Current and former GeoTek, Inc. employees in the United States whose personal information was affected by the September 2023 cyberattack on the company may qualify to claim an expected $25, or $75 for California residents, or up to $2,000 in documented losses, plus two years of credit monitoring, from the GeoTek data breach class action settlement. Claims close December 1, 2026; the final approval hearing is set for December 11, 2026.
Current Status
Claims are open. The deadline to file a GeoTek settlement claim is December 1, 2026, whether the form is submitted online, emailed, or mailed with a postmark by that date; the notice states no cutoff time or timezone. The San Diego County Superior Court has granted preliminary approval and set the final approval hearing for December 11, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time. No final approval order has been entered and no payment date has been announced. Class members who want a payment should file now using the LoginID and PIN from their mailed postcard.Free settlement alerts
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What Changed Recently?
GeoTek, Inc. agreed to a $150,000 class action settlement resolving claims over a targeted cyberattack on its computer systems in September 2023. According to the notice, files containing private information were accessed during the attack, and those files may have held employees' names, addresses and Social Security numbers. The lawsuit, Borron, et al. v. GeoTek, Inc., was filed in the Superior Court of California for San Diego County. GeoTek denies any wrongdoing, and the court has not decided who is right; both sides settled to avoid the cost and uncertainty of continued litigation. Preliminary approval opened the claim period, and Simpluris mailed postcard notices with individual login credentials to the people on GeoTek's list of affected employees.Who Qualifies?
The class is defined as current and former employees of GeoTek who reside in the United States and whose information was impacted by the cybersecurity incident. The notice says GeoTek's records identify each person who received it as a class member, and that some may have received an earlier breach notification directly from the company.Excluded from the class are the judge assigned to the case and the judge's family and staff, GeoTek itself and its officers and directors, anyone who validly opts out, and anyone who carried out the cyberattack. There is no separate customer or client class; this settlement covers GeoTek's workforce only.
How Much Can You Get?
The $150,000 settlement fund first pays court-approved attorneys' fees and costs, a service award to the class representative, and the cost of notice and administration. Class counsel will ask the court for up to $50,000 in fees and up to $15,000 in litigation costs, plus a $2,500 service award. What remains pays three benefits, and a class member may claim every one that applies:- A one-time cash payment expected to be $25, or $75 for California residents. No documentation is required for this payment, and the notice says the actual amount may be larger or smaller depending on how many claims are filed.
- Reimbursement of up to $2,000 for documented out-of-pocket expenses caused by the cyberattack and incurred between September 1, 2023 and December 1, 2026. The notice lists fees for credit reports, credit monitoring and credit freezes, the cost of replacing identification documents, and postage for contacting banks by mail as examples.
- Two years of credit monitoring from one credit bureau, with $1 million in identity theft insurance, real-time credit file monitoring, dark web scanning, public records monitoring and access to a fraud resolution agent.
If the total value of approved claims exceeds the net fund, every payment is reduced pro rata. The $25 and $75 figures are the administrator's expectations, not guarantees; given the fund size and the likely fee and cost deductions, the cash payment could fall below those amounts if the claim rate is high.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
The online claim form opens only after the claimant enters the LoginID and PIN printed on the postcard notice, so this is a proof-required settlement even though the cash payment and credit monitoring need no receipts. Someone who cannot find the postcard can request the credentials from the administrator through the contact page of the official settlement website by providing a full name and mailing address.The printable paper claim form asks for the Login ID only if known, and can be mailed or emailed without it. The administrator will still match the claimant to GeoTek's list of affected employees before paying anything. The out-of-pocket expense claim is the one benefit that requires documentation: receipts, bank statements or similar records showing the amount spent and its connection to the breach, listed in the form's expense table. Claimants may attach their own written notes to explain a receipt, but notes alone do not make a valid expense claim. Every claim form must be signed under penalty of perjury.
What Is the Deadline?
