Frequently Asked Questions

The Court authorized the Notice to inform you about a proposed Settlement with Ruger and Freestyle. You have legal rights and options that you may act on before the Court decides whether to approve the proposed Settlement. The Notice explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, and your legal rights.

The case is called Jones, et al. v. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. and Freestyle Software, Inc., Case No. 3:22-CV-01233, currently pending in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.

A class action is a lawsuit in which one or more plaintiffs - in this case, Plaintiffs and Class Representatives Mark Jones, Michelle Gould, Dicky Warren, and Carl Jung- sue on behalf of a group of people who have similar claims. Together,
this group is called a "Settlement Class" and consists of "Settlement Class Members." The entities they sued (Ruger and Freestyle) are called the Defendants. In a class action, the court resolves the issues for all class members, except those who exclude themselves from the class.

Plaintiffs claim that Defendants failed to implement and maintain reasonable security measures to adequately protect the Personal Information in their possession and to prevent the Data Incident from occurring.

Defendants deny that they are liable for the claims made in the lawsuit and deny any allegations of wrongdoing.

The Court has not decided whether the Plaintiffs or Defendants should win this case. Instead, both sides agreed to this Settlement. That way, they can avoid the uncertainty, risks, and expense of ongoing litigation, and Settlement Class Members will be eligible to get compensation now rather than years later-if ever. The Class Representative and attorneys for the Settlement Class Members, called Class Counsel, agree that the Settlement is in the best interests of the Settlement Class Members. The Settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing by the Defendants.

The Settlement Class is defined as: "all living individuals residing in the United States who were sent a notice by Ruger that their Personal Information may have been impacted in the Data Incident or whose Personal Information was otherwise impacted and/or exfiltrated by the Data Incident.

This Settlement Class does not include: (a) all persons who are employees, directors, officers, and agents of Defendants;
(b) governmental entities; (c) the Judges assigned to the Action, members of the Judges' immediate family, and Court staff; and (d) Settlement Class Members who submit a valid a request to opt-out or be excluded from the Settlement Class.

If you are not sure whether you are included in the Settlement Class, you can contact the Settlement Administrator by calling (833) 586-6222, or by emailing [email protected].

Under the proposed Settlement, Defendants will pay (or cause to be paid) $1,500,000 into a Settlement Fund. The Settlement Fund, plus interest accrued thereon, will pay notice and administration costs, Court-approved attorneys' fees and costs, Court-approved Service Awards for Class Representatives, and certain Settlement Fund taxes and tax expenses (the "Net Settlement Fund"). The Net Settlement Fund will be used to provide eligible Settlement Class Members with payments and benefits described below. 

Settlement Class Members may file a claim for one or more of the following settlement benefits.

Compensation for Out-of-Pocket Losses: If you incurred financial losses that are fairly traceable to the Data Incident,
you may be eligible to receive reimbursement for those losses. A claim for reimbursement may include, but is not limited to the following provided the expenses were incurred primarily as a result of the Data Incident: unreimbursed losses relating to fraud or identity theft; professional fees including attorneys' fees, accountants' fees, and fees for credit repair services; costs associated with freezing or unfreezing credit with any credit reporting agency; credit monitoring costs that were incurred on or after the Data Incident through the date of claim submission; and miscellaneous expenses such as notary, fax, postage, copying, mileage, and long­ distance telephone charges. Claims for monetary losses are subject to a $4,500.00 aggregate individual cap.

Compensation for Lost Time: Settlement Class Members with time spent remedying issues related to the Data Incident can submit a claim for reimbursement of $25 per hour with an attestation. Claims made for Lost Time are subject to a five-hour cap. No documentation other than an attestation shall be required for members of the Settlement Class to receive compensation for attested time spent with only an attestation demonstrating that they spent the claimed time responding to issues raised by the Data Incident. This attestation may be completed by checking a box next to the sentence: "I swear and affirm that I spent the amount of time noted in response to the Data Incident." Combined claims for lost time, Out-of-Pocket Losses, and Pro Rata Cash Payment are subject to a $4,500.00 aggregate individual cap.

