Frequently Asked Questions

A Court authorized the Notice because you have a right to know about the proposed Settlement of this Action and about all of your options before the Court decides whether to grant Final Approval of the Settlement. The Notice explains the Action, your legal rights, what benefits are available, and who can receive them.

The Action is captioned Newhart v. General Physician, P.C., Index No. 815961/2024 and is pending in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of Erie. The people who filed this Action are called the "Plaintiffs" and the company they sued, General Physician, P.C. ("GPPC") is called the "Defendant."

This Action alleges that Private Information was potentially impacted by a cybersecurity incident that occured between April 6, 2024 and June 12, 2024 (the "Data Incident") that was announced by General Physician P.C., in October 2024. Types of data impacted varied by individual and may have included full name, address, Social Security Number, financial account information, date of birth, medical history information, mental and physical treatment information, diagnosis information, treating physician, medical record number, health insurance information, policy number, subscriber number, or group/plan number.

Defendant denies all Plaintiffs’ claims and maintains that it did not do anything wrong.

In a class action, one or more individuals sue on behalf of other people with similar claims. These individuals who sue are known as “Class Representatives” or “Plaintiffs.” Together, the people included in the class action are called a “Settlement Class” or “Settlement Class Members”. One court resolves the lawsuit for all Settlement Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves (sometimes called “opting out”) from a settlement. In this Settlement, the Class Representatives are Hailey Newhart, Celeste Battle, Alisa Oldacre, and Richard Brennan.

The Court did not decide in favor of the Plaintiffs or Defendant. The Defendant denies all claims and contends that it has not violated any laws. The Plaintiffs and Defendant agreed to a Settlement to avoid the costs and risks of a trial, and through the Settlement, Settlement Class Members are eligible to claim a payment and other Settlement Class Member Benefits. The Plaintiffs and their attorneys (“Class Counsel”), who also represent Settlement Class Members, think the Settlement is best for all Settlement Class Members.  

The Settlement Class consists of all individuals residing in the United States whose Private Information was potentially accessed and/or acquired by an unauthorized party as a result of the Data Incident reported by the Defendant in October 2024. The Settlement Class consists of approximately 490,210 individuals.

Excluded from the Settlement Class are: (a) the Judge assigned to the Action, that Judge’s immediate family, and Court staff; and (b) any Settlement Class Member who timely and validly opts out of the Settlement.

If approved by the Court, Defendant will pay $2,500,000 to resolve this Action. 
There are two (2) types of Cash Payments that are available to Settlement Class Members. Settlement Class Members may elect to receive one (1) of the following, in addition to Credit and Medical Records Monitoring:
 

1. Cash Payment A – Documented Losses: Reimbursement of up to $5,000 in documented losses related to the Data Incident; or 
    
2. Cash Payment B – Alternate Cash: An estimated $60 payment, subject to a pro rata (proportional) adjustment depending upon the number of Valid Claims received.
    

In addition to Cash Payment A or Cash Payment B, you may also make a Claim for two (2) years of one bureau Credit and Medical Records Monitoring.

Settlement Class Members may submit a Claim for a documented losses Cash Payment of up to $5,000 if they can show documented losses that are related to the Data Incident.
 

To receive a Cash Payment for documented losses, a Settlement Class Member must elect Cash Payment A on the Claim Form and attest under penalty of perjury to having incurred documented losses. Settlement Class Members will be required to submit reasonable documentation supporting the losses. Settlement Class Members shall not be reimbursed for expenses if they have been reimbursed for the same expenses by another source in connection with the identity protection and credit monitoring services offered as part of the notification letter provided by Defendant or otherwise. 

As an alternative to Cash Payment A, Settlement Class Members may submit a Claim for Cash Payment B, which will entitle them to receive an estimated Cash Payment of $60. This amount may increase or decrease based on the total number of Valid Claims received.

In addition to Cash Payment A or B, Settlement Class Members may elect to receive two (2) years of one bureau Credit and Medical Records Monitoring. The Credit and Medical Records Monitoring product will be CyEx Medical Shield, or a functional equivalent, and shall provide the following benefits: medical identity monitoring, real-time alerts, and insurance coverage for up to $1,000,000 for medical identity theft. This shall be available to any Settlement Class Member regardless of whether they previously received a monitoring product related to the Data Incident or otherwise. The Credit and Medical Records Monitoring product being offered has an estimated value of $179.40 per year per Settlement Class Member.

Unless you opt out of the Settlement, you cannot sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against the Defendant or Released Parties about any of the legal claims this Settlement resolves. The Releases section in the Settlement Agreement describes the legal claims that you give up if you remain in the Settlement Class. The Agreement can be found on the Documents page of this Settlement Website.

You must submit a Claim Form by May 27, 2026. Claim Forms may be submitted on this Settlement Website by 11:59 p.m. ET, or mailed and postmarked by May 27, 2026, to the Settlement Administrator at Newhart v. General Physician, P.C., c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, P.O. Box 5324, New York, NY 10150-5324.

The short answer is – after the Settlement is “finally approved” and challenges, if any, to that approval are finally resolved. The Court is scheduled to hold a Final Approval Hearing on June 4, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. ET, to decide whether to approve the Settlement, how much attorneys’ fees and costs to award Class Counsel for representing the Settlement Class, and the amount of any Service Award payments to the Class Representatives who brought this Action on behalf of the Settlement Class.

