PARS $750,000 Data Breach Class Action Settlement

Data Breach · Pending — Automatic Payment

Current Status

The Orange County Superior Court has preliminarily approved the settlement, and postcard notices are going to class members. Payments are automatic; nobody needs to file a claim. The deadline to opt out or object is December 1, 2026, and the final approval hearing is February 1, 2027. No payments will be made until the court grants final approval and any appeals are resolved.

What Changed Recently?

The settlement website, run by the administrator Simpluris, is live, and the court has set the deadlines. The case is Winer v. Phase II Systems, d/b/a Public Agency Retirement Services, No. 30-2024-01428283-CU-NP-CXC, before Judge David Hoffer in the Superior Court of California, County of Orange. It was filed on September 25, 2024, over a targeted cyberattack on PARS’s computer systems in or around March 2024 in which files that may have held full names and Social Security numbers were accessed. PARS denies the allegations and any wrongdoing, and the court has not decided who is right.

Who Qualifies?

The settlement class is all individuals residing in the United States whose personal information was compromised in the PARS security incident in or around March 2024, including everyone who received notice of the breach. PARS has said there are about 23,337 class members, identified from its records. The judges on the case and their families, PARS and its officers, directors and related companies, and anyone who opts out are excluded.

How Much Can You Get?

PARS will fund a non-reversionary $750,000 settlement. Before payments, the fund covers attorneys’ fees and costs of up to $210,000, a $3,000 service award for the class representative, and notice and administration costs capped at $88,000. What remains is divided equally among every class member who does not opt out. If the court approves those amounts in full, about $449,000 would be left, or roughly $19 per person across 23,337 class members, by OCA’s arithmetic; the real figure depends on the final costs and the number of opt-outs. Money from uncashed checks may be redistributed to class members if practical, and otherwise goes to a court-approved charity. PARS also says it has put additional security measures in place, paid for separately from the fund.

What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?

None to be paid. Class members receive a postcard notice with a LoginID and PIN, which is needed only to choose an electronic payment on the settlement website instead of a mailed check. Someone who believes they are a class member but did not get a notice can contact the administrator through the settlement website; under the settlement agreement, they then have 21 days to send documentation showing they should be on the class list.

What Is the Deadline?

There is no claim deadline. Requests to be excluded must be mailed and postmarked by December 1, 2026, and written objections must be filed with the court by December 1, 2026. Class members who do nothing stay in the settlement, are paid automatically, and give up the right to sue PARS and related parties over the security incident.

How Do You Take Action?

Nothing is required to receive a payment. Class members who would rather be paid by E-Mastercard, PayPal, Venmo or Zelle than by paper check can log in on the official PARS settlement website with the LoginID and PIN from their postcard before the electronic payment election deadline, which is 14 days before payments go out. The opt-out form, notice and settlement agreement are on the website’s Important Documents page.