Published
September 10, 2026
Current and former Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies U.S.A. employees whose Social Security numbers, passport numbers, retirement account information or medical information were involved in the data incident the company discovered in September 2025 may qualify to claim a flat $50 with no documentation, or instead up to $2,500 in documented out-of-pocket losses — plus two years of credit monitoring either way. Claims close November 25, 2026, and the LoginID and PIN printed on the mailed notice are required to file online.
Current Status
Claims are open. The deadline to file is November 25, 2026, and the deadlines to opt out and to object fall on that same date. The Court has scheduled a Final Approval Hearing for December 11, 2026 at 2:30 p.m. before the Honorable Hoyt G. Tessener at the Wake County Superior Court in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the settlement has not been approved yet. No payment date has been announced: the Notice says benefits are provided after the Settlement is approved by the Court and becomes final. If a notice reached you, it carries the LoginID and PIN you need to open the online claim form.
Status
Claims Open
final approval hearing December 11, 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina
Claim Deadline
November 25, 2026
online or postmarked · opting out and objecting close on the same date
Estimated Payout
$50, or up to $2,500
flat cash with no documentation, or documented out-of-pocket losses instead — one route or the other · two years of credit monitoring either way
Proof Required
Yes — ID to file online
no receipts for the $50, but the online claim form opens on a LoginID and PIN screen from the mailed notice · a printed form mailed in is the only way around it
What Changed Recently?
The settlement is newly open to claims. Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies U.S.A., Inc. has agreed to resolve Johnson et al. v. Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies U.S.A., Inc., Case No. 26CV012339-910, in the Wake County Superior Court of North Carolina, and the Court has authorized notice to the class. Simpluris, Inc. is administering it, and the claim portal, the long-form notice, the claim form and the settlement agreement are live on the official settlement website.Fujifilm denies the legal claims and denies any wrongdoing or liability. The Notice states that the Court has made no determination of any wrongdoing by Fujifilm or that any law has been violated, and that the parties agreed to settle to avoid the risk, cost and time of continuing the lawsuit. No finding of liability has been made.
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What the Case Is About
The complaint was filed on or about March 31, 2026 on behalf of people whose Private Information was potentially accessed or acquired in a cybersecurity incident the Settlement Agreement says Fujifilm discovered on or around September 4, 2025. The Notice describes the incident as having taken place in the summer of 2025.What sets this one apart from the ordinary run of breach settlements is whose data it was and what was in it. The Notice names the categories directly: name, Social Security number, date of birth, driver's license information, passport number, retirement account information and medical information, belonging to Fujifilm's current and former employees. That is a personnel file rather than a customer record, and it is the most complete dossier most people have anywhere. A retail breach costs you a card number that gets reissued; a Social Security number, a date of birth and a passport number do not expire, and they stay accurate years after someone leaves the job. Our explainer on how data breach class actions work covers what these cases typically pay and what a release costs.
Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies U.S.A. is the American arm of a contract development and manufacturing organization that makes biologic drug substances for other pharmaceutical companies, with North Carolina operations that put the case in Wake County. The Notice does not state how many people were affected.
Who Qualifies?
The Settlement Class is defined in the Settlement Agreement as all individuals residing in the United States whose Private Information was impacted by the Data Incident affecting Fujifilm that Fujifilm discovered in approximately September 2025, including all those who received notice of the Data Incident.The Notice's own summary of that definition is narrower in one respect: it describes a class member as someone whose Private Information may have been impacted and who previously received notice from Fujifilm. In practice the mailed notice is the working signal either way, because the administrator built the class list from Fujifilm's own records and the LoginID and PIN needed to file online are printed on it. Someone who left the company well before September 2025 is still covered if their file was in the affected data.
The Notice does not publish a list of exclusions from the class, and the Settlement Agreement's class definition carries none beyond residence in the United States. Anyone who validly opts out by November 25, 2026 leaves the class and gives up all benefits.
How Much Can You Get?