If the Court approves the Settlement, there may be appeals. It is always uncertain whether appeals will be filed and, if so, how long it will take to resolve them. Settlement Class Member Benefits will be distributed as soon as possible, if and when the Court grants Final Approval of the Settlement and after any appeals are resolved.

Yes, the Court appointed Gary M. Klinger of Milberg, PLLC and Israel David of Israel David LLC, to represent you and other members of the Settlement Class as Class Counsel. You will not be charged directly for these lawyers; instead, they will receive compensation from the Settlement Fund (subject to Court approval).

If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

It is not necessary for you to hire your own lawyer because Class Counsel works for you. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

Class Counsel will ask the Court to approve attorneys’ fees up to one-third of the Settlement Fund ($833,333.33) plus reimbursement of reasonable costs, and a $3,000 Service Award payment to each of the Class Representatives. If approved, these amounts will be paid from the $2,500,000 Settlement Fund before making payments to Settlement Class Members who submit Valid Claims. 

If you do not want to receive any benefits from the Settlement, and you want to keep your right to separately sue the Defendant about the legal issues in this case, you must take steps to exclude yourself from the Settlement Class. This is called “opting out” of the Settlement Class. The Opt Out Deadline to submit a request for exclusion from the Settlement is April 27, 2026.

To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must submit a written request for exclusion to the Settlement Administrator that includes the following information:
 

• your name, address, telephone number, and email address (if any); 
   
• A statement indicating that you want to opt out of the Settlement Class, such as “I wish to be excluded from the Settlement Class in Newhart v. General Physician, P.C., Index No. 815961/2024”; and
   
• your personal signature.
   

Your request for exclusion must be mailed to the Settlement Administrator at the address below, postmarked no later than April 27, 2026.

Newhart v. General Physician, P.C.
c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC
ATTN: Exclusion Request
P.O. Box 5324
New York, NY 10150-5324
 

If you are a Settlement Class Member, you can choose (but are not required) to object to the Settlement if you do not like it or a portion of it, whether that be to the Settlement Class Member Benefits, the request for attorneys’ fees, costs or Service Award payments, the Releases provided to the Defendant, or some other aspect of the Settlement. Through an objection, you give reasons why you think the Court should not approve the Settlement.

For an objection to be considered by the Court, the objection must include: 
 

1. your full name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address (if any);
2. the grounds for the objection, including any legal support for the objection known to you or your counsel;
3. the number of times you have objected to a class action settlement within the five (5) years preceding the date of your objection, the caption of each case you objected to, and a copy of any orders related to or ruling upon your prior objections that were issued by the trial and appellate courts in each listed case; 
4. the identity of all counsel who represent you, including any former or current counsel who may be entitled to compensation for any reason related to the objection to the Settlement and/or Application for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs and Service Awards; 
5. the number of times your counsel and/or counsel’s law firm has objected to a class action settlement within the five (5) years preceding the date of your objection, the caption of each case counsel or the firm has made such an objection, and a copy of any orders related to or ruling upon those prior objections that were issued by the trial and appellate courts in each listed case in which your counsel and/or counsel’s law firm have objected to a class action settlement within the preceding five (5) years; 
6. the identity of all counsel (if any) representing you who will appear at the Final Approval Hearing; 
7. a list of all persons who will be called to testify at the Final Approval Hearing in support of your objection (if any); 
8. a statement confirming whether you intend to personally appear and/or testify at the Final Approval Hearing; and
9. your signature (an attorney’s signature is not sufficient).
    

Objections must be filed with the Court no later than May 27, 2026.

A copy of your objection also must be mailed to Class Counsel, Defendant’s Counsel, and the Settlement Administrator at the addresses below, postmarked no later than May 27, 2026.

Objecting is telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object to the Settlement only if you do not exclude yourself from it. Excluding yourself from the Settlement means telling the Court you do not want to be part of the Settlement. If you exclude yourself or opt out of the Settlement, you cannot object to it because the Settlement no longer affects you.

The Court is scheduled to hold a Final Approval Hearing on June 4, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. ET, hosted via Microsoft Teams, to decide whether to approve the Settlement, how much attorneys’ fees and costs to award to Class Counsel for representing the Settlement Class, and whether to award Service Awards to the Class Representatives who brought this Action on behalf of the Settlement Class. The Final Approval Hearing may be held in person, by Microsoft Teams, or both, and the date and time of this hearing may change without further notice. Please check this Settlement Website for updates.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have; however, you may attend at your own expense. If you file an objection, you may—but are not required to—appear at the Final Approval Hearing to talk about it. If you file your written objection on time and in accordance with the requirements set forth in FAQ 18, the Court will consider it. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend, but it is not necessary.

If you are a Settlement Class Member and you do nothing, you will give up your right to start a lawsuit, continue a lawsuit, or be part of any other lawsuit against the Defendant or the Released Parties, as defined in the Settlement Agreement, about the legal issues resolved by this Settlement. In addition, you will be bound by the Releases of the Defendant and the Released Parties in the Settlement and not be eligible to receive any Settlement Class Member Benefits.

This Settlement Website summarizes the proposed Settlement. Complete details are provided in the Settlement Agreement. The Settlement Agreement and other related documents are available on the Documents page of this Settlement Website.

If you have additional questions or need to update your address, you may contact the Settlement Administrator by phone toll free at (833) 319-5992, by using the Contact Us form on this Settlement Website, or by mail:
 

Newhart v. General Physician, P.C.
c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC
P.O. Box 5324 
New York, NY 10150-5324
 

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT OR DEFENDANT.