The Superior Court of Quebec pre-approved a settlement agreement between the Desjardins Group and the plaintiffs represented by law firms Siskinds Desmeules and Kugler Kandestin on 7 February.
The settlement, which is in connection to the privacy breach announced in June 2019, allows for a maximum amount of $200,852,500 to be paid out as individual recovery to eligible individuals who file a claim. These include current and former Desjardins banking members, current and former clients with a credit card or in-store financing or anyone who received a letter informing them of the situation.
Related: Watchdog criticises finance co-op Desjardins over data breach
Those affected by the breach can file two types of claims under the settlement agreement. They can claim up to CA$90 if they were impacted by the situation announced in June 2019 or up to CA$1,000 if their identity was stolen after 1 January 2017.
In 2019, Desjardins announced that an unauthorised use of internal data by an employee had led to the breach of personal information of 4.2 million members and 137,000 business clients, compromising their social insurance numbers, addresses and details of banking habits.
The Desjardins Group is the largest association of credit unions in North America.
Further information on the settlement can be found here.