There are three benefits, and only two of them are alternatives to each other:- Alternative Cash Payment — $50. A flat payment with no documentation required. It is claimed in lieu of Out-of-Pocket Losses.
- Documented Out-of-Pocket Losses — up to $2,500. Unreimbursed losses related to the Data Incident, incurred on or after September 4, 2025, supported by reasonable documentation. Fujifilm's total liability for this tier is capped at $175,000 across the whole class, and claims are reduced pro rata on an equal percentage basis if valid claims exceed it.
- Credit Monitoring Services — two years. One-bureau credit monitoring with at least $1,000,000 in identity theft protection insurance, provided through CyEx Identity Defense Complete. It sits alongside whichever cash route you take rather than replacing it.
The cash choice is mutually exclusive: the Settlement Agreement states that a class member who claims the Alternative Cash Payment cannot also receive compensation for Out-of-Pocket Losses, and vice versa. So the $50 is worth taking only if your documented, unreimbursed losses since September 4, 2025 come to less than that — and the documented route is worth the paperwork only if they come to more.
The covered expenses are broader than people expect and are worth reading before defaulting to the flat $50. The Notice lists bank fees, long-distance phone charges, cell phone charges billed by the minute, data charges billed by usage, postage, gasoline for local travel, and fees for credit reports, credit monitoring or other identity theft insurance products purchased. The Settlement Agreement adds professional fees, including attorneys' fees, accountants' fees and credit repair services, along with the cost of freezing or unfreezing credit with a reporting agency. Anyone who bought their own monitoring after the notice arrived already has a documented loss.
The $175,000 aggregate cap is the number to watch on that side. It is the ceiling on what Fujifilm pays for documented losses in total, so a heavy claims rate reduces every documented claim by the same percentage — our explainer on pro rata distribution covers how that reduction works. The $50 Alternative Cash Payment carries no aggregate cap of its own in either document, and neither does the credit monitoring.
There is no common settlement fund. The Notice discloses no total settlement amount, and the benefits are described as per-class-member figures that Fujifilm funds after approved claims are tallied. Expenses already reimbursed by another source cannot be claimed, and the Notice specifically includes compensation provided through the monitoring and identity theft protection offered in Fujifilm's original breach notification letter.
One further benefit is described but not quantified. The Notice says Fujifilm is implementing additional security measures following the Data Incident. The mechanism behind that line, in the Settlement Agreement, is a confidential declaration to Settlement Class Counsel describing the information security improvements made since the breach and estimating what they cost — so the specifics are not public and no injunctive term is enforceable by class members.
What Proof Is Required?
Filing online requires the LoginID and PIN printed on the notice mailed to you. The settlement website says so on the claim form login screen — you must log in with your LoginID and PIN, and you can find them on the Notice that was sent to you — which is why this page treats the settlement as Proof Required: Yes even though the $50 cash tier asks for no documentation at all.The paper route is looser. The same site hosts a downloadable Claim Form that can be printed, completed and returned by mail with any supporting documentation. On that form only the name and mailing address fields are marked required; the Login ID field is not. That is a real path for someone whose notice went astray, but it is an envelope rather than an open online door, so it does not make this a no-proof settlement. Anyone missing their credentials should request them through the official settlement website.
Past that credential, the documentation burden splits by benefit:
- Credit Monitoring Services: nothing. Check the box.
- Alternative Cash Payment, $50: nothing. The Notice states no documentation is required to claim it.
- Out-of-Pocket Losses, up to $2,500: reasonable documentation is required. Telephone records, correspondence including emails, and receipts are the examples given, and the Claim Form asks you to itemize each expense with an amount, a date, a description, and an identification of what you are attaching and why it relates to the Data Incident.
The documented tier carries a limit worth reading twice: personal certifications, declarations or affidavits standing alone do not count as reasonable documentation. They can clarify or give context to other paper you submit, but they cannot be the whole submission. The Claim Form is signed under an affirmation that the information and supporting documents are true and correct, and the administrator may ask for more before treating a claim as complete.