$50 Pro Rata Cash Payment: All Settlement Class Members may file a claim for a pro rata cash payment. The amount of this Cash Payment will increase or decrease depending on the number of claims filed and approved and shall not exceed $175. Combined claims for Out-of-Pocket Losses, Lost Time, and Pro Rata Cash Payments are subject to a $4,500.00 aggregate individual cap.

Confirmatory Discovery: Freestyle has also agreed to attest that data security measures to remedy the issues that led to the Data Incident have been taken and that other business practices to help ensure information security have been implemented.

For complete details, please see the Settlement Agreement, whose terms control, available within the Case Documents tab of the settlement website.

To qualify for a Settlement benefit, you must complete and submit a Claim Form.

Settlement Class Members who want to submit a Claim must fill out and submit a Claim Form online at www.FreestyleDataIncidentSettlement.com or by mail to the Settlement Administrator. Claim Forms are available on the Settlement Website or by calling (833) 586-6222.

All Claim Forms must be submitted no later than October 27, 2025.

The hearing to consider the fairness of the Settlement is scheduled for December 4, 2025 at 10 am. If the Court finally approves the Settlement, eligible Settlement Class Members whose claims were approved by the Settlement Administrator will be sent payment after all appeals and other reviews, if any, are completed. Please be patient.

Yes, the Court has appointed Mason A. Barney of Siri & Glimstad LLP; Gary M. Klinger of Milberg Coleman Phillips Grossman PLLC; and Justin C. Walker of Markovits, Stock, & DeMarco LLC as "Class Counsel" to represent you and all Settlement Class Members. You will not be charged for these lawyers. You can ask your own lawyer to appear in Court for you at your own expense if you want someone other than Class Counsel to represent you.

To date, Class Counsel has not received any payment for their services in conducting this litigation on behalf of the Settlement Class and have not been paid for their out-of-pocket expenses. Class Counsel will ask the Court for an award of attorneys' fees not to exceed one-third of the Settlement Fund ($500,000.00), and reimbursement ofreasonable litigation expenses which were incurred in connection with the Action not to exceed $35,000. Such sums as may be approved by the Court will be paid from the Settlement Fund.

Class Counsel will also request a service award of $3,500.00 for each Class Representative to be paid from the Settlement Fund.

The Court will determine the proper amount of any attorneys' fees, costs, and expenses to award Class Counsel and the proper amount of any service awards to Plaintiffs.

Class Counsel will file their Application for Attorneys' Fees, Costs, and Service Awards with the Court, which will also be posted on the Settlement Website, at www.FreestyleDataIncidentSettlement.com.

If you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement, you will not be able to sue Ruger or Freestyle about the Data Incident, and you will be bound by all decisions made by the Court in this case, the Settlement, and its included Release. This is true regardless of whether you submit a Claim Form. However, you may exclude yourself from the Settlement (see Question 14). If you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you will not be bound by any of the Released Claims, which are described in the Settlement Agreement at www.FreestyleDataIncidentSettlement.com.

If you do nothing, you will receive no benefits under the Settlement. You will be in the Settlement Class, and if the Court approves the Settlement, you will also be bound by all orders and judgments of the Court, the Settlement, and its included Release. You will be deemed to have participated in the Settlement and will be subject to the provisions of Section 11 above. Unless you exclude yourself, you won't be able to file a lawsuit or be part of any other lawsuit against Ruger or Freestyle for the claims or legal issues released in this Settlement.

If you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you will receive no benefits under the Settlement. However, you will not be in the Settlement Class and will not be legally bound by the Court's judgments related to the Settlement Class and Ruger or Freestyle in this class action lawsuit.

You can ask to opt-out or be excluded from the Settlement. To do so, you must send a written notification to the Settlement Administrator stating that you want to be excluded from the Settlement in Jones, et al. v. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. and Freestyle Software, Inc., Case No. 3:22-CV-01233. Your written notification must include: (1) the name of the proceeding;

(2) your full name, current address, telephone number, and email address (if any); (3) your signature; and (4) the words "Request for Exclusion" or a comparable statement that you do not wish to participate in the Settlement at the top of the communication. You must mail your exclusion request, postmarked no later than September 29, 2025 to the following address:

P.O. BOX 301134, Los Angeles, CA 90030-1134

You cannot exclude yourself by phone or email. Any individual who wants to be excluded from the Settlement must submit his or her own exclusion request. No group opt-outs shall be permitted.

