Published
September 9, 2026
People mailed notice of the December 2024 cyberattack on Southern Graphics may qualify to claim up to $3,500 in documented losses or, instead, a pro rata cash payment that needs no proof, plus two years of credit monitoring, from a $750,000 settlement fund. Claims close November 3, 2026, and the Login ID and PIN from the notice are required to file online.
Current Status
Claims are open. The deadline to file is November 3, 2026, online or postmarked. The deadlines to opt out or to object fall two weeks earlier, on October 19, 2026. The Court granted preliminary approval on August 17, 2026 and set a Final Approval Hearing for November 18, 2026 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time in Louisville; the settlement has not been finally approved. No payment date has been announced. The Notice says payments are distributed only if the Court grants final approval and after any appeals are resolved, and that it is not known whether appeals will be filed. If a notice reached you, it carries the Login ID and PIN you need to file online.
Status
Claims Open
final approval hearing November 18, 2026 in Louisville, Kentucky
Claim Deadline
November 3, 2026
online or postmarked · opting out and objecting close earlier, on October 19
Estimated Payout
Up to $3,500 or pro rata cash
documented losses or a flat pro rata share — one or the other, not both · two years of credit monitoring on top of either
Proof Required
Yes — ID to file online
Login ID and PIN from your notice to file online · receipts for the $3,500 tier; the pro rata cash needs none
What Changed Recently?
The settlement is newly open to claims. On August 17, 2026 the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky granted preliminary approval in Davis, et al. v. Southern Graphics, Inc., No. 3:25-cv-563, preliminarily certified a nationwide settlement class, appointed Simpluris as Settlement Administrator and authorized notice. The claim portal, the long-form notice, the claim form and the settlement agreement are live on the official settlement website.Southern Graphics denies the allegations and any wrongdoing or liability, and the Court has not decided who is right. The Notice states that both sides agreed to settle to avoid the costs, risks, disruptions and uncertainties of continuing the litigation. No finding of liability has been made.
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What the Case Is About
According to the Notice, the case concerns a targeted cyberattack on Southern Graphics' computer systems in December 2024, during which files containing Private Information were allegedly accessed. The settlement agreement dates the discovery of the incident to on or about December 2, 2024.The Notice says those files may have contained names, Social Security numbers, tax identification numbers, driver's license or state identification card numbers, financial account and payment card information, passport numbers or other government identification numbers, health information and health insurance information. The consolidated complaint pleaded negligence, negligence per se, breach of implied contract, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment and violation of the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act on behalf of a class described as the company's current and former employees.
That combination of fields is the reason this one is worth filing on. Payment card numbers can be reissued; a Social Security number, a tax identification number and a passport number cannot, and together they support account opening and tax fraud long after any single card is replaced. The monitoring offered here runs two years, which is shorter than the useful life of the data.
One naming detail avoids confusion in the paperwork: the notice documents state that Southern Graphics, Inc. is now Southern Graphics LLC. The case caption still uses the former name.
Who Qualifies?
The Court defined the Settlement Class as all living individuals in the United States whose Private Information was potentially compromised in the Data Incident, including everyone who was mailed notice of it by Southern Graphics. The parties estimate 39,642 class members.The geography is the point most likely to be misread. The case sits in a federal court in Louisville and the defendant is a Kentucky-based company, but the class is nationwide — the definition covers all living individuals in the United States, with no residency requirement attached. Someone who has since left the company or moved to another state is still a class member if a notice was mailed to them.
Three groups are excluded: directors and officers of Southern Graphics or its subsidiaries and affiliated companies; governmental entities; and the judges assigned to the case, along with a judge's immediate family and court staff.
How Much Can You Get?
There are three benefits, and the two cash options are alternatives rather than a stack:- Credit monitoring — two years of CyEx Financial Shield Complete. Available to every Settlement Class Member, with $1 million of financial fraud insurance and monitoring for fraud or identity theft, unauthorized financial transactions, and personal information appearing in high-risk transactions, plus access to a fraud resolution agent.
- Cash Payment A — documented losses, up to $3,500. For actual, documented out-of-pocket losses caused by the incident and incurred between December 2, 2024 and November 3, 2026: money lost to identity theft or fraud, fees for credit reports, credit monitoring or freezing and unfreezing credit, the cost of replacing IDs, and postage to contact banks by mail.
- Cash Payment B — alternate cash, a one-time pro rata payment. No proof or explanation required. The amount is the Settlement Fund divided by the number of valid and timely claims.
