Settlement Affects Account Holders Who Had A PlayStation Network, Qriocity, or Sony Online Entertainment Account

News provided by

Ben Barnow, Barnow and Associates, P.C. and Timothy G. Blood, Blood Hurst & O’Reardon, LLP

Jan 29, 2015, 09:10 ET

CHICAGO, Jan. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is being released by the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee in the In re Sony Gaming Networks and Customer Data Security Breach Litigation.

A class action settlement has been reached with Sony Entities involving illegal and unauthorized attacks that occurred in April 2011 on the computer network systems used to provide PlayStation Network (PSN), Qriocity, and Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) services (the "Intrusions"). Sony Entities deny any wrongdoing, and the settlement does not mean that the Sony Entities violated any laws or did anything wrong.

Account holders in the US, including US territories, who had an account on PSN, Qriocity, or SOE at any time before May 15, 2011 could receive benefits from the settlement. Benefits depend on the type of account(s) a person had and could include the following:

A payment equal to paid virtual currency in your account wallet (if your applicable balance is $2 or more) in PSN or SOE accounts inactive since the Intrusions.
One or more of the following:
- A free PS3 or PSP game, 3 free PS3 themes, or a free 3-month subscription to PlayStation Plus (once valid claims exceed $10 million, settlement class members will still be eligible for one free month of PlayStation Plus).
A free month of Music Unlimited for Qriocity account holders who did not have a PSN account.
$4.50 in SOE Station Cash (amounts will be reduced proportionally if the total amount payable for valid claims exceeds $4 million).
Identity Theft Reimbursement: Account holders who incurred out-of-pocket charges due to identity theft, and have documentation proving the theft was caused by the Intrusions, can submit a claim for reimbursement up to $2,500 (reimbursement will be reduced proportionally if the total amount payable for valid claims exceeds $1 million).

Important Information

To receive benefits, account holders must complete and submit a Claim Form with any required documentation by the deadline, which may be as early as August 31, 2015. The same deadline will apply for all claims.
Account holders who do nothing will not get any benefits under the settlement and give up the right to sue Sony Entities about the legal issues in this case.
Account holders who want to keep the right to sue the Sony Entities must mail their requests for exclusion postmarked no later than April 10, 2015.
Account holders who stay in the settlement can object to it by following the instructions for objections and mailing copies of any objections postmarked no later than April 10, 2015.
The Court will hold a hearing in this case on May 1, 2015, to consider whether to approve the settlement, and a request by Co-Lead Settlement Class Counsel for attorney fees, costs, and expenses up to $2,750,000.