This settlement resolves claims over a cyberattack that True World Holdings, LLC, the New Jersey wholesale seafood distributor behind True World Foods, discovered in August 2024. If True World sent you a notice about that incident, you can claim a $50 cash payment with no documentation, or instead up to $2,000 in documented out-of-pocket losses, plus a year of credit monitoring.
Current Status
Claims are open. The deadline to file is September 8, 2026, and the Notice gives that date without a cutoff time or timezone, so do not assume one. The opt-out and objection windows have already closed — both ran to August 10, 2026 — which means the only decision still in front of a class member is whether to file. The court has not ruled on final approval: the Final Approval Hearing is scheduled for November 16, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. No payment date had been announced as of August 18, 2026.What Changed Recently?
The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey authorized notice to the class in Byrd v. True World Holdings, LLC, Case No. 2:24-cv-10927, and the claim process is now running through the settlement administrator, Simpluris. Class members who received a notice can file for benefits until September 8, 2026.The two earlier deadlines in this case have already passed. August 10, 2026 was both the last day to mail a Request for Exclusion and the last day to file an objection with the Clerk of Court, so neither option is available anymore. That does not affect the claim window, which stays open for roughly four more weeks. Our glossary entry on opting out of a class action explains what that choice would have meant.
True World denies that it did anything wrong, and the court has not decided who is right. According to the Notice, 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 individuals residing in the United States whose personal identifying information was potentially compromised in the data incident True World discovered in August 2024, including everyone who received notice of the breach. In practice, if True World sent you a notice about that incident, you are a class member — the Notice states that True World's records are what identify you as one.Excluded from the class are the judges presiding over the litigation and members of their direct families; True World, its subsidiaries, parent companies, successors and predecessors, and any entity in which True World or its parents have a controlling interest; and anyone who validly excluded themselves from the settlement by the August 10, 2026 deadline.
The underlying event was an August 2024 cyberattack on True World's computer systems. The complaint alleges that certain files containing private information were potentially accessed, and the Notice states that those files may have contained personal information such as names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth. The Notice does not say how many people were notified. True World Holdings, LLC operates as True World Group, a Clifton, New Jersey wholesale seafood business that supplies restaurants across North America and Europe — so the people who received notices are individuals connected to that business rather than the general public. If you are new to how these cases work, our data breach class action explainer walks through the stages from notice to payment, and we track a separate, unsettled case in the same sector on our Pacific Seafood data breach page.
How Much Can You Get?
There are three benefits here, and the way they combine is worth getting right before you open the form: the credit monitoring is available to every class member, and you take it alongside one of the two cash options rather than instead of one.- Alternative Cash Payment — a one-time $50 payment. The Notice requires no proof or explanation to claim it, and it is what you may claim if you do not claim out-of-pocket losses.
- Unreimbursed Economic Losses — up to $2,000 for actual, documented out-of-pocket losses attributable to the data incident, where the loss occurred between August 23, 2024 and September 8, 2026. This tier requires supporting documentation and a sworn attestation.
- Credit Monitoring Services — one year of credit monitoring through a single credit bureau, including at least $1 million in identity theft insurance, real-time monitoring of your credit file, dark web scanning and comprehensive public records monitoring, with access to a fraud resolution agent. A valid email address is required on the Claim Form, because that is how the enrollment code is delivered.
There is no common settlement fund on this page, and that is a real difference from most data breach settlements. Instead of a pot of money divided among claimants, the Notice sets an aggregate cap of $325,000 covering all settlement benefits plus the notice and administration expenses. If the total runs above that figure, every cash payment is reduced pro rata until the total comes back down to $325,000. The Notice says the parties do not expect that to happen but that there is a chance it might, so treat the $50 as the stated payment rather than a guaranteed one. Our glossary entry on pro rata settlement payments explains how that reduction works.
Class counsel will ask the court to approve $110,000 in attorneys' fees and litigation costs, and a service award of up to $5,000 for the class representative. Both are paid by True World separately if approved, rather than out of the $325,000 cap, so neither comes out of what class members claim. The court has appointed Cassandra P. Miller of Strauss Borrelli PLLC as class counsel, and class members are not charged for those services.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
Proof is required. The online claim form opens with a login screen asking for the Unique ID and PIN printed on the notice sent to class members, and both are required fields. That administrator-issued credential gates the entire online filing path, which makes this a proof-required settlement even for the $50 alternative cash payment, which itself needs no supporting documentation. Our glossary entry on why you received a class action notice explains what that mailing is and why the code on it matters.If you claim the documented-loss tier instead, you have to submit documentation establishing the date, the amount and nature of the loss, that the loss is fairly traceable to the incident, and that you are responsible for it and attempted to dispute or challenge the charge, purchase or fee. The Notice names bank statements and receipts as examples of what to send. It is specific about the limits: notes or papers you produced yourself may be submitted to explain or support other proof, but they are not enough on their own to make a valid claim, and you cannot claim a loss that has already been reimbursed by a third party. You must also attest under penalty of perjury that the loss is owed by you, that no other class member is submitting a claim for the same loss, and that you reasonably believe the loss is fairly traceable to the data incident.
If you cannot locate your Unique ID and PIN, request them through the contact page on the official settlement website, giving your full name and mailing address. A paper Claim Form is also posted on the settlement website and can be downloaded, completed and returned to the Settlement Administrator by mail using the instructions printed on the form.
