Western Montana Data Incident

A court authorized a notice because you have the right to know about a settlement in this class action lawsuit and about all your rights and options before the Court decides whether to grant Final Approval to the Settlement. This notice explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, your legal rights, what Settlement Class Member Benefits are available, who is eligible for the Settlement Class Member Benefits, and how to get them.

The Honorable Leslie Halligan of the Fourth Judicial District Court of Missoula County, Montana is overseeing this class action. The lawsuit is known as Stoner v. Western Montana Mental Health Center and Blackfoot Communications, Inc., Case No. DV-25-0000651 (“lawsuit”). The individuals who filed this lawsuit are called the “Plaintiffs” and/or “Class Representatives,” and the companies sued, Western Montana Mental Health Center and Blackfoot Communications, Inc., are called the “Defendants.”

“Settling Defendant” refers to WMMHC and “non-settling Defendant” refers to Blackfoot.

The Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit against Defendants on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated regarding a cybersecurity incident (“Data Incident”) that took place in September 2024, involving Defendants and resulting in the unauthorized access to or acquisition of certain Private Information regarding Settlement Class Members. The Private Information involved includes information collected and/or maintained by Defendants, including, but not limited to some combination of names, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, dates of birth, state or federal identification card numbers, medical information, financial account information, and/or health insurance information.

WMMHC has reached a $950,000 settlement in the lawsuit. The remaining Defendant, Blackfoot, has not settled. The litigation against Blackfoot will continue notwithstanding the Settlement with WMMHC.

WMMHC denies the legal claims and denies any wrongdoing or liability. The Court has not made any determination of any wrongdoing by WMMHC, or that any law has been violated. Instead, the Plaintiffs and WMMHC have agreed to a settlement to avoid the risk, cost, and time of continuing the lawsuit.

The Plaintiffs and WMMHC do not agree about the legal claims made in this lawsuit. The lawsuit has not gone to trial, and the Court has not decided in favor of the Plaintiffs or WMMHC. Instead, the Plaintiffs and WMMHC have agreed to settle the lawsuit. The Class Representatives, WMMHC, and their lawyers believe the Settlement is best for the Settlement Class because of the Settlement Class Member Benefits available and the risks and uncertainty associated with continuing the lawsuit.

In a class action, one or more people (called class representatives) sue on behalf of all people who have similar legal claims. Together, all these people are called a class or class members. One court resolves the issues for all class members, except for those class members who timely exclude themselves (opt out) from the class.

You are included in the Settlement Class if you are a living individual residing in the United States and your Private Information was impacted in the Data Incident.

Yes. Excluded from the Settlement Class are: (a) directors and officers of Defendant WMMHC; (b) the Judge assigned to the lawsuit, that Judge’s immediate family, and Court staff; and (c) any Settlement Class Member who timely and validly opts-out of the Settlement.

If you are still not sure whether you are a Settlement Class Member, please see FAQ 5 or call 1-877-878-7194 (toll-free).

If you are a Settlement Class Member, you can submit a Claim Form for the following Settlement Class Member Benefits:

Cash Payment A - Documented Losses

You may submit a Claim Form and provide reasonable documentation for losses related to the Data Incident and resulting from fraud and/or identity theft for up to $5,000 per Settlement Class Member.

Your documented losses must have resulted from fraud or identity theft and must be related to the Data Incident. You will not be reimbursed for expenses if you have been reimbursed for the same expenses by another source, including in connection with the credit monitoring and identity theft protection services offered as part of the notification letter provided by WMMHC or otherwise.

If you do not submit reasonable documentation supporting a loss, or if your Claim Form is invalid as determined by the Settlement Administrator and you do not cure your Claim Form, your Claim Form will be processed as if you elected Cash Payment B – Alternate Cash.

Cash Payment B – Alternate Cash

Instead of selecting Cash Payment A, without providing documentation, you may submit a Claim Form to receive a pro rata (a legal term meaning equal share) cash payment in the estimated amount of $150.

Medical Data Monitoring

In addition to Cash Payment A (Documented Losses) or Cash Payment B (Alternate Cash), you may also submit a Claim Form to receive two years of free Medical Data Monitoring.

Your Cash Payment may be subject to a pro rata (a legal term meaning equal share) increase if the amount of Valid Claims does not use the entire Net Settlement Fund. Alternatively, if the amount of Valid Claims exceeds the amount of the Net Settlement Fund, your Cash Payment may be subject to a pro rata reduction.