A deficient claim is not simply denied. The Settlement Agreement requires the administrator to notify the class member of the deficiencies and allow twenty-one days to cure them, then to give notice within ten days if the cure is rejected, with a further twenty-one days to appeal in writing. The parties confer on any appeal, and the administrator makes the final, non-appealable call if they cannot agree.
What Are the Deadlines?
Three deadlines, all falling on the same day, and then the hearing:- November 25, 2026 — submit a claim. Online through the settlement website, or the completed Claim Form with any supporting documentation postmarked by this date.
- November 25, 2026 — opt out. A written request for exclusion must be postmarked by this date. It must carry your name, address, telephone number and email address if you have one, your personal physical signature, and a statement that you want to be excluded from the Settlement Class. It cannot be done by phone or email, and group or mass opt-outs filed on behalf of multiple class members are not allowed unless each person signed.
- November 25, 2026 — object. A written objection must be filed with the Court by this date and sent by mail to Class Counsel, Fujifilm's counsel and the Settlement Administrator, postmarked or shipped by private courier by the same date.
- December 11, 2026 — Final Approval Hearing. 2:30 p.m. before the Honorable Hoyt G. Tessener, Wake County Superior Court, Raleigh, North Carolina.
The single shared date is a mercy compared with most breach settlements, where opting out closes weeks before claims do and people who read the notice late find the choice already made for them. Here nothing expires early. Our glossary entry on opting out of a class action covers what that choice trades away.
Objecting demands considerably more than an opinion. Beyond your full name, mailing address, telephone number and email address, the Notice requires all grounds for the objection with any legal support; the number of times you have objected to a class action settlement in the past five years, the caption of each such case and copies of any orders ruling on those objections; the identity of every lawyer representing you in connection with the objection, including any who may be entitled to compensation related to it; the same five-year objection history for your lawyer and their firm; whether your lawyers will appear at the hearing; a list of anyone who will testify in support of the objection; a statement of whether you intend to appear or testify; and your own signature, which a lawyer's signature cannot substitute for. Class Counsel and Fujifilm's counsel may take limited discovery on any objector or objector's counsel.
Objecting does not cost you the money — an objector stays in the class and can still file a claim. Opting out does cost you: the Notice states that a class member who opts out receives no Settlement Class Member Benefits and is not bound by the settlement or any judgment, keeping only the right to sue on their own.
How Do You File?
Claims go through the official settlement website, FLB Data Settlement.com, administered by Simpluris, Inc. Log in to the claim form with the LoginID and PIN from your notice, then choose your route: the $50 Alternative Cash Payment box, or the Out-of-Pocket Losses section with your itemized expenses and supporting documents — not both. Tick the Credit Monitoring Services box either way.The Claim Form also asks how you want to be paid. The default is a mailed check; electronic payment is available through Venmo, PayPal, Zelle or ACH direct deposit if you select one and supply the email address, phone number or bank details tied to that account. Settlement checks expire ninety days after their issue date, and a replacement check reissued after an undeliverable one stays valid for sixty days, so an electronic election avoids a common way for people to lose the money entirely.
If you prefer paper, the same site hosts a downloadable Claim Form that can be printed, completed and returned by mail with any supporting documentation, postmarked by November 25, 2026. Keep a copy of whatever you submit. Filing is free, and class members are not charged for Class Counsel's services. If your mailing or email address changes after you file, it is your responsibility to tell the administrator, which you can do through the official settlement website.
