Frequently Asked Questions

The court-authorized notice of the proposed settlement (the “Settlement”) in a Class Action lawsuit, Engle v. Talbert House; Case No. A2103650, is pending in the Court of Common Pleas of Hamilton County, Ohio (the “Court”). The Settlement would resolve the Lawsuit brought on behalf of persons who allege that their information may have been impacted by the data security incident first discovered by Defendant Talbert House (“Talbert House” or “Defendant”) on or about June 2021 (the “Data Security Incident”). The Court has granted Preliminary Approval of the Settlement Agreement and has conditionally certified the Settlement Class for purposes of settlement only. The notice explains the nature of the class action lawsuit, the terms of the Settlement Agreement, and the legal rights and obligations of members of the Settlement Class. Please read the instructions and explanations carefully so that you can better understand your legal rights. The Settlement Administrator in this case is Kroll Settlement Administration LLC. 

To resolve this matter without the expense, delay, and uncertainties of protracted litigation, the Parties reached a Settlement that resolves all claims brought on behalf of the Classes related to the Data Security Incident. If approved by the Court, the Settlement Agreement requires Talbert House to provide, at no cost to Class Members, credit monitoring services and compensation to certain Class Members who submit valid and timely Claim Forms. The Settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing by Talbert House and does not imply that there has been, or would be, any finding that Talbert House violated the law.

The Court already has preliminarily approved the Settlement Agreement. Nevertheless, because the settlement of a class action determines the rights of all members of the Class, the Court overseeing this lawsuit must give final approval to the Settlement Agreement before it can be effective. The Court has conditionally certified the Settlement Class for settlement purposes only, so that members of the Settlement Class may be given the notice and the opportunity to exclude themselves from the Settlement Class, and to voice their support or opposition to final approval of the Settlement Agreement. If the Court does not grant final approval to the Settlement Agreement, or if it is terminated by the Parties, then the Settlement Agreement will be void, and the Lawsuit will proceed as if there had been no settlement and no certification of the Settlement Class.

You are a member of the Settlement Class if your Private Information was potentially compromised through Talbert House’s June 2021 Data Security Incident and your Private Information potentially was maintained on Defendant Talbert House’s system (“Settlement Class”).

Further, there is a subclass of individuals whose Social Security Number, driver’s license number, and/or financial information (credit and/or account information) were included in Talbert House’s Data Security Incident (“Settlement Subclass”). 

Credit Monitoring: Additionally, all Class Members may receive extended credit monitoring, with Settlement Class Members eligible to receive one year of one bureau credit and identity monitoring with fraud insurance up to $1,000,000, and Settlement Subclass Members eligible to receive two years of three bureau credit and identity monitoring with fraud insurance up to $1,000,000.

***To receive Monetary and/or Credit Monitoring Settlement benefits, you must submit a Claim Form.

Injunctive Relief: Talbert House has agreed to implement a series of data security enhancements to potentially reduce the likelihood of such a security incident occurring in the future, including, 

1. Multi-factor authentication for all Microsoft 365 email users;
2. Global password reset for all accounts with authorized access to Talbert House’s network during the data security incident in question;
3. A network-monitoring tool to monitor for and identify unusual or suspicious behavior, including potential malware, on the company’s network;
4. Ongoing endpoint security tool; and,
5. Ongoing security awareness training for its employees, which will include awareness training specifically regarding phishing attacks.

If you timely submit a valid Claim Form for monetary recovery, you will receive payment in the amount approved by the Settlement Administrator after processing your Claim Form.  If you pre-register for, or submit a claim for, credit monitoring and identity restoration services, you will receive these benefits after the Court enters a Final Approval Order.

• Costs associated with obtaining credit reports;
• Costs associated with purchasing identity theft insurance products for the period after the expiration of the credit monitoring and identity theft insurance coverage offered to the Subclass Members at the time of notice;
• Credit monitoring costs that were incurred on or after June 11, 2021, through the date of the Ccaim submission;
• Long distance telephone charges;
• Cell minutes (if charged by the minute or the amount of data usage);
• Internet usage charges (if charge by the minute or the amount of data usage);
• Text messages (if charged by the message);
• Miscellaneous expenses such as notary, fax, postage, copying and mileage; 
• Unreimbursed bank fees; 
• Unreimbursed card reissuance fees;
• Unreimbursed overdraft fees; 
• Unreimbursed charges related to unavailability of funds; 
• Unreimbursed late fees; 
• Unreimbursed over-limit fees; and
• Unreimbursed charges from banks or credit card companies.

Class Members may be required to:

1. Show that the loss was more likely than not caused by the Data Security Incident.
   
   
2. Show that the loss occurred during the time period after the Data Security Incident and before the Claims Deadline.
   
   
3. Show that the loss is not already covered by one or more of the normal reimbursement categories; and 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 insurance.
   