What Is the Deadline?
Claim Forms must be submitted online, or completed, signed and mailed to the Settlement Administrator with all supporting documentation, on or before September 8, 2026. Mailed forms must carry a postmark no later than that date. The Notice gives the date without specifying a cutoff time or timezone, so treat the full date as the deadline rather than assuming an end-of-day rule.One date on this page is already behind you. The exclusion and objection deadline was August 10, 2026, and both windows are shut. A class member who did nothing by that date is still in the class and can still file a claim, which is the only thing left to do; a class member who validly excluded themselves is out of the settlement and cannot claim a benefit, but kept whatever rights they have to sue True World individually over the same issues.
The documented-loss tier carries its own date range that is easy to misread as a deadline. Losses have to have occurred between August 23, 2024 and September 8, 2026 to be claimable, so the eligibility window and the filing window happen to close on the same day.
How Do You Take Action?
File through the official True World data settlement website. The online claim form opens after you enter the Unique ID and PIN from your notice, and the fastest route is to file there directly.Decide before you start which cash option you are taking, because they are alternatives. If you have documented losses above $50 that trace to the incident, gather the bank statements or receipts first and file the up-to-$2,000 tier; otherwise the $50 alternative payment needs nothing but the form. Either way, add the credit monitoring and give a valid email address, since the enrollment code is emailed rather than mailed.
If you prefer paper, download the Claim Form from the same website, complete and sign it, attach any supporting documentation, and mail it to the Settlement Administrator so that it is postmarked by September 8, 2026. Do not file through any third-party site — filing on the official settlement website is free.
What Happens Next?
The next milestone is the Final Approval Hearing on November 16, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time in Room 3 of the Frank R. Lautenberg Courthouse in Newark, New Jersey. At that hearing the court will decide whether to approve the settlement, how class counsel should be paid, and whether to award a service award to the class representative, and it will consider the objections that were filed by the August 10 deadline. The Notice states that the date and time may change without further notice and directs class members to check the settlement website for updates. Class members do not have to attend.Settlement payments are distributed only if the court grants final approval and after any appeals are resolved. The Notice says it is not known whether appeals will be filed or how long they would take to resolve, and no payment date has been announced. We will update this page when a final approval order or a payment schedule is entered.
Doing nothing has a cost here. A class member who does not file a claim receives no benefit from the settlement and is still bound by the releases in Section VIII of the Settlement Agreement, which means giving up the right to be part of any other lawsuit against True World over the issues this settlement covers.
Sources and Verification
• Official settlement website — True World Data Incident Settlement• Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement (long-form notice)
• Official settlement website — Frequently Asked Questions
• Official settlement website — Important Documents, including the Settlement Agreement and Claim Form
• Byrd v. True World Holdings, LLC, No. 2:24-cv-10927, U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
Questions
Can I still opt out or object to this settlement?
No. Both of those windows closed on August 10, 2026, which was the deadline to mail a Request for Exclusion and the deadline to file an objection with the Clerk of Court. The claim window is separate and is still open until September 8, 2026, so a class member who did nothing by August 10 remains in the class and can still file a Claim Form. Anyone who did validly exclude themselves is out of the settlement and cannot claim a benefit.
Can I claim the credit monitoring and a cash payment?
Yes. The Notice describes the credit monitoring as available to all class members alongside one of the two cash options, so the monitoring is additive rather than a third choice you give something up for. What you cannot do is take both cash tiers: the $2,000 documented-loss payment and the $50 alternative cash payment are alternatives, and the Notice frames the $50 as what you may claim if you do not claim out-of-pocket losses. To receive the monitoring you must give a valid email address on the Claim Form, because that is how the enrollment code is sent.
Is the $325,000 figure a settlement fund I get a share of?
No, and the distinction matters. The Notice does not describe a common fund that gets divided among class members. It describes $325,000 as an aggregate cap: if the total cost of all settlement benefits claimed plus the notice and administration expenses runs over $325,000, then everyone's cash payments are reduced pro rata until the total comes back down to that figure. The Notice states the parties do not expect that to happen, but says there is a chance it might. Attorneys' fees and the class representative service award are paid by True World separately rather than out of that $325,000.
What counts as a documented out-of-pocket loss?
The loss has to have occurred between August 23, 2024 and September 8, 2026, and your submission has to show the date, the amount and nature of the loss, that the loss is fairly traceable to the data incident, and that you are the person responsible for it and tried to dispute or challenge the charge. The Notice gives bank statements and receipts as examples of the proof to send. Notes or papers you wrote yourself can be submitted to explain or support other proof, but the Notice is explicit that they are not enough on their own. You also cannot claim a loss that a third party has already reimbursed, and you must attest under penalty of perjury that the loss is yours, that no other class member is claiming it, and that you reasonably believe it traces to the incident.
What if I cannot find the Unique ID and PIN from my notice?
The online claim form will not open without them, because the Unique ID and PIN printed on your notice are what log you in. If you cannot locate yours, request them through the contact page on the official settlement website, giving your full name and mailing address. There is also a paper Claim Form posted on the settlement website that can be downloaded, completed and returned to the Settlement Administrator by mail using the instructions printed on the form, and mailed forms must be postmarked no later than September 8, 2026.
