Garbarino v. NST

In a class action, one or more people called class representatives sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. All of the people with similar claims are class members. One court resolves the issues for all class members, except those who exclude themselves from the class.

This lawsuit began when Plaintiff Susan Garbarino filed a putative class action complaint against NST. In the lawsuit, Plaintiff alleges that NST was negligent and violated contractual and common law duties when an unauthorized third party obtained unauthorized access to certain information relating to NST’s clients/employees by gaining unauthorized access to NST’s network servers. NST denies any liability or wrongdoing of any kind associated with the claims in this lawsuit.

The Notice contains only a summary of the allegations. The Complaint in the lawsuit, which is posted here, contains the allegations. NST’s answer and other filings in the case, including the motion for approval of the Settlement Agreement, are also available here.

To resolve this matter without the expense, delay, and uncertainties of litigation, the Parties reached a settlement. The proposed Settlement would require NST to pay money to the Settlement Class; pay settlement administration costs, attorneys’ fees, and costs of Class Counsel; and pay a Service Award Payment to the Settlement Class Representative, as may be approved by the Court. The Settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing by NST and does not imply that there has been, or would be, any finding that NST violated the law.

You are a member of the Settlement Class if you are an individual within the United States of America whose personal information was potentially exposed to unauthorized third parties as a result of the Data Security Incident.

The Court has appointed Laura Van Note of Cole & Van Note as Class Counsel.

Laura Van Note
COLE & VAN NOTE
555 12th Street, Suite 2100
Oakland, CA 94607

Class Counsel, Cole & Van Note, has applied to the Court for Attorneys’ Fees of up to $77,492 plus Litigation Costs and expenses not to exceed $65,000. Class Counsel will petition to be paid legal fees and to be reimbursed for their reasonable expenses from the Settlement Fund. You do not need to hire your own lawyer, but you may choose to do so at your own expense.

NST has agreed to establish a Settlement Fund by depositing with the Settlement Administrator US $232,500 in cash.

The Settlement Fund will be used to pay attorneys’ fees and costs, a Service Award Payment for the Settlement Class Representative, and settlement administration costs. After deducting amounts for attorneys’ fees and costs, a Service Award Payment for the Settlement Class Representative, and settlement administration costs, the remaining amount (“Net Settlement Amount”) will be used to pay timely, valid Claims.

A Settlement Class Member who timely submits a valid and approved Claim Form shall be entitled to (1) a pro rata cash payment, and (2) if the Settlement Class Member experienced unreimbursed unauthorized or fraudulent charges or out-of-pocket expenses which they believe in good faith were fairly traceable to the Data Security Incident, they may file a claim for an out-of-pocket reimbursement of up to $5,000.

After payment of the above awards, if any money remains from the Net Settlement Amount, that money will be distributed pro rata among all Settlement Class Members who have timely submitted a valid and approved Claim Form, or if too little money remains to make such a payment, the money will be donated to an appropriate charity.

NST has also implemented certain enhancements to its data security.

You must submit a completed Claim Form no later than June 27, 2025. You may submit a Claim Form online at here.

If you want to exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, sometimes referred to as “opting out,” you will not be eligible to recover any benefits as a result of this Settlement and will not receive a payment or have any rights under the Settlement Agreement. However, you will keep the right to sue NST at your own expense about the legal issues raised in this lawsuit. You may exclude yourself from the Settlement by mailing a written notice to the Settlement Administrator, postmarked on or before April 28, 2025. Your exclusion request letter must

• include your name;
• be in writing;
• state your current address;
• contain the statement “I request that I be excluded from the Settlement Class in the case of Susan Garbarino v. Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz, PLC”;
• be signed by you; and
• be mailed to the Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 2877, Portland, OR 97208-2877, postmarked on or before April 28, 2025.

You can ask the Court to deny approval by filing an objection. You cannot ask the Court to order a different settlement; the Court can only approve or reject the Settlement. If the Court denies approval, no settlement payments will be sent out, and the lawsuit will continue. If that is what you want to happen, you should object.

If you are a member of the Settlement Class and you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement, you can object to the Settlement. To do so, you must file your written objection with the Court no later than April 28, 2025, and mail a copy to Epiq, the Settlement Administrator at the address listed below. Your written objection may include any supporting documentation you wish the Court to consider.