   
4. Attest (“Declare with Signature”) that the Class Member spent the amount of hours included in his or her Claim Forms as a result of the Data Security Incident and/or that the information contained in his or her Claim Forms is true and accurate.  

Reasonable documentation must be submitted with all claims showing that the out-of-pocket expenses were caused by the Data Security Incident.  More details are provided in the Settlement Agreement, which is available in the Documents section of this website.

By staying in the Class, all the Court’s orders will apply to you and will bind you, and you give Defendant a “release.” A release means you cannot sue or be part of any other lawsuit or other legal action against Defendant about or arising from the claims or issues in this lawsuit with respect to the potential unauthorized access of your information stored in Defendant’s system on or about June 2021. 

The precise terms of the release are in the Settlement Agreement, which is available on the Settlement Website. Unless you formally exclude yourself from this Settlement, you will release your claims. To the extent applicable, each releasor is given the opportunity to read and review the following provision of California Civil Code Section 1542: 

A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release, and which if known by him or her would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor.

Your release shall apply according to its terms, regardless of any provision of law or legal authority similar to California Civil Code Section 1542 identified above. If you have any questions, you can talk for free to the attorneys identified below who have been appointed by the Court to represent the Settlement Class, or you are welcome to talk to any other lawyer of your choosing at your own expense.

The precise terms of the release are in the Settlement Agreement, which is available on the Settlement Website. Unless you formally exclude yourself from this Settlement, you will release your claims. If you have any questions, you can talk for free to the attorneys identified below who have been appointed by the Court to represent the Settlement Class and Settlement Subclass or you are welcome to talk to any other lawyer of your choosing at your own expense.

To exclude yourself from the settlement, you must send a letter by mail stating that you want to be excluded from Engle. v. Talbert House; Case No. A2103650 (Hamilton County, Ohio) to both the Settlement Administrator and the Hamilton County Clerk of Court. Such notice shall state: (1) your full name and address; (2) the case name and docket number; (3) a written statement of all grounds for the objection, accompanied by any legal support for the objection the objector believes applicable; (4) the identification of any other objections you have filed, or you had filed on your behalf, in any other class action cases in the last four years; (5) whether you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing, and (6) your signature. You must mail your exclusion request so that it is postmarked no later than November 21, 2022, to both:

Engle v. Talbert House
c/o Kroll Settlement Administration
PO Box 225391
New York, NY 10150-5391

and

Hamilton County Clerk of Courts
1000 Main Street, Room 315
Cincinnati, OH 45202

The Court has appointed three law firms to represent the Class as Class Counsel -- Markovits, Stock & DeMarco, LLC, Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, PLLC, and The Lyon Firm, LLC:

You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

You can tell the Court that you do not agree with the settlement or some part of it.  If you are a Class Member, you can object to the Settlement and the Court will consider your views.  In order to object to the Settlement, you must provide a written objection (such as a letter or legal brief) stating that you object and the reasons why you think the Court should not approve the Settlement.  Your objection should include: (1) the objector’s full name and address; (2) the case name and docket number, Engle v. Talbert House; Case No. A2103650; (3) all grounds for the objection, with factual and legal support for the stated objection, including any supporting materials; (4) the identification of any other objections he/she has filed, or has had filed on his/her behalf, in any other class action cases in the last four years; (5) whether the objector intends to appear at the Final Approval Hearing, and (6) the objector’s signature.

If represented by counsel, the objecting Settlement Class Member must also provide the name and telephone number of his/her counsel. If the objecting Settlement Class Member intends to appear at the Final Approval Hearing, either with or without counsel, he/she must state as such in the written objection, and must also identify any witnesses he/she may call to testify at the Final Approval Hearing and all exhibits he/she intends to introduce into evidence at the Final Approval Hearing, which must also be attached to, or included with, the written objection.

To be timely, written notice of an objection in the appropriate form must be mailed, with a postmark date no later than the Objection Deadline, to both (1) the Hamilton County Clerk of Court, 1000 Main Street, Room 315, Cincinnati, OH 45202, and to (2) the Settlement Administrator, Kroll Settlement Administration LLC at Engle v. Talbert House, c/o Kroll Settlement Administration, PO Box 225391 New York, NY 10150-5391.

This website only provides a summary of the proposed settlement. Complete details about the settlement can be found in the Settlement Agreement

If you have any questions, you can contact the Settlement Administrator or Class Counsel at the numbers or address below. In addition to the documents available on the Settlement Website, all pleadings and documents filed in this lawsuit may be reviewed or copied at the Hamilton County Clerk of Court’s office

You may write to:

DO NOT ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SETTLEMENT OR THE LITIGATION TO THE CLERK OF THE COURT OR TO THE JUDGE.