The Claim Form makes the choice explicit, telling filers not to claim one cash option if they are claiming the other. The monitoring is not part of that choice and can be claimed either way.
Southern Graphics is funding a $750,000 Settlement Fund, and that figure has to be read against the size of the class rather than on its own. The Court did the arithmetic itself in the preliminary approval order: across an estimated 39,642 class members the gross fund works out to roughly $19 each, and after deducting attorneys' fees of up to $250,000, service awards of up to $2,500 for each of the five class representatives, and settlement administration costs, less than $13 per class member remains to cover documented losses, credit monitoring and the pro rata cash. The Court wrote that it was concerned the proposed settlement may provide only perfunctory relief to unnamed class members, while still finding the relief adequate at the preliminary stage.
What that arithmetic does not capture is the claims rate, and it is the reason the pro rata figure is not simply $13. Cash Payment B divides among valid and timely claims, not among all 39,642 people, so the fewer people who file, the larger each share. At the preliminary approval hearing class counsel estimated a final claims rate of no more than 10% and total documented-loss claims of no more than $20,000. The settlement documents publish no estimate of the per-person amount, and the administrator has said one will be posted on the settlement website once it is available — so treat any figure you calculate yourself as an estimate, not a promise.
The order in which the fund is spent matters too, because the pro rata cash is last in line. Under the settlement agreement the fund pays settlement administration costs, then class representative awards, then court-awarded attorneys' fees and costs, then credit monitoring on all valid claims, then documented-loss claims, and only then the pro rata flat cash. Anyone with real receipts is therefore in a materially better position than someone taking the flat payment, which is the residue of everything above it — the mechanism our explainer on pro rata distribution walks through.
One safeguard runs the other way. If the administrator rejects a documented-loss claim and the filer does not cure it, the settlement agreement says that claim is instead paid as though the filer had selected the pro rata cash option, so a failed receipt claim does not leave someone with nothing. Expenses already reimbursed by a third party cannot be claimed at all.
What Proof Is Required?
Filing online requires the Login ID and PIN printed on the notice mailed to you. The settlement website says so plainly — to start the online claim form you must log in with those credentials, and you find them on the notice that was sent to you — which is why this page treats the settlement as Proof Required: Yes before the question of receipts even arises. A printable Claim Form can be downloaded and mailed instead, and it asks for the Login ID only if known, but that is a workaround in an envelope rather than an open online door.Past that credential the burden splits sharply between the two cash options:
- Cash Payment A, up to $3,500: reasonable documentation such as receipts, bank statements, correspondence including emails, or telephone records showing what you spent or lost. The Claim Form asks you to itemize each expense with a description of the supporting documentation and an amount, and to total them.
- Cash Payment B, pro rata cash: nothing. The Notice states that you do not have to provide any proof or explanation to claim this payment.
The Notice is explicit about the limit that catches claimants out on the documented tier: your personal certifications, declarations or affidavits do not constitute reasonable documentation on their own. A written statement can be submitted to give clarification, context or support to other documentation showing your expenses were because of this incident — but it cannot carry the claim by itself. The whole Claim Form is signed under penalty of perjury, and the Notice says claims are subject to verification and that the administrator may ask for supplemental information before treating a claim as complete and valid.
What Are the Deadlines?
Three dates, with the two that decide your legal rights falling first:- October 19, 2026 — opt out. An Opt-Out Request must be postmarked by this date, carrying the case name and number, your full name, mailing address, telephone number and email address, your personal signature, and the words "Opt-Out Request" or a clear equivalent. You may only exclude yourself, not anyone else.
- October 19, 2026 — object. A complete objection must be filed with the Clerk of Court by this date, with copies mailed to the Settlement Administrator, Class Counsel and Defendant's Counsel.
- November 3, 2026 — submit a claim. Online by this date, or the completed and signed Claim Form with any supporting documentation postmarked no later than this date.
The two-week gap is the practical trap. Anyone weighing whether to keep the right to sue Southern Graphics individually has to decide by October 19, because there is no way to opt out afterward even though claims stay open another fortnight. Our glossary entry on opting out of a class action covers what that choice trades away.
