The easiest benefit in the Muscatine Power and Water settlement — up to $100 for time spent dealing with the January 2024 cyberattack, with nothing to document — is also the one paid last, and the settlement agreement says it could pay nothing if documented claims use up the fund. It could also pay more than $100 if the fund is under-claimed. About 36,995 people are in the class for the Iowa municipal utility’s $525,000 settlement, and claims close October 26, 2026.
Status: Claims open, final approval pending | Claim deadline October 26, 2026 | Opt out or object by October 9, 2026 | Up to $100 for time, $500 for expenses, $5,000 for extraordinary losses
Three Tiers, Stackable
Unlike settlements that make you choose, all three benefits here can be combined on one claim form. The same dollar cannot be claimed twice, and anything already reimbursed by another source is out.
| Attested time — up to $100 | Up to five hours at $20 an hour for time spent changing passwords, monitoring or investigating suspicious activity, contacting a provider or bank, signing up for fraud monitoring, or researching the incident. An attestation is enough; no documents required. |
| Out-of-pocket expenses — up to $500 | Documented, unreimbursed costs from January 26, 2024 through October 26, 2026: credit reports, credit monitoring, credit freezes and unfreezes, replacement IDs, postage to banks, and — per the agreement — bank fees such as card replacement and over-limit charges, interest on short-term loans, certain phone and data charges, and gas for local travel. |
| Extraordinary loss — up to $5,000 | Money lost to identity theft or fraud in the same window, more likely than not traceable to the incident, not covered by the expense tier, and where you tried to avoid or recover the loss, such as through existing insurance. Falsified tax returns are one example the agreement gives. Requires an attestation under penalty of perjury. |
Where the Time Payment Sits in the Queue
Muscatine Power and Water pays $525,000 into an escrow account, and its liability is capped at that amount. Court-approved attorneys’ fees and costs, the class representative’s service award and administration costs are paid first. The remaining net fund pays extraordinary losses and out-of-pocket expenses. Attested time is paid from whatever is left.
That ordering has consequences in both directions:
- If claims exceed the fund, approved payments are reduced pro rata — and the agreement says no money is distributed for attested time at all.
- If more than 10 percent of the net fund is unclaimed after all three tiers are allocated, the remainder is redistributed pro rata to attested-time claimants, so their payment could exceed $100. A further round from uncashed checks can follow if the average payment would be at least $3.00.
Anything remaining after that goes to a court-approved charitable recipient; the parties plan to recommend Community Action of Eastern Iowa. Neither the notice nor the agreement estimates a per-person payment or the cost of administration, so there is no reliable figure for what each claimant will actually receive.
Class counsel will ask for fees and litigation costs of up to 33.33 percent of the fund and a service award of up to $3,000, both taken from the $525,000. The court may award less.
A Hometown Class
Muscatine Power and Water is the municipal utility for Muscatine, Iowa, providing electricity, water and communications service. That makes this class unusually local. The court defined it as everyone the utility identified as impacted by the data incident, including everyone sent a breach notice. Membership depends on the utility’s records, not on whether you were a customer at a particular time. The judge and the judge’s family and staff, the utility and its officers, directors and related companies, and anyone who opts out are excluded.
According to the settlement agreement, a criminal entity gained unauthorized access to the utility’s computer network on or around January 26, 2024, and the utility disclosed the incident around March 2024. The notice says accessed files may have contained names and Social Security numbers. The agreement’s broader definition also covers customer proprietary network information — the account and usage data a telecommunications provider holds — which appears because the utility sells broadband and telecom service.
The Litigation
The petition in Cox v. Muscatine Power and Water, Case No. 07701 CVCV027276, Iowa District Court for Muscatine County, was filed March 18, 2024. It alleged negligence, invasion of privacy, breach of implied contract and unjust enrichment, plus two Iowa statutory claims. The utility moved to dismiss twice; on January 23, 2025 the court dismissed the statutory claims and let most of the rest proceed. A September 11, 2025 mediation did not settle the case, but negotiations continued and the agreement was signed in spring 2026.
Muscatine Power and Water denies every claim and all wrongdoing, and the agreement says it is settling to avoid cost and uncertainty, not as an admission. No court has found that the utility broke the law.
What You Need to File
The online claim form opens only with the LoginID and PIN printed on the notice that was mailed or emailed to class members. If you discarded it, the settlement website’s contact page can be used to request the credentials again, or you can download the printable claim form and return it with any records.
The expense tiers require receipts or other records not prepared by you; handwritten receipts and similar self-made documents can add context but are not enough alone. The administrator reviews each claim for completeness and plausibility, decides whether a loss is fairly traceable to the incident, and sends a deficiency notice with a chance to cure before denying a claim.
Deadlines
| October 9, 2026 | Opt-out requests postmarked and objections due. An exclusion request can cover only one person. Objectors must stay in the class but can still file a claim. |
| October 26, 2026 | Claims submitted online or by email, or postmarked if mailed. The notice gives no timezone. |
| December 17, 2026, 9:00 a.m. CT | Final approval hearing by Zoom. The date and time can change without further notice. |
If more than 100 class members validly opt out, Muscatine Power and Water may terminate the settlement at its discretion. If the settlement is terminated or not approved, the money is returned and the case resumes as though no class had been certified.
How to Claim and Get Paid
File on the official settlement website, MuscatineDataBreach.com, run by court-appointed administrator Simpluris. Log in with your LoginID and PIN, select every tier that applies, upload records for the expense tiers, and sign. The site also hosts the long-form notice, claim form and settlement agreement. Keep your mailing and email addresses current there, since payments and cure requests go to them.
Payments go out within 30 days after the settlement becomes effective or after all claims are processed, whichever is later. You can choose a digital payment; otherwise a check is mailed. Checks are valid for 60 days, and the right to payment is forfeited once a check goes void. No payment date has been announced. For ongoing updates, see OpenClassActions.com’s Muscatine Power and Water settlement page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Could my attested time payment be zero?
Yes. The net fund pays extraordinary losses and out-of-pocket expenses first. If approved claims exceed the fund, payments are reduced pro rata, and the settlement agreement says no money is distributed for attested time in that situation.
Could it be more than $100?
It could. If more than 10 percent of the net fund is unclaimed after all three tiers are allocated, the leftover is redistributed pro rata to attested-time claimants. A second round from uncashed checks may follow. Neither is guaranteed.
Can I claim time, expenses and extraordinary losses together?
Yes. The three tiers are cumulative on one claim form, but the same expense cannot be claimed in two tiers and nothing already reimbursed can be claimed.
Do I need receipts for the time payment?
No. An attestation that you spent the time is enough. Receipts or other third-party records are required only for out-of-pocket expenses and extraordinary losses.
I threw away my notice. Can I still file?
The online form needs the LoginID and PIN from the notice. You can request them through the settlement website’s contact page, or download the printable claim form and mail it, postmarked by October 26, 2026.
Sources
- Official settlement website, long-form notice, FAQ and claim form — MuscatineDataBreach.com, administered by Simpluris.
- Class Settlement Agreement and Release, Cox v. Muscatine Power and Water, Case No. 07701 CVCV027276, Iowa District Court for Muscatine County.
- OpenClassActions.com — Muscatine Power and Water 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: Muscatine Power and Water Data Breach Settlement — Up to $100 for Time, $5,000 Documented — 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.