28, 2017 (“Settlement Class Members”).

WHAT DOES THE SETTLEMENT PROVIDE?

The Settlement provides for payments to Settlement Class Members who submit valid claim forms. The amount of any settlement payment for a Verified Claim will depend upon whether you qualify as a Category 1 Class Member or a Category 2 Class Member, and may be adjusted up or down depending on the number of total claimants:

Category 1: A one-time payment of approximately $10.00 to Settlement Class Members who made a purchase using a credit or debit card at one of the 325 impacted Sonic Drive-In locations from April 7, 2017 through October 28, 2017. The precise amount of the payment may be adjusted up or down depending on the number of valid claims received.
Category 2: A one-time payment of approximately $40.00 to Settlement Class Members who (i) made a purchase using a credit or debit card at one of the 325 impacted Sonic Drive-In locations from April 7, 2017 through October 28, 2017, and (ii) experienced a fraudulent or unauthorized charge on the credit or debit card used at the impacted Sonic Drive-In location any time thereafter up through February 28, 2018. The precise amount of the payment may be adjusted up or down depending on the number of valid claims received.

Sonic will pay $4.325 million into a non-reversionary Settlement Fund to settle the lawsuit. Court-awarded attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses, service awards to the Representative Plaintiffs, individual payments to the Individual Named Plaintiffs, and costs associated with notice and administering the Settlement will be deducted from the Settlement Fund prior to payments being made to Settlement Class Members who submit valid Claim Forms.

How Do You Get a Payment?

To request a payment you must submit a Claim Form that will be used to determine your eligibility by April 19, 2019. Claim Forms are available at www.SonicDataBreachSettlement.com or by calling toll-free 1-866-267-8812.

WHAT ARE YOUR OPTIONS?

If you do not want to be legally bound by the Settlement, you must exclude yourself from it by April 19, 2019, or you will not be able to sue, or continue to sue, Sonic about the legal claims this Settlement resolves. If you exclude yourself, you cannot get money from the Settlement.

If you stay in the Settlement Class, you can tell the Court that you do not agree with the Settlement or some part of it by objecting to it by April 19, 2019.

The Long Notice available at www.SonicDataBreachSettlement.com explains how to exclude yourself or object and describes the released claims in detail.

WHO REPRESENTS YOU?

The Court appointed William Federman of Federman & Sherwood as Lead Counsel. The Court also appointed the following attorneys as Class Counsel to represent the Settlement Class: Carin Marcussen of Federman & Sherwood; Marc Dann and Brian Flick of Dann Law; Thomas Zimmerman, Jr. of Zimmerman Law Offices, P.C.; Melissa Emert of Stull, Stull & Brady; Michael Fuller of Olsen Daines; and Miles Clark of Knepper & Clark LLC. Class Counsel will ask the Court for an award for attorneys’ fees of up to $1,441,667, plus reasonable costs and expenses, and service awards up to a total of $42,000 for the 9 Representative Plaintiffs and 13 Individual Named Plaintiffs. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

WHEN WILL THE SETTLEMENT BE APPROVED?

The Court will hold a hearing on July 25, 2019, at 9:00 a.m. at Carl B. Stokes U.S. Court House, Courtroom 18A, 801 W. Superior Ave., Cleveland, OH 44133 to consider whether to approve the Settlement, and Class Counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses, and service awards. You or your own lawyer may ask to appear and speak at the hearing at your own cost, but you do not have to.