A July 2025 cyberattack on First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana reached files that the settlement notice says may have held names and Social Security numbers. Anyone whose information was involved can claim a flat $50 with no proof of loss, or instead file for up to $4,500 in documented losses plus up to $80 for time spent — but the online portal is gated on a LoginID and PIN from the mailed notice.
Current Status
Claims are open. The deadline to submit a claim form is September 30, 2026, online or by mail with a postmark no later than that date. The separate deadline to opt out or object is earlier — September 16, 2026. The court has not yet decided whether to approve the settlement: a final approval hearing is set for November 30, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. Central Time in the Indiana Commercial Court in the Lake County Superior Court. No payments have been issued and no payment date has been announced, because benefits are distributed only after final approval and after any appeals are resolved. If you received a notice about this settlement, the action to take now is to file a claim before September 30.What Changed Recently?
The claim window for this settlement is now open. Class Members were sent notice directly, and the Notice says FBC's records identify who is in the class — so this is a fixed list of affected people rather than a class anyone can attest into.The underlying event was a targeted cyberattack on the church's computer systems in July 2025. According to the Notice, certain files containing private information were accessed, and those files may have contained personal information such as names and Social Security numbers. The lawsuit that followed is Kramer v. First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana, Inc., filed in the Indiana Commercial Court in the Lake County Superior Court.
FBC denies that it did anything wrong, and the court has not decided who is right. As the Notice explains, the parties agreed to settle to avoid the costs, risks, disruptions, and uncertainties of continuing the litigation.
Who Qualifies?
The court defined the class as all persons whose personally identifiable information was accessed or acquired by an unauthorized party as a result of the Data Security Incident.Four groups are excluded: FBC along with its officers, directors, and related companies; governmental entities; the judge in the case together with the judge's family and staff; and anyone who validly excludes themselves from the settlement.
Because membership tracks the church's own records rather than a self-reported class period, the practical test is whether you were sent a notice. Class Members were mailed or emailed one, and some may have received an earlier notice directly from FBC when the incident was first disclosed. If you are unsure whether you are included, the settlement website's contact page is the route to ask the administrator.
How Much Can You Get?
The Notice does not publish a total settlement fund. Instead it sets out four per-person cash benefits, each with its own cap. Attorneys' fees and the class representative's service award are described as separate obligations paid by FBC, not deductions from a common fund, so they do not reduce what Class Members can claim.- Alternative Cash Payment — a one-time $50, with no proof or explanation required. The Notice describes this as claimed instead of any other cash payment option.
- Ordinary Documented Out-of-Pocket Expenses — up to $450 for documented costs such as fees for credit reports, credit monitoring, or freezing and unfreezing credit; replacing IDs; and postage to contact banks by mail.
- Extraordinary Documented Out-of-Pocket Losses — up to $4,500 for money lost to identity theft or fraud.
- Lost Time — up to four hours at $20 per hour, for a maximum of $80, for time spent responding to the incident.
The choice that matters is the $50. Because the Notice presents it as an alternative to any other cash payment option, taking it means forgoing the reimbursement tiers and the lost-time payment, which the Notice otherwise describes as separate benefits. If you have documented costs or time to claim, work out what those tiers come to before defaulting to the flat payment. If you have neither, the $50 is the option that requires nothing beyond the claim form.
Both reimbursement tiers are limited to losses incurred between July 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026, and neither covers an expense a third party has already reimbursed.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
Proof is required, and it applies to every claim on this settlement — including the $50 that advertises itself as requiring no proof. To start an online claim you must log in with a LoginID and a PIN, both printed on the notice sent to you. A person who never received that notice, or who no longer has it, cannot simply file with a name and address. Under OCA's standard, an administrator-issued credential that gates the claim is proof, whatever the benefit description says about receipts.On top of that gate, the two reimbursement tiers require documentation. You submit proof such as receipts showing how much you spent or lost, and the proof should show the expense was because of the Data Security Incident. You may add your own notes or papers to explain or support other proof, but the Notice is explicit that self-made notes alone are not enough to make a valid claim. For the extraordinary tier you must additionally show that the theft or fraud was probably caused by the incident, that the loss is not already covered by the ordinary tier, and that you tried to prevent the loss or recover the money, such as through insurance you already have.
The Lost Time benefit sits between the two: no receipts, but you must briefly describe how you spent the time. The $50 Alternative Cash Payment requires no proof of loss and no explanation — only the login credentials.
