People whose private information was potentially compromised in the December 2024 cyberattack on Fort Wayne Medical Education Program may qualify to claim a one-time $40 cash payment, or two years of credit or medical monitoring plus up to $5,500 in documented losses instead, from the FWMEP data incident class action settlement. Claims close October 27, 2026, and the final approval hearing is set for December 7, 2026.
Current Status
Claims are open and close October 27, 2026. The Superior Court for Allen County, Indiana authorized notice to the class and set a final approval hearing for December 7, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time; no final approval order has been entered and no payment date has been announced. The deadlines to opt out and to object fall on the same day claims close, October 27, 2026, rather than weeks earlier as they do in most settlements. FWMEP denies that it did anything wrong, and the court has not decided who is right.What Changed Recently?
The claim period opened after the Superior Court for Allen County, Indiana preliminarily approved the settlement in In re Fort Wayne Medical Education Program Data Incident Litigation, Cause No. 02D02-2510-CE-000038, and directed that notice be mailed to the class. The consolidated complaint was filed on November 19, 2025 and pleaded negligence, negligence per se, breach of implied contract, unjust enrichment and invasion of privacy. It alleges that during a targeted cyberattack on FWMEP's computer systems in December 2024, files containing private information were accessed, and that those files may have held personally identifiable information and protected health information.The parties reached an agreement in principle at a full-day mediation on April 14, 2026, negotiated the remaining terms over the following weeks, and signed the settlement agreement in July 2026. FWMEP asserts legal and factual defenses to every claim, denies all charges of wrongdoing or liability, and agreed to settle to avoid the expense and distraction of continued litigation without admitting anything. No later development appears in the settlement documents; the next scheduled event is the December 7, 2026 final approval hearing.
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Who Qualifies?
The court defined the settlement class as all persons whose private information was potentially compromised as a result of the incident and who are included on the settlement class list. Two things follow from that wording. There is no state-residency requirement and no patient or account requirement in the definition, so the class is not limited to Indiana. But membership is not open-ended either: it turns on being on the list FWMEP generated from its own records, which the company provided to the settlement administrator, and which is also what determined who was mailed a notice.The class splits into two subclasses that decide which monitoring service a claim pays out. Group 1 is class members whose Social Security number may have been compromised in the incident. Group 2 is class members whose private information was involved but whose Social Security number was not. FWMEP supplied that division to the administrator on the class list, so a class member does not have to determine it themselves — a valid claim is matched to the right service.
Three groups are excluded: the judge evaluating the fairness of the settlement along with court personnel and their immediate families; FWMEP itself, any entity it controls or that controls it, and its affiliates, legal representatives, attorneys, heirs, predecessors, successors and assigns; and anyone a court finds criminally guilty of initiating, causing, aiding or abetting the cyberattack, or who pleads no contest to such a charge. The preliminary approval order describes the class as numbering in the thousands, and the settlement documents do not give an exact figure.
OCA is tracking several other medical-provider breach settlements with open claim windows. The Summit Medical Group data breach settlement offers the same CyEx Medical Shield Complete monitoring product, and the Modernizing Medicine settlement covers the electronic health records vendor whose servers held records for medical practices.
How Much Can You Get?
Nothing arrives automatically. The settlement agreement is explicit that submitting a valid and timely claim form is the only way to receive any benefit, including the monitoring, so a class member who files nothing receives nothing and still gives up the released claims.A class member who does file chooses between two paths that do not combine.
The first path is the monitoring plus reimbursement, and everything in it stacks. Group 1 class members can claim two years of CyEx Financial Shield Complete, described in the notice as carrying $1 million in financial fraud insurance and monitoring for fraud or identity theft, unauthorized financial transactions, and personal information associated with high-risk transactions. Group 2 class members can claim two years of CyEx Medical Shield Complete, described as carrying $1 million in medical identity theft insurance and monitoring for healthcare insurance ID exposure, Medical Record Number exposure, and unauthorized Health Savings Account spending. Both come with access to a fraud resolution agent. On top of the monitoring, a claim can seek:
- up to $500 in documented ordinary out-of-pocket losses — the notice gives fees for credit reports, credit monitoring or freezing and unfreezing credit, the cost of replacing IDs, and postage to contact banks by mail as examples
- up to $5,000 in documented extraordinary losses from identity theft or fraud, under a separate cap
- up to four hours of lost time at $20 an hour, a maximum of $80
The second path is the alternative cash payment: a one-time $40, claimed with no proof and no explanation. It is taken instead of every other benefit — the settlement agreement offers it in lieu of ordinary out-of-pocket losses, extraordinary out-of-pocket losses, lost time, credit monitoring services and medical monitoring services, and the claim form instructs filers not to claim it if they are claiming anything else. That makes it a narrower option than the flat cash tier in most data breach settlements, where the monitoring usually survives the choice. Two years of monitoring with $1 million of insurance attached is what a class member gives up to take the $40.