December 1, 2026. Online submissions and emailed claim forms must be sent by that date, and mailed forms must be postmarked by it. The notice gives no cutoff time or timezone for the claim deadline, so only the date is published here.Requests for exclusion must be postmarked, submitted or emailed by November 1, 2026, and objections must be filed with the court and copied to the administrator by the same date. An opt-out must include the case name and number, the class member's name and mailing address, a signature, and the words "Request for Exclusion" or an equivalent statement; a person may opt out only for themselves. A class member who objects may still file a claim; a class member who opts out may not.
How Do You Take Action?
File online at the official GeoTek Cybersecurity Incident settlement website using the LoginID and PIN from your postcard. Check the box for each benefit you want, complete the expense table and attach records if you are claiming out-of-pocket costs, and sign the attestation. Online filers can choose a digital payment through PayPal, Venmo or Zelle; that option is not available on the paper form, which pays by mailed check to the address on the form. A paper claim form can be downloaded from the settlement website and mailed or emailed to the administrator by December 1, 2026. Notify the administrator if your contact information changes after you file.What Happens Next?
The final approval hearing is scheduled for December 11, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time in Department 64 of the San Diego County Superior Court. The court will decide whether to approve the settlement, how much to award class counsel, and whether to grant the $2,500 service award, and will consider any objections. Class members are not required to attend, and a timely written objection is considered whether or not the objector appears. The hearing date can change without further mailed notice, so check the settlement website before attending. Payments are distributed only if the court grants final approval and after any appeals are resolved; the administrator has not announced a payment date.Sources and Verification
• Official Settlement Website: GeoTek Cybersecurity Incident Settlement, administered by Simpluris• Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement and Claim Form (PDF) — Borron, et al. v. GeoTek, Inc., Case No. 25CU002241C (Cal. Super. Ct., San Diego County)
• Settlement website FAQs and the Settlement Agreement posted on the site's Important Documents page
• Class Counsel: Swigart Law Group APC and Ben Travis Law, APC
• Open Class Actions — data breach settlements hub
Questions
Can I claim the GeoTek cash payment and the out-of-pocket reimbursement together?
Yes. The notice says class members may claim as many of the three benefits as apply to them, so a claimant can check the boxes for credit monitoring, documented out-of-pocket expenses and the one-time cash payment on the same claim form. Only the expense claim needs supporting documents. If the total value of all approved claims exceeds what is left in the fund after fees and costs, every payment is reduced pro rata.
I never got a GeoTek postcard. Can I still file a claim?
The online claim form opens only with the LoginID and PIN printed on the mailed notice. Someone who believes they are a class member but has no notice can ask the administrator to look up their credentials through the official settlement website, or can print the paper claim form, which asks for the Login ID only if known, and mail or email it by December 1, 2026. The administrator still has to match the claimant to GeoTek's list of affected employees.
Why do California residents get $75 instead of $25 in the GeoTek settlement?
The notice sets the expected one-time cash payment at $25 for class members generally and $75 for California residents, and does not explain the difference. Settlements of California data breach claims often allocate more to California residents because the state's Consumer Privacy Act allows statutory damages for certain breaches. The notice frames both figures as expectations, and the actual amount can be higher or lower depending on how many valid claims are filed.
What kinds of expenses does the $2,000 GeoTek reimbursement cover?
Documented out-of-pocket costs incurred between September 1, 2023 and December 1, 2026 because of the cyberattack, such as fees for credit reports or credit monitoring, charges to freeze and unfreeze credit, the cost of replacing identification documents, and postage for contacting banks by mail. Receipts or bank statements are required. Notes the claimant wrote to explain a receipt are allowed as support, but a claim built on self-written notes alone is not valid.
When will GeoTek settlement payments be sent?
No payment date has been announced. The final approval hearing is set for December 11, 2026, and payments are distributed only if the court grants final approval and after any appeals are resolved. The administrator says it does not know whether appeals will be filed or how long they would take. Claimants who file online can choose a digital payment through PayPal, Venmo or Zelle; mailed claim forms are paid by paper check.
