Proposed Canadian settlement reached in e-commerce platform data breach

By Elizabeth Raymer

Law360 Canada (June 29, 2022, 5:09 PM EDT) -- A proposed Canada-wide settlement has been reached in a data breach of a buy-and-sell website, class counsel have announced.

The settlement relates to a May 2019 data breach of StockX LLC, a Detroit-based company known largely for its e-commerce platform StockX.com, a site for buying and selling sneakers, streetwear, trading cards, watches, handbags and other items.

A hearing to approve the settlement will be held on July 5 in the Superior Court of Quebec, which authorized the class action for settlement purposes only in May.

On May 14, 2019, an unknown third party gained unauthorized access to certain customer data from StockX’s cloud environment. The company notified customers, and accounts were closed, said class counsel David Assor of Lex Group Inc. in Montreal.

Under the proposed settlement with StockX LLC, Assor said, all class members — as many as 122,970 in Canada — will receive an 18-month subscription to TransUnion for credit monitoring services free of charge; at a normal subscription rate of $19.95 per month, the potential cost to StockX could exceed $44 million, Assor noted.

StockX had previously offered credit monitoring to U.S. customers but not to those in Canada, he added.

As well, substantiated and documented monetary claims totalling up to an aggregate settlement cap of $130,000 for all approved claims may be reimbursed to class members, whose legal fees, notification and administrative costs will also be paid by StockX, Assor said. In the meantime the action is being supported by Quebec’s Fonds d’aide aux actions collectives, which funds certain class actions and then takes a percentage of the payout.

“We think it’s a great settlement,” Assor told The Lawyer’s Daily, with “significant value to class members.”

Settlement class members are individuals who lived in Canada and registered for a StockX user account on the StockX website or mobile application prior to May 14, 2019. They are automatically part of the class unless they choose to opt out, and they may object to or comment on the settlement by submitting a written objection to the Superior Court of Quebec no later than June 14.

If and when the court approves the settlement, new notices will be sent to class members, which will “open up the claims process on the settlement website,” Assor said. At that time class members will also be able to ask for a free activation code for a TransUnion credit-monitoring account. They should also be prepared submit personal documentation and receipts related to the impact of the data breach on them in order to justify their claim, he added.

If you have any information, story ideas or news tips for The Lawyer’s Daily on business-related law and litigation, including class actions, please contact Elizabeth Raymer at elizabeth.raymer@lexisnexis.ca or 905-415-5888.