If you cannot locate your LoginID and PIN, the settlement website's contact page explains how to ask the administrator to retrieve them or to send a paper claim form.
What Is the Deadline?
Two different dates govern this settlement, and the earlier one is easy to miss.September 30, 2026 is the claim deadline. Online claim forms must be submitted by that date, and mailed claim forms — with any supporting documentation — must carry a postmark no later than that date. The Notice does not specify a cutoff time or timezone for online submissions, so treat the date itself as the limit.
September 16, 2026 is the deadline for both opting out and objecting, two weeks ahead of the claim deadline. Opting out is the only way to keep your right to sue FBC on your own about the legal issues in this case, and it means receiving nothing from the settlement. An objection must be filed with the Clerk of Court by that date, with a copy sent to the settlement administrator, and the Notice sets out a detailed list of what a valid objection has to contain — including your reasons, any prior objections you or your lawyer filed in the past five years, and whether you want to speak at the hearing. You cannot object if you have excluded yourself.
How Do You Take Action?
File online at the official settlement website, FBCDataSettlement.com, using the LoginID and PIN from your notice. A printable claim form can also be downloaded from the site and mailed to the administrator with supporting documentation, and the administrator can send a paper claim form on request.The official documents are all posted publicly by the administrator: the Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement, the Settlement Agreement, and the Claim Form. Section 11 of the Settlement Agreement is the Releases section, which describes the legal claims you give up by staying in the class.
Before you file, decide between the $50 and the documented tiers, and gather receipts if you are claiming reimbursement. If you are claiming lost time, have your short description of what you did ready.
What Happens Next?
The next milestone is the final approval hearing on November 30, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. Central Time, held in person at the Lake County Superior Court in Hammond, Indiana. The court will decide whether to approve the settlement, rule on Class Counsel's fee request and the service award, and consider any objections. Class Members may ask permission to speak but are not required to attend.The Notice cautions that the hearing date and time may change without further notice, so the settlement website is the place to confirm it. If the court grants approval, payments are distributed after the judgment becomes final and any appeals are resolved. No payment date has been announced.
Sources and Verification
This page is based on the official settlement website and the court-authorized settlement documents in Kramer v. First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana, Inc., Case No. 45D01-2509-CE-62.- Official settlement website — FBC Data Settlement (claim portal, FAQs, important dates, and documents)
- Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement
- Settlement Agreement
- Claim Form
For other breach settlements with claim windows still open, see our running list of hot data breach settlements, or our explainer on how a data breach class action works.
Questions
Can I still file if I never received a notice with a LoginID and PIN?
The online claim portal requires a LoginID and PIN, both printed on the notice the administrator mailed or emailed. The Notice states that FBC's records identify who is a Class Member, so the class is a fixed list rather than anyone who attests to membership. If you believe you are a Class Member but cannot find your credentials, the settlement website's contact page explains how to ask the administrator to look up your LoginID and PIN or send a paper claim form.
Is the $50 payment on top of the documented-loss reimbursements, or instead of them?
Instead of. The Notice describes the Alternative Cash Payment as a one-time $50 payment claimed in place of any other cash payment option. The other three benefits are described as separate benefits: reimbursement of up to $450 in ordinary documented out-of-pocket expenses, up to $4,500 in extraordinary documented losses from identity theft or fraud, and up to $80 in lost time. Choosing the $50 means giving up all three, so it generally makes sense only if you have no documented losses and no time to claim.
What time period do my documented losses have to fall within?
Both reimbursement tiers cover losses incurred between July 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026. The Notice also states you cannot claim an expense that a third party has already reimbursed, and that for extraordinary losses you must show the theft or fraud was probably caused by the Data Security Incident, that the loss is not already covered by the ordinary tier, and that you tried to prevent or recover the loss, such as through insurance you already have.
Do I need receipts to claim the $80 lost time payment?
No receipts, but you must briefly describe how you spent the time. The Notice allows up to four hours at $20 per hour, for a maximum of $80, and the time has to have been spent on tasks related to the Data Security Incident. It gives examples such as changing passwords, investigating suspicious account activity, and researching the incident. The reimbursement tiers are the ones that require proof such as receipts.
How large is the settlement fund?
The Notice does not state a total settlement fund. It describes a set of per-person cash benefits that Class Members claim individually, and it says separately that FBC will pay Class Counsel's requested $250,000 in attorneys' fees and litigation costs, and a requested $2,500 service award for the class representative. Because no common fund figure is published, there is no pro rata calculation and no announced per-person average beyond the stated caps.
