Communications Data Group Settlement Offers $45 or Up to $5,000

Key facts

Case: Pierce, et al. v. Communications Data Group, Inc., et al., No. 2026CH000032
Court: Circuit Court of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Champaign County, Illinois
Settlement status: Preliminarily approved. The court has not granted final approval.
Who may qualify: U.S. residents who received a data-incident notice from Communications Data Group or Home Telecom about the February 2025 incident
Potentially affected population: Approximately 137,059 people, according to the settlement materials
Benefit choices: Up to $5,000 for documented losses plus credit monitoring, a $45 alternative cash payment, or credit monitoring alone
Claim deadline: November 10, 2026
Opt-out and objection deadline: October 26, 2026
Final approval hearing: November 16, 2026 at 10:30 a.m. Central Time

What the settlement covers

A court-authorized claims process is open for people whose personal information may have been affected by a February 2025 ransomware incident involving Communications Data Group, a billing-technology provider used by telephone and broadband companies.

The proposed settlement covers people in the United States who received a notice from Communications Data Group, commonly called CDG, or Home Wireless, Inc., which does business as Home Telecom, about the incident. The settlement agreement says the affected records may have included some combination of names, addresses, dates of birth, driver's license information, bank account information, Social Security numbers, and customer proprietary network information for some people.

The official settlement materials say approximately 137,059 people may have been affected. That figure describes the population identified during the investigation. It does not mean every person had every listed data element exposed or that every person suffered identity theft or a financial loss.

The court granted preliminary approval on August 12, 2026. Preliminary approval allows notice and claims administration to begin. It is not a final finding that the settlement is fair, and it is not a ruling that any defendant violated the law.

Claim deadline

Online claims must be submitted, or mailed claims postmarked, by November 10, 2026. The settlement administrator decides whether a claim is valid.

Who the companies are

Communications Data Group provides cloud-based operational and billing software to broadband and telecommunications providers. Its platform helps providers manage accounts, orders, customer service, network operations, and billing. Consumers may never deal with CDG directly, even when a telephone or internet provider uses CDG systems to process customer information.

The settlement agreement identifies Duo County Telephone Cooperative Corporation and Cumberland Cellular, LLC as rural Kentucky telecommunications providers operating under the Duo Broadband brand. Home Wireless, Inc., doing business as Home Telecom, provides telecommunications and broadband service in South Carolina.

The case links the companies because CDG handled data through systems used to support the providers' services. The settlement agreement says the affected people included current or former customers of Duo, Home Telecom, and other telecommunications providers.

That vendor relationship matters. A consumer may recognize the local phone or broadband provider named in a breach notice rather than CDG. The controlling eligibility test is the settlement class definition and the notice the person received, not whether the person remembers opening a direct account with CDG.

What happened in the data incident

The settlement agreement says CDG was alerted on February 13, 2025 to the unauthorized deployment of ransomware in its environment. Ransomware is malicious software used to disrupt systems, encrypt information, or support demands for payment. The agreement says a forensic investigation determined that an unauthorized party may have compromised, accessed, or removed private information from CDG systems.

A Maine attorney general breach filing for Duo County Telephone Cooperative and Cumberland Cellular describes the event as an external system breach and says written notices were sent on May 15, 2025. That regulatory filing also says affected people were offered 12 months of Kroll identity monitoring when the original breach notices went out.

The proposed settlement is a later and separate benefit process. It offers different options through a court-appointed settlement administrator. People should use the official settlement site and their class notice when choosing a benefit rather than relying on the terms of the earlier breach-response offer.

The public materials reviewed for this article do not establish that every potentially accessed record was misused. They also do not establish that the incident caused a particular person's fraud or identity theft. A documented-loss claim must connect the requested reimbursement to the incident under the settlement's standards.

Who may qualify

The court's preliminary approval order defines the settlement class as all people residing in the United States who received a Notice of Data Incident letter from CDG or Home Telecom relating to the incident.

The long-form notice also describes the class as U.S. residents whose private information was potentially affected, including people mailed a notification by or on behalf of the defendants. The notice is the practical starting point because the administrator uses the class list and claim information to verify membership.

Excluded groups include employees, directors, officers, and agents of the defendants or their related companies, governmental entities, the judges assigned to the case and their immediate families, and court staff. People who properly opt out are also excluded from the final settlement class.

A person who is unsure whether a notice qualifies can contact the settlement administrator at the phone number or address on the official site. Class Action Pulse cannot determine class membership or approve a claim.

Notice recipients are the core class

The settlement is not open to every broadband customer or every person concerned about data privacy. The court-approved definition centers on people who received the incident notice.

The three benefit choices

Eligible class members may choose among three benefit paths.

Documented losses up to $5,000

A class member may request reimbursement for actual, documented, unreimbursed monetary losses that were more likely than not caused by the incident. The notice gives examples such as losses from identity theft or fraud, professional fees, credit-repair costs, credit-freeze or unfreeze fees, certain credit-monitoring costs, postage, copying, mileage, notary costs, and long-distance telephone charges.

The claim must include supporting records, such as bank or credit-card statements, invoices, telephone records, or receipts. A personal statement alone is not enough, although a declaration may explain other supporting records. The claimant must also certify under penalty of perjury that the submission is true to the best of the claimant's knowledge.