No total settlement fund is stated anywhere in the documents, and no pro rata reduction is described. FWMEP agreed to pay the class benefits, and separately to pay all notice and administration expenses, the attorneys' fees and costs award of up to $475,000, and service awards of up to $2,500 for each of the seven class representatives. Those amounts are subject to court approval and are not described as coming out of a shared pot with the class payments.
Documented claims are reviewed rather than paid on request. The administrator decides whether a claim is complete and plausible and can ask for more information, giving the claimant 21 days to supply it. A claim that runs into trouble on the documented-loss side can be converted to the $40 alternative payment instead, and a dispute the parties cannot resolve goes to a claims referee whose decision is final.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
No administrator-issued identifier is needed to file, which is why this page marks Proof Required: No. The settlement website's login screen says a LoginID and PIN from the mailed notice are used to start the online claim form, and it then links a second form for filing without them, so a class member who never received a notice or discarded it still has an online route to a claim. A printable claim form is available from the same website as well, and it treats the Login ID as optional, asking for it only "if known."Proof of loss is a separate question from a login credential, and here the two split cleanly by benefit. The $40 alternative cash payment requires no documentation and no explanation at all — the agreement says so directly, and the administrator's only job on such a claim is to confirm the filer is a class member. The monitoring requires only that the box be checked on the claim form.
Documented reimbursement is where evidence matters. An ordinary or extraordinary out-of-pocket claim needs receipts or similar records showing how much was spent or lost and showing that the expense came from the data incident. Self-prepared documents such as handwritten receipts can add clarity to other proof but are not enough on their own to support a valid claim. Expenses already reimbursed by a third party cannot be claimed. An extraordinary-loss claim carries an additional burden: the filer has to show the theft or fraud was more likely than not caused by the incident, that the loss is not already covered by the ordinary category, and that they made reasonable efforts to avoid or recover it, including exhausting any credit monitoring or identity theft insurance they already have. A lost-time claim needs no receipts but does need a brief written description of what was done and how long each task took.
What Is the Deadline?
A claim is due October 27, 2026. An online claim must be submitted by that date, and a claim form returned by mail must be postmarked no later than that date. The official sources give the date without specifying a timezone.The deadline to exclude yourself is the same, October 27, 2026, and a request for exclusion must be postmarked by then. An objection has to be filed with the Clerk of the Court by October 27, 2026, with copies sent to the settlement administrator, class counsel and counsel for the defendant. The settlement agreement sets all three windows at 60 days from the notice date, which is why they land together instead of the opt-out and objection dates falling weeks earlier as they usually do.
The reimbursable loss window closes on the same day claims do. Ordinary and extraordinary out-of-pocket losses count if they were incurred between December 12, 2024 and October 27, 2026, so an expense from the final weeks before filing is still inside it.
How Do You Take Action?
Claims are filed on the official settlement website, FWMEP Data Settlement.com. The online form can be opened with the LoginID and PIN printed on the mailed notice, or through the separate link on the same page for class members filing without them. A printable claim form is available from the website for anyone who would rather not use the portal, and it can be signed and returned to the settlement administrator with any supporting documentation.The form walks through each benefit as its own section: monitoring enrollment, ordinary out-of-pocket losses with a table for describing the documentation attached, extraordinary losses in the same format, lost time with a written description of the hours claimed, and the $40 alternative payment. A class member taking the $40 checks that box and nothing else. Cash payments can be sent by PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, virtual prepaid card or physical check, selected on the form.
A class member who wants to keep the right to sue FWMEP separately has to say so in writing by October 27, 2026, following the instructions in the notice. The request has to name the litigation and give the sender's full name, mailing address, telephone number, email address, personal signature, and the words "Request for Exclusion" or a clear equivalent. It covers only the person who signs it, and one person cannot opt out on another's behalf. Doing nothing means staying in the class, giving up the released claims, and receiving no benefit.
What Happens Next?
The next scheduled event is the final approval hearing on December 7, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, in Room 316 of the Superior Court for Allen County, Indiana. The notice says the date and time may change without further notice, so the official settlement website is the place to confirm it.At that hearing the court will decide whether to approve the settlement, how much class counsel should be paid, and whether to award the service awards, and it will consider any objections. Class members do not have to attend, and an objection filed on time is considered whether or not the objector appears.
