Equifax Class Action Settlement Hearings Stalled By Objecting Parties

It seems that Equifax’s legal woes are yet to see a proper resolution as a series of latest reports online show that the settlement proceedings are being questioned by parties due to alleged violations of different rules and laws. 

Parties Agreed To Enter Into Settlement

The settlement stemmed from a massive data compromise incident involving Equifax in 2017. The breach ended up affecting the company’s more than 140 million customer base. 

At its peak, it was reported to be one of the biggest data breaches in recent years. 

Americans all over the United States hailing from different walks of life were hit by the negative repercussions of the said data breach. 

Equifax ended up facing charges in court regarding the data breach allegations. They have gone through years of legal proceedings before arriving at a settlement agreement last year to end all of the allegations thrown against them. 

A District Court Judge issued a decision in early 2020 to which legal observers have touted as a welcome development in the case. 

The authority in charge of the case, District Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr., released a decision approving the class action settlement agreement and its details. 

Judge Thrash officially gave his thumbs-up and have ordered the continuation of the remaining settlement proceedings. Most observers have agreed that the remaining steps to finally seal the deal would run as smoothly as possible. 

Once finally approved, millions of Equifax customers will enjoy a variety of benefits. 

Certified class members can either choose to receive a payout check of up to $125 or a free subscription to a credit monitoring service sponsored by the company. 

Equifax also promised consumers access to identity restoration services free of charge alongside a refund of expenses customers incurred having their data restored. 

Objections Arise… 

However, a handful of parties are objecting to the judge’s decision and actions leading to the announcement of settlement approval. 

Opposing proponents have argued that Judge Thrash failed to release to the public a copy of his court’s draft approval order. 

They are contending that Judge Thrash did not practice independent jurisprudence when he failed to provide involved parties with a copy of the contentious draft approval letter. 

In addition, they are requesting the Eleventh Circuit Court to order the sitting judge to drop his approval of the settlement details and reassign the case to a different magistrate. 

  One of them, John W. Davis, asserted that the judge’s move to directly copy the class counsel’s document was illegal for it contained different provisions that were not included in the preceding rendered decisions. 

Davis believed that the judge has transgressed different judicial ethic rules, common law rights, and so on. 

Another made assertions that Judge Thrash’s decision lacked legal grounds citing previous jurisprudence involving court procedures. 

Moving Forward

On the other hand, different class counsels have debunked the allegations raised by the objecting parties. 

They shared that they are just attempting to stall the proceedings in order to prolong the legal procedures in court. 

Additionally, they tag some of the objecting personalities as devils’ advocates for questioning the judge’s ruling. 

It is also said that some of them have attempted to extort money for their personal benefit during the middle of the legal proceedings. 

They urged the court authorities to disregard the complaints and push forward with the settlement hearings with caution. 

Yet, the class counsels have recognized the objecting parties’ right to raise their concerns regarding the court’s findings. 

Nevertheless, they sided with the judge and stated that there was nothing extraordinary in how the proceedings were handled. 

Editor’s Note on Equifax Data Breach Settlement Updates: 

This feature report aims to provide you the latest court report involving the settlement proceedings concerning Equifax and the affected parties. 

Both have agreed to enter into an agreement to be able to move forward with the case’s speedy resolution. 

Case Name(s) & No.: Huang et al. v. Spector et al.; Case No. 20-10249

Jurisdiction: United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit 

Allegation(s): Equifax should be held liable for the data breach incident that has hit the company a few years ago. 

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