1. Why was the Notice issued?
2. What is this lawsuit about?
3. What is a class action?
4. Why is there a Settlement?
5. Who is included in the Settlement?
6. Are there exceptions to being included?
7. What does the Settlement provide?
8. What claims am I releasing if I stay in the Settlement Class?
9. How do I submit a claim for a Settlement benefit?
10. Are there any important Settlement payment deadlines?
11. When will the Settlement benefits be issued?
12. Do I have a lawyer in the case?
13. Should I get my own lawyer?
14. How will Class Counsel be paid?
15. How do I opt out of the Settlement?
16. How do I tell the Court if I like or do not like the Settlement?
17. What is the difference between objecting and excluding?
18. When is the Court’s Final Approval Hearing?
19. Do I have to come to the Final Approval Hearing?
20. What happens if I do nothing at all?
21. How do I get more information?
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, authorized the Notice. You have a right to know about the proposed Settlement of this class action lawsuit, and about all of your options, before the Court decides whether to grant final approval of the Settlement. The Notice explains the lawsuit, your legal rights, what benefits are available, and who can receive them
The lawsuit is called Fetes, et al. v. Lee Enterprises, Inc., Case No. 3:25-cv-00067-SMR-SBJ. It is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. The people that filed this lawsuit are called the “Plaintiffs” (or “Class Representatives”) and the company they sued, Lee Enterprises, Incorporated, is called the “Defendant.”
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This lawsuit alleges that during a cybersecurity incident that Lee Enterprises experienced in February 2025, certain files that contained Private Information may have been accessed. These files may have contained personal information such as names,Social Security numbers and medical information.
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In a class action, one or more individuals sue on behalf of other people with similar claims. These individuals are called the “Plaintiffs” or “Class Representatives.” Together, the people included in the class action are called a “Class” or “Class Members.” One court resolves the lawsuit for all Class Members, except for those who opt out from the settlement. In this proposed Settlement, the Class Representatives are Sarah Fetes; Anthony Bangert; Declan Lawson; Nicole Church; Douglas Arp; and Briar Napier. Everyone included in this Action are the Settlement Class Members.
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The Court did not decide whether the Plaintiffs or the Defendant are right. Both sides have agreed to a Settlement to avoid the costs and risks of a trial, and to allow the Settlement Class Members to receive benefits from the Settlement. The Plaintiffs and their attorneys think the Settlement is best for all Settlement Class Members.
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The court has defined the Settlement Class this way: “All persons identified as being among those individuals impacted by the Data Security Incident, including all who were sent a notice of the Data Security Incident.”
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Yes. Excluded from the Class are: (1) the Judge(s) presiding over the Action and members of their immediate families and their staff; (2) Lee Enterprises and its subsidiaries, parent companies, successors, predecessors, and any entity in which Lee Enterprises, has a controlling interest; (3) natural persons who properly execute and submit a request to opt out prior to the expiration of the Opt-Out Period; and (4) the successors or assigns of any such excluded natural person.
If you are not sure whether you are a Settlement Class Member, you can ask for free help any time by contacting the Settlement Administrator at:
Lee Enterprises Data Security Incident Settlement
c/o Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 25226
Santa Ana, CA 92799
(833) 647-9093
info@LeeEnterprisesSettlement.com
You may also view the Settlement Agreement here.
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All Settlement Class Members may claim Credit Monitoring, and either an Alternative Cash Payment OR one of the following two Compensation Cash Payment options:
Option A:
Compensation for Ordinary Losses
Compensation for Lost Time
Option B:
Compensation for Extraordinary Losses
Credit Monitoring Services. All Settlement Class Members are eligible to enroll in one year of CyEx Financial Shield Total with three bureaus. This comprehensive service comes with $1 million of financial fraud insurance, and includes monitoring for:
fraud or identity theft
unauthorized financial transactions
personal information associated with high-risk transactions
If anything suspicious happens, you will be able to talk to a fraud resolution agent to help fix any problems.
Cash Payments. Settlement Class Members may claim payments from either Option A or Option B, or the Alternative Cash Payment.
