If you are a Duo County Telephone, Cumberland Cellular or Home Wireless customer and got a letter about a February 2025 cyberattack, the company that was breached was Communications Data Group — and its settlement makes you choose between $45 in cash and three years of credit monitoring. You cannot have both. The monitoring can be paired with up to $5,000 for documented losses; the $45 stands alone. Claims close November 10, 2026, and every claim needs the LoginID and PIN from the mailed notice.
Status: Claims open, awaiting final approval | Claim deadline November 10, 2026 | Opt out or object by October 26, 2026 | $45 cash, or 3 years of monitoring plus up to $5,000 documented
One Vendor, Three Phone Companies
Communications Data Group, Inc. (CDG) discovered in February 2025 that an unauthorized third party had gained access to its systems. According to the court-approved notice, the incident potentially affected the personal information of about 137,059 people, including customers of three telecom providers that are named as co-defendants: Duo County Telephone Cooperative Corporation, Cumberland Cellular, LLC and Home Wireless, Inc.
The exposed information included names, addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license information, bank account information and Social Security numbers. Notice letters came from either CDG or Home Wireless — so a customer of one of the other carriers may have received a letter with an unfamiliar company name at the top.
The Real Decision: Cash or Monitoring
The settlement offers three benefits, but the rules for combining them reduce the choice to two paths:
| Path 1 — $45 cash | A one-time Alternative Cash Payment, taken in lieu of both the documented-loss payment and the credit monitoring. No receipts. |
| Path 2 — monitoring, with or without losses | Three years of CyEx credit monitoring with one of the major bureaus (Experian, Equifax or TransUnion), including identity theft insurance of up to $1,000,000 with no deductible. Can be claimed alone, or together with reimbursement of up to $5,000 in documented losses. |
For someone with no out-of-pocket costs, the question is whether three years of monitoring and the attached insurance are worth more to them than $45 in hand. Given that Social Security numbers and bank account information were among the data involved, some class members may value the monitoring more. For anyone with receipts for breach-related costs, path 2 is the only way to recover them.
What Counts as a Documented Loss
Losses must be actual and unreimbursed, more likely than not caused by the data incident, and incurred on or after February 2025. The notice lists:
- Fraud and identity theft costs.
- Professional fees, such as attorneys’, accountants’ and credit repair fees.
- Credit freeze and unfreeze costs.
- Credit monitoring bought after the breach notice, through the date of the claim.
- Smaller expenses: notary, fax, postage, copying, mileage and long-distance charges.
Each expense needs reasonable documentation that it was incurred and not reimbursed, and the claim carries a declaration under penalty of perjury. The administrator, Simpluris, can send a notice of deficiency asking for more information; a claim that does not answer it in time is treated as invalid.
No Fund to Split
There is no aggregate settlement fund, and the notice describes no overall cap or pro rata reduction. CDG pays each approved benefit directly. It also separately pays the costs of notice and administration, attorneys’ fees and expenses of up to $500,000, and service awards of up to $2,500 for each class representative, so none of those amounts reduce what class members receive. The notice describes the settlement as non-reversionary, and CDG has agreed to business improvements to further secure its systems.
The Case and the Class
The case is Pierce v. Communications Data Group, Inc., et al., Case No. 2026CH000032, in the Circuit Court of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, Champaign County, Illinois, before Judge Jason B. Bohm. The complaint asserts negligence, negligence per se, breach of implied contract, breach of third-party beneficiary contract, unjust enrichment and declaratory judgment. The defendants deny the claims and any liability, no court has found that they did anything wrong, and they agreed to settle to avoid the burden and expense of litigation.
The class covers people residing in the United States whose private information was potentially impacted, including anyone mailed a notification by or on behalf of the defendants. To make a claim, the notice says a class member must have received a notice letter about the February 2025 incident. The defendants’ employees, directors, officers and agents and those of their affiliates, government entities, and the judges on the case with their families and staff are excluded.
Calendar
| October 12, 2026 | Class counsel’s motion for fees, costs and service awards due; it will be posted on the settlement website. |
| October 26, 2026 | Opt-out letters must be mailed to the administrator, postmarked by this date. Objections must be mailed to the administrator and filed with the court by the same date; the notice’s summary table says received by October 26, so send early. |
| November 2, 2026 | Motion for final approval due. |
| November 10, 2026 | Claim deadline — online or postmarked. No time of day is given. |
| November 16, 2026, 10:30 a.m. Central | Final approval hearing, in person or by remote means as the court orders. The date may move without further notice. |
Filing
Use the online Claim Form on the official Communications Data Group settlement website. Log in with the LoginID and PIN printed on your notice — required even for the $45 — choose a path and attach documentation for any losses. A paper Claim Form can be requested through the website and mailed, postmarked by November 10. The site’s FAQ page covers common questions, and a missing LoginID is a question for the administrator through that site.
The court appointed Strauss Borrelli PLLC; Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman; and Federman & Sherwood as class counsel, at no charge to class members. A class member who does nothing gets no benefit and, if the settlement is approved, gives up the right to sue over the incident. Benefits are provided only after final approval and any appeals, which the notice says could take more than a year, and no payment date had been announced as of September 24, 2026. Our sister site keeps a Communications Data Group settlement page updated as the case moves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get the $45 and the credit monitoring?
No. The $45 Alternative Cash Payment is taken in lieu of both the documented-loss payment and the credit monitoring. The three years of monitoring can be claimed alone or together with a documented-loss claim of up to $5,000.
I am a Cumberland Cellular or Duo County Telephone customer. Why is Communications Data Group involved?
The February 2025 cyberattack was on Communications Data Group’s network. The notice says it potentially affected customers of Duo County Telephone Cooperative Corporation, Cumberland Cellular and Home Wireless, among others. Notice letters came from Communications Data Group or Home Wireless.
Do I need anything to claim the $45?
Yes. Filing online requires the LoginID and PIN printed on the notice mailed to you. The $45 payment does not require receipts.
Do attorneys’ fees reduce my benefit?
No. There is no common fund. Communications Data Group pays attorneys’ fees and expenses of up to $500,000, service awards of up to $2,500 per class representative and administration costs separately from class member benefits.
When will benefits be provided?
Only if the court grants final approval after the November 16, 2026 hearing and any appeals are resolved, which the notice says could take more than a year. No payment date had been announced as of September 24, 2026.
Sources
- Court-approved Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement in Pierce v. Communications Data Group, Inc., Case No. 2026CH000032 (Cir. Ct. Champaign County, Ill.).
- Official settlement website, Claim Form, FAQ and settlement agreement — CommunicationsDataGroupSettlement.com, administered by Simpluris.
- OpenClassActions.com — Communications Data Group Data Breach Settlement.
Source and credit: the settlement terms, deadlines and benefit details described above are drawn from our sister site’s reporting — OpenClassActions.com: Communications Data Group Data Breach Settlement — $45 or Up to $5,000 — which tracks this case against the court-approved notice and the official settlement website and is updated as the court rules.
Legal Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. OpenClassActions.org is a consumer news site, not a law firm and not the settlement administrator, and is not affiliated with any party to the case described. The allegations are allegations; unless a court has ruled, the defendants deny wrongdoing and no court has decided the merits. Deadlines, benefit amounts and payment timing can change as the court and the administrator act, so confirm current status on the official settlement website. You never need to pay anyone to file a claim or to receive a settlement payment.