The objection requirements are demanding, and the Notice says an objection must meet every one of them to be considered. Beyond your grounds, an objector must disclose how many times they have objected to a class action settlement in the past five years — with the caption of each case and copies of any trial and appellate orders ruling on those objections — the same disclosure for their counsel and counsel's firm, the identity of all counsel who may be entitled to compensation related to the objection and whether they will appear, a list of anyone who will testify in support, and whether the objector or their counsel intends to appear or testify. Your own signature is required; if you have hired a lawyer, their signature alone is not sufficient.
The Court took note of how demanding that list is. In the preliminary approval order it flagged that such requirements can discourage objections, then accepted class counsel's explanation at the hearing that they are aimed at serial objectors — people who file boilerplate objections in the hope of being paid to withdraw them.
Objecting does not cost you the money. The Notice confirms that a class member who objects may also file a claim for settlement benefits. Opting out does: an opt-out cannot object, and receives no cash and no monitoring.
How Do You File?
Claims go through the official settlement website, Southern Graphics Data Settlement.com, run by Simpluris. The Notice calls filing online the fastest route: log in with the Login ID and PIN from your notice, tick the credit monitoring, then either itemize documented losses with supporting documentation or select the alternate cash payment, and sign.The Claim Form asks how you want to be paid, and the options are broader than most: PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, a virtual prepaid card, or a physical check mailed to the address you provide. Choosing an electronic method is worth a moment's thought, since a mailed check is the slowest of the five and the easiest to lose in a move.
If you prefer paper, the same site hosts a downloadable Claim Form to complete and mail to the Settlement Administrator with any supporting documentation, postmarked by November 3, 2026. Keep a copy of whatever you submit. Filing is free, and class members are not charged for Class Counsel's services.
Who Pays the Fees
The fund does, which is why the arithmetic above matters. The Court appointed attorneys from Milberg PLLC, Kopelowitz Ostrow P.A., Federman & Sherwood, Strauss Borrelli PLLC, and Stranch, Jennings & Garvey, PLLC as Class Counsel. They will ask the Court to approve up to $250,000 — one third of the fund — as attorneys' fees and costs of litigation, plus service awards of $2,500 for each of the five class representatives. Both come out of the $750,000, so both reduce what is available to claimants.The Court called the one-third fee request consistent with awards approved elsewhere in the Sixth Circuit, but was more cautious on the service awards: measured against the money left for everyone else, it said the proportionality of the service awards suggests the settlement may give preferential treatment to the named plaintiffs, and that the point will merit more consideration at the final fairness hearing. It directed that the class representatives be prepared to justify the awards with specific documentation of the time they actually spent on the case. The Court will rule on both requests on November 18 and may award less than what is asked.
What You Give Up
Staying in the Settlement Class means you cannot be part of any other lawsuit against Southern Graphics about the issues this settlement covers. Section XIII of the Settlement Agreement sets out the released claims, which reach federal and state statutory and common law claims arising out of or relating to the Data Incident, and the agreement is posted on the official settlement website. Class members also waive California Civil Code section 1542 and comparable laws, the provision that would otherwise preserve claims you do not know about yet, and are barred by court order from bringing a released claim anywhere.Doing nothing does not avoid that release. A class member who never files still gives up those claims and receives no cash and no monitoring — the only way to keep the right to sue Southern Graphics on your own is to opt out by October 19, 2026.
What Happens Next?
At the November 18, 2026 hearing the Court will decide whether to approve the settlement, will rule on Class Counsel's request for fees and costs and on the 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 properly filed objection will be considered whether or not the objector appears. The Notice also warns that the date and time may change without further notice, so the settlement website is the place to confirm.Two items are already on the Court's list for that hearing, and both were raised by the judge rather than by an objector: whether the service awards are proportionate to what class members receive, and whether the relief to unnamed class members is more than perfunctory. Preliminary approval decided neither.
If approval is granted, payments follow only after any appeals are resolved. A hearing being held is not the same as approval being granted, and approval being granted is not the same as payments being released. The Notice is candid that it is unknown whether appeals will be filed or how long they would take, so no payment date exists yet.
One further term applies to money that never reaches anyone. The settlement agreement provides that 240 days after class members are emailed to select a payment method, unclaimed and undeliverable funds are treated as residual funds and distributed to a mutually agreeable cy pres recipient approved by the Court.
