SitusAMC has agreed to a $5.3 million settlement for over 600,000 class members in a data breach lawsuit. 

The vendor and plaintiffs asked a federal court this week to preliminarily approve their deal to resolve claims arising from a cybersecurity incident last November. The company, which provides real estate loan-level data for financial players, is not admitting any wrongdoing or liability in reaching the agreement. 

The settlement, if approved, will cover approximately 662,792 individuals affected by the hack. Case filings this week did not elaborate on details of the Nov. 12 incident, which reportedly affected major bank partners. 

JPMorganChase customer Armen Kelechian filed a class action case against SitusAMC in November, which was eventually consolidated with six other complaints. This is a relatively quick deal by a mortgage player to settle a data breach case, as other industry cases have taken years to resolve. 

Neither a representative for SitusAMC nor attorneys for the sides responded to requests for comment Thursday. 

What's in the deal?

Upon a judge's preliminary approval of the deal, SitusAMC will initially fund $300,000 to cover the costs of notifying class members, according to the parties' filings. Within 10 days of the settlement's final approval, the company will fund the remaining $5 million. Within that sum, class members can receive: 

• A cash payment of up to $5,000 for documented losses traceable to the incident;
• An pro-rata flat cash payment, currently estimated at $75 per individual;
• Credit monitoring services for 1 year, including $1 million identity theft insurance; 
• A separate statutory payment for California claimants. 

The flat cash payment can vary depending on the number of claimants. The consumers named as class representatives are also in line to receive $2,500 service awards. Attorneys have asked for a third of the settlement fund, or around $1.7 million, plus unspecified reimbursements. SitusAMC also claims it undertook significant remediation measures, including cybersecurity enhancements, for an unspecified cost not part of the settlement fund. 

A federal judge Tuesday asked the parties to submit additional information regarding the budget for settlement administration costs. 

Lenders wrapping up cases

Some mortgage companies in recent years have dug in and fought plaintiffs on their data breach claims, which have often resulted in multimillion dollar settlements. Lenders fending off older class action cases include Mr. Cooper, which is still fighting a suit over a massive 2023 incident, 

More industry firms are also seeing cases brought over cybersecurity incidents near an end. A plaintiff this week voluntarily dismissed her data breach suit against Evolve Mortgage Services for a hack it suffered last October. 

Larger nonbank lender AnnieMac earlier this month told a federal court it's reached an agreement to settle claims arising from a 2024 attack affecting 171,000 consumers. The company and plaintiffs have been ordered to file their agreement within the coming weeks.