On May 3, 2006, computer equipment which was reported to contain personal information of military veterans, spouses of veterans, and military personnel, was stolen from the home of an employee of Veterans Affairs. The equipment was reported to contain information such as names, social security numbers, and dates of birth for up to 17.5 million individuals, as well as some disability ratings. The data did not include any health records or financial information. The computer equipment was later recovered on June 28, 2006 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, whose review of the equipment indicated that the data had not been accessed.

The lawsuit alleges that the Defendants violated federal law by not properly securing the information. The Defendants deny all of the Plaintiffs’ claims and say that they did nothing wrong.

The Class includes all veterans, spouses of veterans, and military personnel who had actual damages during the Recovery Period that were directly related to the theft of computer equipment which was reported to contain personal information from the home of a VA employee on May 3, 2006. The Recovery Period began on May 3, 2006 and ended on February 11, 2009. The Class also includes all representatives, heirs, administrators, executors, beneficiaries, agents, and assigns of Class Members. Actual damages include reasonable out-of-pocket expenditures to protect or monitor personal financial information and out-of pocket expenses incurred as a result of physical manifestations of severe emotional distress.

The Defendants will establish a $20,000,000 settlement fund to make payments to Class Members who had eligible out-of-pocket expenses, as well as to cover lawyers’ fees, costs and expenses. Any money remaining in the settlement fund after paying valid claims, lawyers’ fees, costs and expenses will be donated to the Fisher House Foundation, Inc. and The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, both of which are veterans-related charities.

The deadline to file a claim for reimbursement was November 27, 2009 and has now passed. No further claim forms for benefits are being accepted.

The Settlement Agreement describes all of the details about the proposed settlement.

The deadline to file a claim for reimbursement has now passed. No further claim forms for benefits are being accepted. Disbursements are in progress. If you filed a complete claim and have not received your disbursement please note claims are being paid on a rolling basis. Please be patient. If you do not receive a disbursement by June 1, 2010, please contact the Settlement Administrator for an update at the following address:

VA Settlement Administrator
PO Box 6727
Portland, OR 97228-6727

Actual damages include any reasonable out-of-pocket expense incurred as a direct result of the theft, including those that were:

• Used to protect or monitor your personal or financial information; or
• The result of physical symptoms of severe emotional distress;

Out-of-pocket expenses may include, for example, the purchase of credit monitoring to protect against identity loss and medical expenses incurred as a result of severe emotional distress. Out-of-pocket expenses must have been paid or incurred during the Recovery Period to be eligible for reimbursement. The Recovery Period began on May 3, 2006 and ended on February 11, 2009. If you pay for a credit report now, it will not be covered by this settlement.

The deadline to be excluded was June 29, 2009 and has now passed. No further requests for exclusion of the settlement are being accepted.

The deadline to object was June 29, 2009 and has now passed. No further objections to the settlement are being accepted.

The Court held a Fairness Hearing on July 28, 2009 at 10:00 a.m., at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, 333 Constitution Avenue, Washington, District of Columbia.

No. The FBI recovered the stolen computer equipment and is highly confident that it has not been accessed.If you wish, you can receive a free credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 1-877-322-8228. If you pay for a credit report now, it will not be covered by this settlement.

The Court appointed John Murdock and Jeffrey Goldenberg, (Murdock, Goldenberg, Schneider & Groh, L.P.A.) of Cincinnati, Ohio; Douglas Rosinski and Donald Cockrill, (Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.) of Columbia, South Carolina; Marc Mezibov, (The Law Offices of Marc Mezibov) of Cincinnati, Ohio; Gary E. Mason, (The Mason Law Firm, L.L.P.) of Washington, DC; and Mark Smilow, (Weiss & Lurie) of New York, New York as "Class Counsel" to represent Class Members. You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyers in this case, you may hire one at your own expense.