The written objection must include:

• The name of the proceedings;
• The Settlement Class Member’s full name, current mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address;
• A written statement of the specific grounds for the objection, as well as any legal basis and documents supporting the objection;
• A written statement as to whether the objection applies only to the objector, to a specific subset of the Settlement Class, or to the entire Settlement Class;
• The identity of any and all attorneys representing the objector;
• A statement regarding whether the Settlement Class Member (or his/her attorney) intends to appear at the Final Approval Hearing; and
• The signature of the Settlement Class Member or the Settlement Class Member’s attorney.

If your objection is submitted and overruled by the Court at the Final Approval Hearing, you will remain fully bound by the terms of the Settlement Agreement and the Final Approval Order. Any Settlement Class Member who does not file a timely and adequate objection waives the right to object or to be heard at the Final Approval hearing and shall be forever barred from making any objection to the Settlement.

The Court is located at Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse, 111 South 10th Street St. Louis, MO 63102. The mailing address for the Settlement Administrator, Epiq, is P.O. Box 2877, Portland, OR 97208-2877.

Objecting means telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object to the Settlement only if you stay in the Settlement Class. Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object to the Settlement because it no longer affects you.

Unless you exclude yourself, you will be part of the Settlement Class and you will be bound by the release of claims in the Settlement. This means that, if the Settlement is approved, you cannot sue, continue to sue, or be part of any lawsuit against NST or the other Released Parties asserting a “Released Claim,” as defined below. It also means that the Court’s Final Approval Order approving the Settlement and the judgment in this case will apply to you and legally bind you.

“Released Claims” means any and all actual, potential, filed, unfiled, known or unknown, fixed or contingent, claimed or unclaimed, suspected or unsuspected, claims or causes of action of every kind and description whatsoever, accrued or unaccrued, direct or indirect, individual, or representative, whether based on federal, state, local, statutory, or common law, or any other law, against the Released Parties, arising out of, or relating to, actual or alleged facts, transactions, events, matters, occurrences, acts, disclosures, statements, representations, omissions, or failures to act in connection with the Data Security Incident, and including all claims that were brought or could have been brought in the Action, belonging to any and all Settlement Class Members or Releasing Parties, including but not limited to any state law or common law claims that they may have or had, such as under California’s Customer Records Act, California Civil Code section 1798.80, et seq., and/or California’s Consumer Privacy Act, California Civil Code section 1798.100, et seq. Released Claims include causes of action, claims, complaints, suits, petitions, any allegations of wrongdoing, rights, liabilities, or demands for legal, equitable, or administrative relief (including, but not limited to, any claims for injunction, rescission, reformation, restitution, disgorgement, constructive trust, declaratory, relief, compensatory damages, consequential damages, penalties, exemplary damages, punitive damages, multiplied damages, attorneys’ fees and/or obligations, costs, interest, or expenses) that the Releasing Parties had, have, or may claim now or in the future to have (including, but not limited to, assigned claims and any and all “Unknown Claims”) that were or could have been asserted or alleged arising out of the same nucleus of operative facts as any of the claims alleged or asserted in the Action, including but not limited to the facts, transactions, occurrences, events, acts, omissions, or failures to act that were alleged, argued, raised, or asserted in any pleading or court filing in the Action, including but not limited to those concerning the Data Security Incident. Settlement Class Members and the Releasing Parties expressly waive all rights under California Civil Code section 1542, which provides the following:

A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS THAT 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 THAT, IF KNOWN BY HIM OR HER, WOULD HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR OR RELEASED PARTY.

“Released Parties” means NST and its future, present, and former, direct or indirect, predecessors, successors, assigns, parents, subsidiaries, divisions, affiliates, departments; and any and all of their respective past, present, and future, direct or indirect, officers, managers, predecessors, administrators, executors, trustees, directors, employees, investors, stockholders, shareholders, partners, members, owners, associates, corporations, servants, agents, successors, attorneys, advisors, consultants, representatives, insurers, reinsurers, benefit plans, subrogees; and the predecessors, successors, and assigns of any of the foregoing.

The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on September 4, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. The court is located at:

Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse
Courtroom 15 South
111 South 10th Street
St. Louis, MO 63102

At that hearing, the Court will determine the overall fairness of the Settlement, hear objections, and decide whether to approve the requested attorneys’ fees and expenses, Service Award Payment for the Settlement Class Representative, and settlement administration costs. The hearing may be moved to a different date or time without additional notice, so it is a good idea to check this Settlement Website and the Court’s docket for updates.

For more information, you can call the Settlement Administrator at 1-888-884-9871. You may also write to the Settlement Administrator via mail at P.O. Box 2877, Portland, OR 97208-2877, or via email at info@NSTSettlement.com.