No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up any right to sue Ruger and/or Freestyle for the claims or legal issues released in this Settlement, even if you do nothing.

No. If you exclude yourself, do not submit a Claim Form to ask for any benefits.

If you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you can object to the Settlement if you do not agree with any part of it. You can give reasons why you think the Court should deny approval by filing an objection. To object, you must mail a written objection to the Settlement Administrator stating that you object to the Settlement in Jones, et al. v. Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. and Freestyle Software, Inc., Case No. 3:22-CV-01233.

The objection must be in writing and be personally signed by you or your attorney. The objection must include: The written objection must include: (a) the name of the Action; (b) the objector's full name, current mailing address, and telephone number, and email address (if any); (c) all grounds for the objection, accompanied by any legal support for the objection known to the objector or objector's counsel; (d) the number of times the objector has objected to a class action settlement within the 5 years preceding the date that the objector files the objection, the caption of each case in which the objector has made such objection, and a copy of any orders related to or ruling upon the objector's prior objections that were issued by the trial and appellate courts in each listed case; (e) the identity of all counsel who represent the objector (if any), including any former or current counsel who may be entitled 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; (f) the number of times in which the objector's counsel and/or counsel's law firm have objected to a class action settlement within the 5 years preceding the date of the filed objection, the caption of each case in which counsel or the firm has made such objection and a copy of any orders related to or ruling upon counsel's or the counsel's law firm's prior objections that were issued by the trial and appellate courts in each listed case in which the objector's counsel and/or counsel's law firm have objected to a class action settlement within the preceding 5 years; (g) a list of all persons who will be called to testify at the Final Approval Hearing in support of the objection (if any); (h) a statement confirming whether the objector intends to personally appear and/or testify at the Final Approval Hearing; and (g) the wet signature of the Settlement Class Member.

You must mail your objection to the Settlement Administrator at P.O. BOX 301134, Los Angeles, CA 90030-1134, postmarked no later than September 29, 2025.

Objecting simply means telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Settlement Class. Excluding yourself (or opting-out) from the Settlement Class is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement Class. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object because the case no longer affects you.

The Court will hold the Final Approval Hearing on December 4, 2025, at 10 am, at the U.S. Courthouse located at 915 Lafayette Boulevard, Courtroom 2, Bridgeport, CT 06604. The purpose of the hearing is for the Court to determine whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the Settlement Class. At the hearing, the Court will hear any objections and arguments concerning the fairness of the proposed Settlement, including those related to the amount requested by Class Counsel for attorneys' fees, costs, and expenses and the service awards to Plaintiffs.

The location, date and time of the Final Approval Hearing are subject to change by Court order. Any changes will be posted at the Settlement Website, www.FreestyleDataIncidentSettlement.com, or through the Court's publicly available docket. You should check the Settlement Website to confirm the date and time have not been changed.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. But you are welcome to attend the hearing at your own expense. If you send an objection, you don't have to come to Court to talk about it. If your written objection was filed or mailed on time and meets the other criteria described in the Settlement, the Court will consider it. However, you may appear on your behalf or pay a lawyer to attend on your behalf to assert your objection.

Yes. If you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you (or your attorney) may appear and speak at the Final Approval Hearing concerning any part of the proposed Settlement.

The Notice summarizes the proposed Settlement. More details are available in the Settlement Agreement itself. You may also call the Settlement Administrator with questions or to receive a Claim Form at (833) 586-6222, email the Settlement Administrator at [email protected], or write to the Ruger and Freestyle Data Incident Settlement Administrator at P.O. BOX 301134, Los Angeles, CA 90030-1134.

PLEASE DO NOT CALL THE COURT, THE CLERK OF THE COURT, THE JUDGE, OR THE DEFENDANTS WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SETTLEMENT OR CLAIMS PROCESS.