For purposes of calculating the pro rata increase or decrease, the Settlement Administrator must distribute the funds in the Net Settlement Fund first for payment of Medical Monitoring and then for Cash Payment A – Documented Losses Claims and then for Cash Payment B – Alternate Cash Claims. Any pro rata increases or decreases to Cash Payments will be on an equal percentage basis.

Injunctive Relief

WMMHC has and/or is implementing additional security measures following the Data Incident. The costs of these measures will not impact the Cash Payment you can receive.

Unless you exclude yourself (opt out), you will remain in the Settlement Class. If the Settlement is approved and becomes final, all Court orders and any judgments will apply to you and legally bind you. You will not be able to sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against WMMHC and the Released Parties about the Released Claims in this Settlement. The specific rights you are giving up are called “Released Claims.”

Your decision to remain in the Settlement Class or to exclude yourself will not affect your rights or your ability to participate in any future settlement with the non-settling Defendant.

Sections II and XIII of the Settlement Agreement describes the Releases, Released Claims, and Released Parties, in necessary legal terminology, so please read these sections carefully. For questions regarding the Releases, Released Claims, or Released Parties and what the language in the Settlement Agreement means, you can also contact Class Counsel listed below for free, or you can talk to your own lawyer at your own expense.

You must submit a timely and valid Claim Form to receive any Settlement Class Member Benefits as described above. Your Claim Form must be submitted here by July 20, 2026, or mailed to the Settlement Administrator at the address on the Claim Form, postmarked by July 20, 2026. Claim Forms are also available here or by calling 1-877-878-7194 or by writing to the following:

Western Montana Data Incident
Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2058
Portland, OR 97208-2058

If you change your mailing address or email address after you submit a Claim Form, it is your responsibility to inform the Settlement Administrator of your updated information. You may notify the Settlement Administrator of any changes by writing to the following:

Western Montana Data Incident
Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2058
Portland, OR 97208-2058

If you file a timely and valid Claim Form, the Settlement Class Member Benefits will be provided after the Settlement is approved by the Court and becomes final.

It may take time for the Settlement to be approved and become final. Please be patient and check our Current Status for updates.

To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must mail a written request for exclusion, which includes the following:

1. Your name, address, telephone number, and email address (if any);
2. Your personal physical signature; and
3. A statement that you want to be excluded from the Settlement Class, such as, “I hereby request to be excluded from the Settlement Class in Stoner v. Western Montana Mental Health Center and Blackfoot Communications, Inc.”

The exclusion request must be mailed to the Settlement Administrator at the following address, and be postmarked by July 5, 2026:
Western Montana Data Incident
Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2058
Portland, OR 97208-2058

You cannot opt out (exclude yourself) by telephone or by email.

“Mass” or “class” requests for exclusion filed by third parties on behalf of a “mass” or “class” of Settlement Class Members or multiple Settlement Class Members where the request has not been signed by every individual Settlement Class Member will not be allowed.

Your decision to remain in the Settlement Class or to exclude yourself will not affect your rights or your ability to participate in any future settlement with the non-settling Defendant.

No. If you opt out, you will not be able to receive Settlement Class Member Benefits, and you will not be bound by the Settlement or any judgments in this lawsuit. You can only get Settlement Class Member Benefits if you stay in the Settlement and submit a timely and valid Claim Form.

Your decision to remain in the Settlement Class or to exclude yourself will not affect your rights or your ability to participate in any future settlement with the non-settling Defendant.

No. Unless you opt out, you give up any right to sue WMMHC or any of the Released Parties for the legal claims this Settlement resolves and Releases, and you will be bound by all the terms of the Settlement, proceedings, orders, and judgments in the lawsuit. You must opt out of this Settlement to start or continue your own lawsuit or be part of any other lawsuit against WMMHC or the Released Parties about the Released Claims in this Settlement. If you have a pending lawsuit, speak to your lawyer in that lawsuit immediately.

Your decision to remain in the Settlement Class or to exclude yourself will not affect your rights or your ability to participate in any future settlement with the non-settling Defendant.

If you are a Settlement Class Member, you can tell the Court you do not agree with all or any part of the Settlement and/or Application for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Service Awards.

