Let’s be very clear here: the class (of which you, I, and everyone else is a part) was sold down the river by the class counsel who represent us, and who will collect approximately $80 million in fees no matter whether you or I get a check for $125 or a check for $1.25. Despite being under an ethical duty to advocate in our best interests, they signed off on a settlement agreement that sets a hard maximum on Equifax’s generic payout to persons whose info was breached. (There is a separate provision with additional compensation available for persons who can prove actual loss. Most of us can’t.) They could have negotiated a cap that varies on a pro rata basis—perhaps for every 10% more people who file a claim than anticipated, the settlement pot goes up 10%. They didn’t do that. They agreed to Equifax’s bottom-line number for the entire settlement so long as their share (the roughly 1/3 going to attorney’s fees) was okay. The attorneys charged with representing all of us screwed all of us.