Option A
Compensation for Ordinary Losses (out-of-pocket expenses). If you incurred actual, documented out-of-pocket expenses due to the Data Security Incident, you can get back up to $1,000.00. The losses must have occurred between June 1, 2025, and May 26, 2026. This benefit covers out-of-pocket expenses like:
fees for credit reports or credit monitoring
bank fees, long distance phone charges, cell phone changes (only if charged based on the amount of the data used) postage to contact banks by mail
gasoline for local travel
up to 4 hours of lost time, at $20/hour for time spent dealing with the Data Security Incident.
You need to send proof, like receipts, to show how much you spent or lost. You can also send notes or papers you made yourself to explain or support other proof, but those notes or papers alone are not enough to make a valid claim. Your proof or notes should show that your expenses were because of the Data Security Incident.
You may submit claims for up to 4 hours of lost time with a signed attestation that You spent the claimed time responding to issues raised by the Data Security Incident.
You cannot claim a payment for expenses that have already been reimbursed by a third party.
Compensation for Lost Time. Class Members who spent time responding to the Data Security Incident may claim up to four hours, at $20.00 per hour, for a maximum of $80.00. You must have spent the time on tasks related to the Data Security Incident. Some examples include things like:
changing your passwords
investigating suspicious activity in your accounts
researching the Data Security Incident
You do not need to describe how you spent this time.
Option B
Compensation for Extraordinary Losses (losses from identity theft or fraud). If you lost money because of identity theft or fraud, you can get back up to $3,000.00. You will need to show that:
the theft or fraud was probably caused by the Data Security Incident
the losses are not already covered by Ordinary Losses
you tried to prevent the loss or get your money back, such as by using insurance you already have
The losses must have occurred between June 1, 2025, and May 26, 2026.
You need to send proof, like receipts, to show how much you spent or lost. You can also send notes or papers you made yourself to explain or support other proof, but those notes or papers alone are not enough to make a valid claim. Your proof or notes should show that your expenses were because of the Data Security Incident.
You cannot claim a payment for expenses that have already been reimbursed by a third party.
Alternative Cash Payment. In lieu of the benefits in Option A or Option B, you may claim a one-time pro rata cash payment. This payment is expected to be $35.00. You cannot claim the Alternative Cash Payment if you have elected to claim Compensation for Ordinary Losses or Compensation for Extraordinary Losses.
You do not have to provide any proof or explanation to claim this payment.
If you have questions about these benefits, you can ask for free help any time by contacting the Settlement Administrator at:
Lee Enterprises Data Security Incident Settlement
c/o Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 25226
Santa Ana, CA 92799
(833) 647-9093
info@LeeEnterprisesSettlement.com
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If you stay in the Settlement Class, you won’t be able to be part of any other lawsuit against Lee Enterprises about the issues that this Settlement covers. The “Releases” section of the Settlement Agreement (Section 4) describes the legal claims that you give up if you remain in the Settlement Class. The Settlement Agreement is available here.
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The fastest way to submit your Claim Form is online here. If you prefer, you can download a printable Claim Form here and mail it to the Settlement Administrator at:
Lee Enterprises Data Security Incident Settlement
c/o Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 25226
Santa Ana, CA 92799
You may also contact the Settlement Administrator to request a Claim Form by telephone, toll free, (833) 647-9093, by email info@LeeEnterprisesSettlement.com, or by U.S. mail at the address above.
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If you are submitting a Claim Form online, you must do so by May 26, 2026. If you are submitting a claim by U.S. mail, the completed and signed Claim Form, including supporting documentation, must be postmarked no later than May 26, 2026.
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The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on June 30, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (see Question 18). If the Court approves the Settlement, there may be appeals. We do not know if appeals will be filed, or how long it will take to resolve them if they are filed.
Settlement payments will be distributed if the Court grants final approval, and after any appeals are resolved.
Please be patient.
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Yes, the Court has appointed attorneys Gary M. Klinger of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, PLLC; Jeff Ostrow of Kopelowitz Ostrow; and Leanna A. Loginov of Shamis & Gentile, P.A., to represent you and other Settlement Class Members (“Class Counsel”).
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You will not be charged for Class Counsel’s services. If you want your own lawyer, you may hire one at your expense.
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Class Counsel will ask the court to approve up to $200,000.00 as reasonable attorneys' fees and costs of litigation. This amount will be paid from the Settlement Fund.