Who Pays the Fees
Fujifilm does, separately from anything class members receive. Class Counsel will ask the Court to approve attorneys' fees and reimbursement of reasonable costs of up to $245,000, and service awards for the class representatives of up to $2,500 each, and the Notice states the Court may award less than these amounts. Fujifilm also pays the notice and administration expenses, which the Settlement Agreement caps at $60,000. The Court appointed Jean Martin of Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLC, Brittany Resch of Strauss Borrelli PLLC, Gary Mason of Mason LLP, and Ken Grunfeld of Kopelowitz Ostrow PA as Class Counsel.That structure matters more than it sounds. On a common-fund settlement, fees and service awards come off the top of a fixed pot before any claimant is paid, which is why so many flat payments are published as estimates that shrink later. Nothing here is deducted from what a class member gets: the $50, the documented tier and the monitoring are all paid by Fujifilm on top of the fees, and the $175,000 cap applies to the documented claims alone. It is worth noticing all the same that the fee request exceeds the aggregate ceiling on documented cash by $70,000. The Court will rule on both requests at the final approval hearing.
What You Give Up
Staying in the class means you cannot sue Fujifilm or the Released Parties over the claims this settlement resolves. The Settlement Agreement defines the Released Claims broadly: everything known or unknown that was or could have been asserted in the action, or that otherwise relates to or arises from the Data Incident, the alleged access or acquisition of class members' Private Information, Fujifilm's notice to class members after the incident, and Fujifilm's information security policies, practices and storage of Private Information — under federal, state, local, statutory or common law alike.The release expressly covers Unknown Claims, and class members waive the protection of California Civil Code section 1542 and every comparable law elsewhere. In plain terms, that means a harm you discover in 2029 and trace back to this incident is released now, before you know about it.
Doing nothing does not avoid that release. A class member who never files still gives up those claims, is still bound by every order the Court enters, and receives no cash. The only way to keep the right to sue Fujifilm individually is to opt out by November 25, 2026. Given that the $50 requires no receipts, doing nothing is the one option with no upside at all.
What Happens Next?
At the December 11, 2026 hearing the Court will decide whether the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate, will rule on the request for attorneys' fees, costs and service awards, and will consider any timely objections. Nobody is required to attend — the Notice says Class Counsel will answer the Court's questions and that a timely written objection will be considered whether or not the objector appears.The Notice warns that the date and time of the hearing may change without further notice to the class, and that the Court may decide to hold it by video conference or telephone, with any change posted on the settlement website. If approval is granted, the Effective Date arrives the day after judgment when no objections were filed, and thirty days after judgment — or after appeals conclude — when they were. Fujifilm then funds approved claims within the later of forty-five days of the administrator's accounting or twenty days of the Effective Date, and payments follow as soon as practicable after that.
One contingency is worth knowing about. The Settlement Agreement gives Fujifilm the right to terminate the settlement if more than 50 class members opt out. That is a low bar, and it means a large wave of exclusions could unwind the deal for everyone. A hearing being held is not the same as approval being granted, and approval being granted is not the same as payments being released; no payment date has been announced.
Class Action Summary
| Case Title | Johnson et al. v. Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies U.S.A., Inc. |
|---|---|
| Case Number | 26CV012339-910 |
| Court | Wake County Superior Court, North Carolina |
| Defendant | Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies U.S.A., Inc. |
| Incident | Cybersecurity incident discovered on or around September 4, 2025 · employee names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, driver's license information, passport numbers, retirement account information and medical information |
| Class Scope | Individuals residing in the United States whose Private Information was impacted, including everyone who received notice of the incident |
| Cash Benefit | $50 Alternative Cash Payment · no documentation · unavailable if you claim out-of-pocket losses |
| Documented Losses | Up to $2,500 per class member for losses on or after September 4, 2025 · $175,000 aggregate cap · pro rata reduction if exceeded · reasonable documentation required |
| Monitoring | 2 years of CyEx Identity Defense Complete · one-bureau · at least $1M identity theft insurance · claimable alongside either cash option |
| Fees | Up to $245,000 in fees and costs, plus up to $2,500 per class representative, paid by Fujifilm |
| Claim Deadline | November 25, 2026 |
| Opt-Out / Object By | November 25, 2026 |
| Final Approval Hearing | December 11, 2026 at 2:30 PM (Wake County Superior Court, Raleigh, NC) |
| Administrator | Simpluris, Inc. |
| Official Website | FLB Data Settlement.com |
Sources and Verification
• Official settlement website — FLB Data Settlement.com• Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement, Claim Form and Settlement Agreement (PDF)
• Johnson et al. v. Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies U.S.A., Inc., Case No. 26CV012339-910 (Wake County Super. Ct., N.C.) — Settlement Agreement and Release, executed April 2026
• The settlement website's FAQs, Important Documents and Important Dates pages, and the claim form login screen
• North Carolina Judicial Branch — Wake County
• FTC — IdentityTheft.gov recovery steps
Questions
Do I have to file a claim to get the two years of credit monitoring?