Class Action Summary
| Case Title | Davis, et al. v. Southern Graphics, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Case Number | 3:25-cv-563-DJH-CHL |
| Court | U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky (Louisville Division) |
| Defendant | Southern Graphics, Inc., now Southern Graphics LLC |
| Incident | December 2024 targeted cyberattack on Southern Graphics' computer systems, discovered on or about December 2, 2024 |
| Data Involved | Names, Social Security numbers, tax identification numbers, driver's license or state ID numbers, financial account and payment card information, passport or other government ID numbers, health and health insurance information |
| Class Scope | Nationwide — all living individuals in the United States whose Private Information was potentially compromised, estimated at 39,642 people |
| Settlement Fund | $750,000 |
| Cash Benefit | Up to $3,500 documented, or a one-time pro rata alternate cash payment — one or the other |
| Monitoring | 2 years CyEx Financial Shield Complete · $1M fraud insurance |
| Claim Deadline | November 3, 2026 |
| Opt-Out / Object By | October 19, 2026 |
| Final Approval Hearing | November 18, 2026 at 1:30 PM Eastern (Louisville, KY) |
| Administrator | Simpluris |
| Official Website | Southern Graphics Data Settlement.com |
Sources and Verification
• Official settlement website — Southern Graphics Data Settlement.com• Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement, Claim Form and Preliminary Approval Order (PDF)
• Memorandum and Order granting preliminary approval, entered August 17, 2026 (D.N. 36)
• Davis, et al. v. Southern Graphics, Inc., No. 3:25-cv-563-DJH-CHL (W.D. Ky.) — Settlement Agreement posted on the official website
• Data Incident Settlement Claim Form (Case ID 9209), and the settlement website's FAQ, Important Dates and claim pages
• FTC — Data Breach Response: A Guide for Business
Questions
Can I claim both cash payments?
No. The Notice presents Cash Payment A, up to $3,500 in documented out-of-pocket losses, and Cash Payment B, a one-time pro rata payment, as alternatives, and the Claim Form tells you not to claim one if you are claiming the other. The credit monitoring is different: every Settlement Class Member can claim two years of CyEx Financial Shield Complete alongside whichever cash option they pick.
How much is the pro rata cash payment likely to be?
The settlement documents do not say, and the amount is not fixed. Cash Payment B is calculated by dividing what is left of the $750,000 Settlement Fund by the number of valid and timely claims, and the fund pays administration costs, service awards, attorneys' fees, credit monitoring and documented-loss claims before that division happens. In its August 17, 2026 preliminary approval order the Court did the arithmetic across the estimated 39,642 class members and found that less than $13 per member remains after fees and awards to cover documented losses, monitoring and the pro rata cash. The administrator has said an estimate will be posted on the settlement website once one is available.
What proof do I need to file?
To file online you need the Login ID and PIN printed on the notice mailed to you, because the online claim form opens on a login screen. Beyond that credential the two cash options differ: Cash Payment A requires reasonable documentation such as receipts, bank statements, correspondence or telephone records, while Cash Payment B requires no proof or explanation at all. The Notice is explicit that your own certifications, declarations or affidavits are not reasonable documentation on their own for the documented-losses tier.
Is this settlement only for people in Kentucky?
No. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, but the Court defined the Settlement Class as all living individuals in the United States whose Private Information was potentially compromised in the Data Incident, including everyone mailed notice of it by Southern Graphics. There is no residency requirement, so someone who has since moved to another state is still a class member if a notice was mailed to them.
Has the settlement been approved?
Not finally. The Court granted preliminary approval on August 17, 2026, which authorized notice to the class and set the schedule; it did not decide that the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate. That decision comes at the Final Approval Hearing set for November 18, 2026 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time in Louisville. Payments are distributed only if the Court grants final approval and after any appeals are resolved, and no payment date has been announced.
What is the difference between opting out and objecting?
Opting out removes you from the settlement entirely. You get no cash and no monitoring, you cannot object, and you keep whatever right you have to sue Southern Graphics on your own. Objecting keeps you in the settlement and tells the Court why you think it should not be approved, and a class member who objects may still file a claim. Both are due October 19, 2026, two weeks before the claim deadline.
Official Settlement Notice
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Settlement Amount
$750,000
fees of up to $250,000 and five $2,500 service awards come out of it · the Court calculated under $13 per class member remaining
Case Title
Davis, et al. v. Southern Graphics, Inc.
Case Number
3:25-cv-563-DJH-CHL
Court
U.S. District Court, Western District of Kentucky
Final Approval Hearing
November 18, 2026 at 1:30 PM Eastern
Louisville, Kentucky · date and time may change without further notice
Administrator
Simpluris
Official Website
Southern Graphics Data Settlement