To object, you must file your timely written objection with the Court as provided below by July 5, 2026, and send by U.S. Mail to Class Counsel, WMMHC’s Counsel, and the Settlement Administrator postmarked by or shipped by private courier (such as Federal Express) by July 5, 2026, stating you object to the Settlement in Stoner v. Western Montana Mental Health Center and Blackfoot Communications, Inc., Case No. DV-25-0000651.

To file an objection, you cannot exclude yourself from the Settlement Class. Your objection must include all the following information:

1. Your full name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address (if any);
2. Proof that you are a Settlement Class Member (e.g., copy of the Postcard Notice showing your name or a copy of the original notice of the Data Incident showing your name);
3. All grounds for the objection, accompanied by any legal support for the objection known to you as the objector or your own lawyer;
4. The number of times you have objected to a class action settlement within the five years preceding the date that you file the objection, the caption of each case in which you have made such objection, and a copy of any orders related to or ruling upon your prior objections that were issued by the trial and appellate courts in each listed case;
5. The number of times your lawyer or your lawyer’s law firm have objected to a class action settlement within the five years preceding the date of the filed objection, the caption of each case in which your lawyer or the firm has made such objection, and a copy of any orders related to or ruling upon your lawyer’s or the lawyer’s law firm’s prior objections that were issued by the trial and appellate courts in each listed case;
6. The identity of all lawyers (if any) representing you as an objector, including any of your former or current lawyers who may claim an entitlement to compensation for any reason related to the objection to the Settlement and/or Application for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Service Awards, and whether they will appear at the Final Approval Hearing;
7. A list of all persons who will be called to testify at the Final Approval Hearing in support of your objection (if any);
8. A statement confirming whether you intend to personally appear and/or testify at the Final Approval Hearing; and
9. Your signature as the objector (a lawyer’s signature is not sufficient).

Class Counsel and/or WMMHC’s Counsel may conduct limited discovery on any objector or objector’s counsel.

To object, you must file your timely written objection with the Court by July 5, 2026, and send it by U.S. Mail to Class Counsel, WMMHC’s Counsel, and the Settlement Administrator postmarked by or shipped by private courier (such as Federal Express) by July 5, 2026, at the following addresses:

Objecting is simply telling the Court you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Settlement Class. Opting-out is telling the Court you do not want to be part of the Settlement Class. If you opt out, you cannot object because you are no longer part of the Settlement.

Yes. The Court has appointed Jeff Ostrow of Kopelowitz Ostrow P.A., John Heenan of Heenan & Cook, and David Paoli of Paoli Law Firm, PC, as Class Counsel to represent you and the Settlement Class for the purposes of this Settlement. You may hire your own lawyer at your own cost if you want someone other than Class Counsel to represent you in this lawsuit.

Class Counsel will file a motion asking the Court to award the attorneys’ fees of up to 1/3 of the Settlement Fund, plus reimbursement of reasonable costs. Class Counsel will also ask the Court to approve the Service Awards for the Class Representatives of up to $3,000 each for their efforts. If awarded by the Court, the attorneys’ fees and costs, and the Service Awards will be paid from the Settlement Fund. The Court may award less than these amounts.

The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on August 4, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. before the Honorable Leslie Halligan at the Missoula County Justice Court, 200 W Broadway Street, Missoula, MT 59802. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate and decide whether to approve the Settlement and Class Counsel’s Application for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Service Awards.

If there are objections that were filed by the deadline, the Court will consider them. If you file a timely objection, and you (or your lawyer) ask to speak at the hearing, the Court, at its discretion, may hear objections at the hearing.

Note: The date and time of the Final Approval Hearing are subject to change without further notice to the Settlement Class. The Court may also decide to hold the hearing via video conference or by telephone. You should check here to confirm the date and time of the Final Approval Hearing have not changed.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. However, you are welcome to attend at your own expense. If you file an objection, you do not have to attend the Final Approval Hearing to speak about it. If you file your written objection by the deadline, the Court will consider it.

If there are objections that were filed by the deadline, the Court will consider them. If you file a timely objection, and you (or your lawyer) ask to speak at the hearing, the Court, at its discretion, may hear objections at the hearing.

The notice summarizes the Settlement. Complete details about the Settlement are provided in the Settlement Agreement. You may get additional information by calling 1-877-878-7194 (toll-free), or by writing to the following:

Western Montana Data Incident
Settlement Administrator
PO Box 2058
Portland, OR 97208-2058

PLEASE DO NOT TELEPHONE THE COURT OR THE COURT CLERK'S OFFICE REGARDING THE NOTICE.