A person who submits a documented-loss claim may also request the credit-monitoring benefit.

A $45 alternative cash payment

Instead of documented-loss reimbursement and credit monitoring, a class member may request a one-time $45 cash payment. The settlement describes this as an alternative benefit, so it cannot be combined with the other choices.

Three years of credit monitoring

A class member may request three years of one-bureau credit monitoring through CyEx. The settlement says the service includes at least $1 million in identity-theft insurance without a deductible. A person may choose monitoring alone, or combine it with an approved documented-loss claim.

The $45 choice replaces the other benefits

The alternative cash payment is in lieu of documented-loss reimbursement and credit monitoring. Review the official claim form before choosing.

How to file a claim

Claims can be filed through CommunicationsDataGroupSettlement.com or by mailing the official paper form. The official website lists Simpluris as the administrator and provides the current form, notice, agreement, deadlines, and contact information.

A claimant should select the requested benefit, complete the identity and contact fields, attach records when seeking documented losses, and sign the required certification. Online claims must be submitted by November 10, 2026. Mailed claims must be postmarked by that date.

The administrator may ask for additional information through a deficiency notice. The settlement agreement says a claim can be denied if the claimant does not supply requested information on time. Keeping copies of the submitted form, documents, and confirmation can help a claimant respond if the administrator follows up.

The administrator, not CDG, the court, or Class Action Pulse, processes claims. The official site lists the administrator's toll-free number as 866-601-3534.

What the lawsuit alleged and what remains disputed

The lawsuit alleged negligence, negligence per se, breach of implied contract, breach of a third-party-beneficiary contract, unjust enrichment, and a claim for declaratory relief. In plain English, the plaintiffs alleged that the defendants were responsible for protecting the information and failed to use adequate safeguards or fulfill duties connected with that information.

The defendants deny wrongdoing and liability. The settlement agreement states that they entered the agreement to avoid continued litigation risk, expense, and disruption. No court has found that the defendants caused identity theft, violated a particular duty, or owe damages outside the settlement.

The settlement also says CDG implemented security enhancements after the incident and agreed to maintain those measures for at least five years after the incident was discovered. The details are described through a confidential security attestation, so the public agreement does not provide enough detail to independently evaluate every measure.

A non-reversionary settlement generally means the promised class benefits are not designed to return to the defendant merely because claim participation is lower than expected. This agreement differs from a single fixed fund divided pro rata. CDG agreed to fund valid benefits, administration, approved fees, and service awards under the agreement's terms. The public record does not support estimating total payments before claims are processed.

Case timeline and current status

February 13, 2025: CDG was alerted to ransomware in its environment.
May 15, 2025: The Maine attorney general record lists the date written notices were sent for Duo Broadband customers.
October 20, 2025: Plaintiffs filed a consolidated federal complaint in the Central District of Illinois.
November 20, 2025: The federal case was stayed for mediation.
January 20, 2026: The parties mediated before a retired federal magistrate judge.
March 27, 2026: Plaintiffs filed the Illinois state-court action now covered by the settlement.
August 12, 2026: The Champaign County court granted preliminary approval.
September 11, 2026: The official site lists the notice-mailing date.
October 26, 2026: Opt-out and objection deadline.
November 10, 2026: Claim deadline.
November 16, 2026: Scheduled final approval hearing.

The final approval hearing is when the court will consider whether the agreement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The hearing can be moved, so class members should check the official website for updates.

What happens next

The administrator will continue receiving and reviewing claims. Class counsel will ask the court to approve fees, costs, and service awards. Class members may object or exclude themselves by October 26 if they follow the official procedures.

If the court grants final approval, payments and monitoring enrollment still will not begin immediately if an appeal is filed. The agreement says final effectiveness depends on the approval order and the end of applicable appeal periods.

A class member who does nothing will receive no benefit. Unless that person opts out, the person will also be bound by the release if the settlement becomes final. The release covers claims related to the February 2025 incident as defined in the agreement.

Frequently asked questions

Who can file a Communications Data Group settlement claim?

The court-approved class centers on U.S. residents who received a data-incident notice from CDG or Home Telecom about the February 2025 incident, subject to the listed exclusions.

What is the claim deadline?

November 10, 2026. Online claims must be submitted by that date, and mailed claims must be postmarked by that date.

How much can I receive?

Eligible class members may seek up to $5,000 for supported losses, choose a $45 alternative cash payment, or request three years of credit monitoring. The $45 choice replaces the other benefits.

Do I need documents?

Documents are required for a documented-loss claim. The $45 alternative payment and credit-monitoring choices do not use the same loss-documentation requirement, but the claimant must still submit a valid form and be verified as a class member.

Did the defendants admit wrongdoing?

No. The defendants deny wrongdoing and liability. The court has granted only preliminary approval and has not decided the underlying allegations.

When will payments be sent?

The official notice does not promise a distribution date. The court must grant final approval, any appeals must be resolved, and the administrator must finish processing claims.

Where should I file?

Use the court-authorized website, CommunicationsDataGroupSettlement.com, or the official paper form. Do not send private records to Class Action Pulse.