The ShopRuger.com data breach case is finished: a Connecticut federal judge approved the $1.5 million settlement on December 4, 2025, entered a judgment of dismissal with prejudice, and closed the file. The October 27, 2025 claim deadline has passed, so there is nothing left for Ruger customers to file. What remains useful is understanding what actually happened — the malware sat on a software vendor’s servers, not Ruger’s — and what the settlement paid the people who did claim.
Status: Settled, final approval granted December 4, 2025 | Claim deadline October 27, 2025 (passed) | $1.5 million non-reversionary fund | No distribution date announced publicly
A Vendor’s Servers, Ruger’s Customers
According to the court record, malware was present on servers owned by Freestyle Software, Inc., the e-commerce software company that hosted ShopRuger.com, from September 18, 2020 to February 3, 2022 — about seventeen months. A Freestyle customer reported a possible security problem on February 2, 2022. Freestyle then retained Verizon to conduct a PCI forensic investigation, and the malware was reportedly removed that month. Ruger’s SEC filings refer to the vendor by an earlier name, Freestyle Solutions, Inc.
Sturm, Ruger & Co. sent the breach notices on August 18, 2022 because the affected shoppers were its customers. The settlement agreement describes the information collected through ShopRuger.com and other sites as full names, addresses, credit or debit card information, and the description, price and quantity of items purchased. Recipients were told their personally identifiable information and payment card data may have been involved, and were offered twelve months of identity protection with a $1 million insurance reimbursement policy.
Both Ruger and Freestyle were named as defendants. Both denied the allegations throughout, and the settlement resolved the case without any admission of liability or wrongdoing.
Who Was in the Class
The class covered all living U.S. residents whom Ruger sent a notice saying their personal information may have been affected, or whose personal information was otherwise impacted or exfiltrated in the incident. The final approval order puts the class at roughly 183,000 people; class counsel’s earlier preliminary approval papers said at least 168,000. Excluded were the defendants’ employees, directors, officers and agents, governmental entities, the assigned judges with their families and court staff, and anyone who opted out.
What the $1.5 Million Paid
The fund was non-reversionary, so no money went back to the defendants. It also covered attorneys’ fees, costs, service awards and administration. Class members could claim any combination of three benefits, subject to a $4,500 overall ceiling per person:
| Documented losses | Out-of-pocket losses fairly traceable to the incident, up to $4,500. |
| Lost time | $25 an hour for up to five hours, a maximum of $125. |
| Pro rata cash | Estimated by class counsel at $50, adjustable up or down but not above $175. No documentation or attestation required. |
Separately, and at its own expense rather than from the fund, Freestyle agreed to give class counsel a security attestation describing the measures it adopted after the incident.
What the Court Awarded
Judge Kari A. Dooley’s December 4, 2025 order approved the settlement, awarded class counsel $500,000 in fees and $35,000 in costs, and approved $3,500 service awards for each of the four class representatives. The order records that no class member objected and that three asked to be excluded.
Ruger’s annual report filed with the SEC on March 2, 2026 states that the case was dismissed by the trial court following confirmation of a settlement, and the matter no longer appears in the company’s later quarterly filings.
How the Case Got There
| October 4, 2022 | Jones v. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., No. 3:22-cv-01233 (KAD), filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, alleging negligence, breach of implied contract and unjust enrichment. |
| January 2023 | Two materially identical New Jersey federal cases are voluntarily dismissed and folded into an amended complaint in Connecticut. |
| March 27, 2024 | The court dismisses the negligence and unjust enrichment claims against Ruger and the negligence claim against Freestyle, letting the rest proceed. |
| December 6, 2024 | Settlement terms agreed after private mediation. |
| May 15, 2025 | Preliminary approval; Verita Global, LLC appointed settlement administrator. |
| October 27, 2025 | Claim deadline. |
| December 4, 2025 | Final approval hearing (reset from October 24, 2025); judgment entered and case closed. |
If You Filed — and If You Did Not
Claimants should watch for payment from the administrator, which follows the settlement’s effective date. No distribution date has been announced publicly. Administrator updates are posted on the official Freestyle Data Incident Settlement website.
Class members who never filed and did not opt out are bound by the release in the judgment regardless. No website or law firm can reopen a claim window the court has closed.
The exposure itself outlasts the case. Most payment cards compromised between 2020 and 2022 have long since been reissued, but names, addresses and purchase histories do not change. Our sister site keeps the Ruger data breach settlement page on OpenClassActions.com as the record of the case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still file a claim in the Ruger data breach settlement?
No. The claim deadline was October 27, 2025. The court granted final approval and entered a judgment of dismissal on December 4, 2025, and the administrator no longer accepts claims.
Was Ruger itself hacked?
According to the court record, the malware was on servers belonging to Freestyle Software, Inc., the vendor that hosted ShopRuger.com. Ruger sent the notice letters because the affected shoppers were its customers.
What information was exposed?
The settlement agreement describes full names, addresses, credit or debit card information, and the description, price and quantity of items purchased through ShopRuger.com and other sites.
How much could class members receive?
Documented losses up to $4,500, lost time at $25 an hour for up to five hours, and a pro rata payment estimated at $50 that could not exceed $175. Combined claims were capped at $4,500 per person.
How much did the lawyers receive?
The final approval order awarded class counsel $500,000 in fees and $35,000 in costs from the $1.5 million fund, plus $3,500 service awards for each of the four class representatives.
When will claimants be paid?
Payments follow the settlement’s effective date. No distribution date has been announced publicly; check the official settlement website for administrator updates.
Sources
- Final Approval Order and Judgment, ECF No. 134 (Dec. 4, 2025), Jones v. Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc., No. 3:22-cv-01233 (D. Conn.).
- Memorandum of Decision on the motions to dismiss (Mar. 27, 2024), via GovInfo.
- Sturm, Ruger & Co. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (filed Mar. 2, 2026), SEC EDGAR.
- Official settlement website — FreestyleDataIncidentSettlement.com, administered by Verita Global, LLC.
- OpenClassActions.com — Ruger Firearms Data Breach Class Action Settlement.
Source and credit: the settlement terms, deadlines and benefit details described above are drawn from our sister site’s reporting — OpenClassActions.com: Ruger Firearms Data Breach Class Action — $1.5M Settlement Approved, Claims Closed — 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.