The settlement documents do not answer this the same way twice, so the safe course is to file and check the box. The Settlement Agreement says all Settlement Class Members shall be automatically provided with Credit Monitoring Services, that they become active one business day after the Effective Date, and that the administrator sends out redemption codes. The Notice and the Claim Form instead describe monitoring as something you may submit a Claim Form to receive, and the paper form carries a checkbox for it. Checking the box costs nothing and does not affect the cash election.
Can I take the $50 and also claim out-of-pocket losses?
No. The Alternative Cash Payment is available in lieu of a claim for Out-of-Pocket Losses. The Settlement Agreement states that a class member who claims the Alternative Cash Payment cannot also receive compensation for Out-of-Pocket Losses and vice versa. Credit Monitoring Services are the benefit that sits alongside either choice rather than replacing it.
What happens if out-of-pocket claims exceed the $175,000 aggregate cap?
Every valid Out-of-Pocket Losses claim is reduced. The Settlement Agreement states that Fujifilm's total liability for Out-of-Pocket Losses shall not exceed $175,000, and that should valid claims exceed that figure, all valid claims for Out-of-Pocket Losses shall be reduced pro rata on an equal percentage basis. The $50 Alternative Cash Payment is stated without an aggregate cap of its own.
What if I never received a notice with a LoginID and PIN?
The online claim form cannot be opened without them. The settlement website says you must log in with your LoginID and PIN to start the online claim form, and that both are printed on the Notice that was sent to you. The alternative is paper: the same site hosts a downloadable Claim Form that can be printed, completed and mailed to the Settlement Administrator with any supporting documentation, and only the name and mailing address fields on that form are marked required. A class member missing the credentials should request them through the official settlement website.
What counts as reasonable documentation for an out-of-pocket claim?
Third-party paper. The Notice gives telephone records, correspondence including emails, and receipts as examples. It also states that personal certifications, declarations or affidavits from the class member do not by themselves constitute reasonable documentation, though they may be submitted to add clarification, context or support to other documents. A claim the administrator finds deficient is not simply denied: the class member is notified and given twenty-one days to cure it, with a further twenty-one-day window to appeal if the cure is rejected.
Could this settlement still be called off?
Yes, and the threshold is unusually low. The Settlement Agreement gives Fujifilm the right to terminate the Settlement if more than 50 Settlement Class Members opt out, and either side may terminate if the Court refuses preliminary or final approval in any material respect or if the approval order is materially modified or reversed on appeal. If the Settlement is terminated, no benefits are paid and the case returns to where it stood before the agreement.
Official Settlement Notice
For more class actions keep scrolling below.
Settlement Amount
No fund figure disclosed
benefits are stated per class member · a $175,000 aggregate cap applies to documented out-of-pocket claims only · fees up to $245,000, the service awards and up to $60,000 in notice and administration costs are paid by Fujifilm
Case Title
Johnson et al. v. Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies U.S.A., Inc.
Case Number
26CV012339-910
Court
Wake County Superior Court, North Carolina
Final Approval Hearing
December 11, 2026 at 2:30 PM
before the Honorable Hoyt G. Tessener, Wake County Superior Court, Raleigh, North Carolina · the date, time and format may change without further notice
Administrator
Simpluris, Inc.
Official Website
FLB Data Settlement