One provision could unwind the whole thing before then. If more than 25 class members validly exclude themselves, the settlement agreement gives FWMEP ten days after receiving the final opt-out list to void the agreement by notifying class counsel in writing. FWMEP would still owe the notice and administration expenses already incurred, and the case would return to litigation. Nothing in the documents indicates that has happened or is expected.
If the court grants final approval, payments and monitoring enrollment codes go out within 30 days of the effective date or within 30 days of a claim being approved, whichever is later. The effective date arrives only after the time to appeal has run with no appeal filed, or after any appeal has been resolved in a way that affirms the judgment. The notice says it is not known whether appeals will be filed or how long they would take, and no payment date has been announced.
Sources and Verification
- Class Action Settlement Agreement and Release, with the claim form, notices and proposed orders — In re Fort Wayne Medical Education Program Data Incident Litigation, Cause No. 02D02-2510-CE-000038 (Allen Superior Court 2, Indiana Commercial Court), filed July 23, 2026
- Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement — Exhibit C to the settlement agreement, linked above
- Official settlement website — FWMEP Data Settlement.com
- Frequently asked questions — official settlement FAQs
- Settlement agreement and related filings — Important Documents page
- Claim and hearing dates — Important Dates page
Questions
Does taking the $40 payment cost me the credit or medical monitoring?
Yes. This settlement is unusual on that point, and it is the single decision worth getting right. The settlement agreement offers the $40 alternative cash payment in place of a claim for ordinary out-of-pocket losses, extraordinary out-of-pocket losses, lost time, credit monitoring services and medical monitoring services — the monitoring is named in that list. The claim form says the same thing more bluntly, telling filers not to claim the $40 if they are claiming any other benefit or payment. Every other benefit stacks: monitoring can be claimed alongside documented losses and lost time. The $40 is the one option that stands alone.
How do I know whether I am in Group 1 or Group 2?
You do not have to work it out yourself. Group 1 is class members whose Social Security number may have been compromised, and Group 2 is class members whose other private information was involved but whose Social Security number was not. FWMEP supplied that split to the settlement administrator on the settlement class list, so a valid claim is matched to the correct service automatically — CyEx Financial Shield Complete for Group 1, CyEx Medical Shield Complete for Group 2. A class member who wants to know which group they are in before filing can ask through the contact page on the official settlement website.
Can I claim documented losses, lost time and monitoring all together?
Yes, as long as you are not taking the $40. The settlement agreement states that the benefits are not mutually exclusive, so monitoring, ordinary out-of-pocket losses, extraordinary out-of-pocket losses and lost time can be claimed on the same form. Two caps shape the total. Ordinary out-of-pocket losses and lost time share one $500 ceiling, so four hours of lost time at $20 an hour uses $80 of that $500 rather than adding to it. Extraordinary losses from identity theft or fraud carry their own separate $5,000 ceiling. The most a documented claim can pay is therefore $5,500, and the monitoring comes on top of it.
There is no settlement fund figure. Will my payment be cut pro rata?
The settlement documents state no total fund and no pro rata reduction. This is a claims-made settlement: FWMEP agreed to pay the class benefits, and separately to pay all notice and administration expenses, the attorneys' fees and costs award of up to $475,000, and service awards of up to $2,500 for each class representative. Nothing in the agreement describes those amounts as coming out of a shared pot, and nothing describes payments being scaled down if claims run high. That is different from most data breach settlements, where a fixed fund is divided among claimants and a heavy claim rate shrinks each payment.
What happens if my settlement check expires before I cash it?
Cashing the check is a condition of receiving the money, and the settlement agreement is strict about the timing. Checks are void 60 days after they are issued and carry that warning printed on them. A class member whose check goes void has 30 more days to ask for it to be reissued, and the same rules then apply to the replacement. If no reissue is requested in that window, the right to the payment is extinguished and FWMEP owes nothing further. For any check issued more than 180 days after the effective date, a reissue request does not have to be honored at all, except for good cause as the administrator judges it. Monitoring enrollment codes follow the identical 60-day and 30-day schedule.
Why do the claim, opt-out and objection deadlines all fall on the same day?
Because the settlement agreement sets all three at 60 days from the notice date rather than staggering them, which is what puts every deadline on October 27, 2026. Many settlements close the opt-out and objection windows several weeks before claims, so this one gives class members longer to decide whether to leave than usual. The practical effect is that a class member weighing whether to opt out and sue on their own has until the same date as everyone else who is simply filing a claim, and there is no second chance afterward: opting out later is not possible, and a class member who does opt out cannot also object.
