Community Dental Care Resolves Data Breach Litigation
Community Dental Care has agreed to settle class action litigation prompted by a December 2024 cyberattack and data breach that affected the personal information and protected health information (PHI) of over 130,000 individuals.
Data Breach and Affected Information
Nonprofit Medicaid dental provider, Community Dental Care in Minnesota, suffered a cyberattack and data breach on or around December 20, 2024. A cybercriminal actor accessed the organization’s network and potentially exfiltrated personal data and PHI belonging to more than 130,000 individuals.
The breached information covered by HIPAA included names, medical insurance information, birth dates, medical data, and Social Security numbers. The Social Security numbers of approximately 7,100 affected individuals were also exposed.
Community Dental Care began mailing notification letters to affected individuals on March 28, 2025. Several days after the notifications were mailed, a class action lawsuit was filed in the District Court for Ramsey County in Minnesota. Then, four more class action complaints were filed in response to the data breach. The complaints were consolidated into a single action.
Class Action Litigation
The consolidated complaint alleged that the data breach resulted from negligence and that Community Dental Care failed to implement reasonable and proper cybersecurity measures. Community Dental Care denied the claims and filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
The court granted the motion to dismiss in part and denied it in part. Claims involving breach of implied contract, negligence, and negligence per se were allowed to proceed. The consolidated class action complaint, In re Community Dental Care, remains pending in the District Court for Ramsey County, Minnesota.
The parties entered settlement discussions before discovery and agreed to settlement terms following mediation. The settlement provides several forms of relief for eligible class members.
Settlement Payments and Monitoring Services
Class members may submit a claim for reimbursement of documented, unreimbursed losses that are fairly traceable to the data breach. Reimbursement up to $5,000 may be claimed per class member. Class members may alternatively claim a one-time $50 cash payment. In addition to one of these cash payments, eligible class members may claim a membership to a medical data monitoring service for two years.
The settlement deadlines specified in the approved source include September 24, 2026, for objections and requests to opt out, October 19, 2026, for submitting claims, and November 23, 2026, for the final fairness hearing.
There was no mention of the total settlement value or any additional terms beyond the reimbursement option, cash payment, medical data monitoring service, and listed deadlines.