Class Counsel will also ask for Service Award payments of $1,000.00 for each of the Class Representatives. Service Award payments will also be paid from the Settlement Fund.
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If you do not want to be part of the Settlement, you must formally exclude yourself from the Settlement. This is called an Opt-Out Request.
If you opt-out, you are telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement. You will not be eligible to receive any Settlement benefits if you opt-out. However, you will keep any rights you may have to sue Lee Enterprises on your own about the legal issues in this case. The deadline to opt-out from the Settlement is April 24, 2026.
To be valid, your Opt-Out Request must have the following information:
the name of the Litigation: Fetes, et al. v. Lee Enterprises, Inc., Case No. 3:25-cv-00067-SMR-SBJ, pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa;
your full name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address;
personal signature; and
the words “Opt-Out Request” or a clear and similar statement that you do not want to participate in the Settlement.
You may only exclude yourself—not any other person.
Mail your Request for Exclusion to the Settlement Administrator at:
Lee Enterprises Data Security Incident Settlement
c/o Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 25226
Santa Ana, CA 92799
Your Opt-Out Request must be submitted and postmarked by April 24, 2026.
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If you are a Settlement Class Member and do not like part or all of the Settlement, you can object to it. Objecting means telling the Court your reasons for why you think the Court should not approve the Settlement. The Court will consider your views.
You cannot object if you have opted-out from the Settlement (see Question 15)
You must provide the following information for the Court to consider your objection:
the name of the Litigation: Fetes, et al. v. Lee Enterprises, Inc., Case No. 3:25-cv-00067-SMR-SBJ, pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa;
your full name, mailing address, unique identifier of the Settlement Class Member; telephone number, and email address (if any);
include proof that the Settlement Class Member is a member of the Settlement Class (e.g., copy of the Settlement Notice, copy of the original notice of the Data Security Incident);
identify the specific factual and legal grounds for the objection;
identify all counsel representing the Settlement Class Member, if any;
include a list, including case name, court, and docket number, of all other cases in which the objector and/or the objector’s counsel has filed an objection to any proposed class action settlement in the past five (5) years;
contain a statement regarding whether the Settlement Class Member (or counsel of his or her choosing) intends to appear at the Final Approval Hearing; and
your signature (if you have hired your own lawyer, their signature is not sufficient).
For your objection to be considered, it must meet each of these requirements.
To be considered by the Court, you must file your complete objection with the Clerk of Court by April 24, 2026. You must also send a copy of the objection by U.S. Mail to the Settlement Administrator.
Clerk of the Court | Settlement Administrator |
Clerk of the Court | Lee Enterprises Data Security Incident Settlement |
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Objecting is telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object to the Settlement only if you do not opt-out from the Settlement. Opting out from the Settlement is stating to the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement. If you opt-out of the Settlement, you cannot object to it because the Settlement no longer affects you.
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The Court will hold a final approval on June 30, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. in Des Moines - Room 510 - 5th Floor Southeast.
At the Final Approval Hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the Settlement. The court will also decide Class Counsel’s request for an attorneys’ fees and costs award and the request for a Service Award to the Class Representatives. The Court will also consider any timely objections to the Settlement.
If you are a Settlement Class Member, you or your lawyer may ask permission to speak at the hearing at your own cost (see Question 16).
The date and time of this hearing may change without further notice. Please check this website for updates.
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No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. You may attend at your own expense if you wish, but you do not have to.
If you file an objection, you do not have to come to the Final Approval Hearing to talk about it; the Court will consider it as long as it was filed on time. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend, but you do not have to.
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If you do nothing, you will not receive a benefit from this Settlement. You will also give up the rights described in Question 8.
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This website and the Notice are a summary of the proposed Settlement. The full Settlement Agreement and other related documents are available on the Important Documents page.
If you have additional questions, you can ask for free help any time by contacting the Settlement Administrator at:
Lee Enterprises Data Security Incident Settlement
c/o Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 25226
Santa Ana, CA 92799
(833) 647-9093
info@LeeEnterprisesSettlement.com
You can obtain copies of publicly filed documents by visiting the office of the Clerk of the Court, 111 Locust Street Des Moines, IA 50309.
Do not contact the Court or Clerk of Court regarding this Settlement.
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