If you got a data breach notice from Evening Post Publishing after the March 2024 cyberattack, you can claim a flat $40 or up to $3,000 for documented losses — but the deadline is June 24, 2026.
What Is This Settlement About?
Evening Post Publishing, Inc. — the South Carolina media company behind The Post and Courier and a portfolio of newspapers and related businesses — agreed to an up to $500,000 class action settlement to resolve claims that it failed to protect personal information from a data breach. The company has said it identified a targeted cyberattack on its computer systems on or around March 13, 2024, during which an unauthorized party accessed certain files that contained private information. Evening Post Publishing began notifying affected individuals in August 2024; security reporting put the number of people notified at roughly 15,000.The lawsuit alleges Evening Post Publishing was negligent in safeguarding the data. The case is captioned Sosebee v. Evening Post Publishing, Inc., Case No. 2025CP1005132, in the Court of Common Pleas for Charleston County, South Carolina. Evening Post Publishing denies the allegations and denies any wrongdoing; the court has not decided which side is right. Instead, both sides agreed to settle to avoid the cost and risk of continued litigation while giving affected people a way to recover compensation and protect their identities.
Who Qualifies?
The settlement class is made up of all United States residents whose private information was compromised in the March 2024 data breach, including current and former Evening Post Publishing employees and all other individuals who were sent notice of the incident in August 2024. In practice, if you received a data breach notice from Evening Post Publishing, you are almost certainly a class member.According to the litigation, the information potentially exposed in the breach included names along with sensitive details such as Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, passport numbers, financial account information, and credit card information. If you are unsure whether you were included, the official settlement website can confirm your eligibility through the official settlement website or by contacting the settlement administrator.
How Much Can You Get?
Class members choose between two cash options:- Option A — documented losses and lost time. Reimbursement of up to $3,000 for documented out-of-pocket losses fairly traceable to the breach and incurred between March 13, 2024 and June 24, 2026 — for example, identity-theft and fraud losses, fees for credit reports or credit freezes, the cost of replacing IDs, and postage to contact banks. You may also claim lost time at $20 per hour for up to three hours (a maximum of $60). Out-of-pocket losses must be backed by proof such as receipts or bank statements; a personal note on its own is not enough.
- Option B — $40 alternative cash. A flat one-time $40 payment with no documentation or proof of loss required. You cannot combine Option B with Option A.
There is an aggregate cap of $500,000 on the cash payments. If the total value of all valid claims exceeds that amount, every payment is reduced pro rata so the total comes back down to $500,000 — so the final per-person amounts can move depending on how many people file. Court-approved attorneys' fees and costs (up to $225,000) and a service award for the class representative (up to $2,500) are paid separately by Evening Post Publishing, so they do not come out of the $500,000 available for class member payments.
How to File a Claim
You can file in three ways before the deadline:- Online. The fastest option is the official settlement website, where you complete the claim form and choose how you want to be paid.
- By mail. Download the paper claim form from the settlement website, complete and sign it, and mail it to the settlement administrator so that it is postmarked by the deadline.
- By email. Email an electronic image of the completed, signed claim form to the settlement administrator before the deadline.
Deadlines and Key Dates
- Claim deadline: June 24, 2026 (submitted online or postmarked).
- Opt-out / objection deadline: May 25, 2026 — this date has already passed, so the remaining action available to class members is to file a claim.
- Final approval hearing: on or after July 1, 2026. The settlement received preliminary approval on February 6, 2026, and notices were mailed beginning March 23, 2026. Payments are issued only after the court grants final approval and any appeals are resolved, so there is typically a wait of several weeks to months after the hearing.
Watch Out for Scams
Legitimate settlement administrators do not ask you to pay a fee to receive a class action payment, and they do not request your full Social Security number, banking passwords, or a "processing payment" by text or phone. File only through the official settlement website linked on this page, and ignore unsolicited messages claiming you must pay money or hand over sensitive credentials to release your check. If you want to compare this case with other active cases, see our roundup of open data breach settlements, and our writeup of the Alpha Baking Co. data breach settlement, another company breach with the same two-tier cash structure and CyEx credit monitoring.Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible for the Evening Post Publishing data breach settlement?
The settlement covers United States residents whose private information was compromised in the March 2024 Evening Post Publishing data breach, including current and former employees and others who were sent notice of the incident in August 2024. If you received a data breach notice from Evening Post Publishing, you are most likely a class member.
How much can I get from the Evening Post Publishing settlement?
Class members choose between two options. Option A reimburses documented out-of-pocket losses up to $3,000 (for losses between March 13, 2024 and June 24, 2026) plus lost time up to 3 hours at $20 per hour (up to $60). Option B is a flat $40 alternative cash payment that requires no documentation. All class members can also enroll in two years of CyEx Financial Shield Complete credit monitoring and identity protection, which includes $1 million in fraud insurance. Cash amounts may be reduced pro rata depending on how many valid claims are filed against the $500,000 fund.
Is proof required to file an Evening Post Publishing settlement claim?
No administrator-issued ID is required to receive the $40 alternative cash payment. You submit a signed claim form with your name and contact information; the Unique ID from your notice is optional and only requested if known, and the $40 payment requires no documentation or proof of loss. Only the Option A out-of-pocket loss reimbursement requires proof — receipts, bank statements, or similar records. You can file online, by mail, or by email.
What is the deadline to file an Evening Post Publishing claim?
Claim forms must be submitted online or postmarked by June 24, 2026. The deadline to exclude yourself from or object to the settlement was May 25, 2026, and has passed. The court will hold a final approval hearing on or after July 1, 2026; payments are not issued until the settlement receives final approval and any appeals are resolved.
What information was exposed in the Evening Post Publishing data breach?
According to the litigation, the March 2024 cyberattack may have exposed names along with sensitive personal information such as Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, passport numbers, financial account information, and credit card information. Evening Post Publishing denies the allegations and any wrongdoing.
Sources
- Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement & Claim Form — Sosebee v. Evening Post Publishing, Inc., Case No. 2025CP1005132 (Court of Common Pleas, Charleston County, South Carolina)
- Official settlement website — EveningPostDataSettlement.com
- Breach background — Comparitech reporting on the Evening Post Publishing data breach
