Judge grants ‘preliminary’ approval in LinkedIn class-action settlement

LinkedIn has agreed to pay $1.25 million toward a class-action lawsuit related to its 2012 data breach.

U.S. District Court Judge Edward Davila granted “preliminary” approval to the deal, but could still reject the settlement after the case's final hearing, according to a court order obtained by MediaPost.

If finalized, the deal would call for LinkedIn to pay up to $50 to its paid premium membership subscribers. The class-action was brought on by plaintiff Khalilah Wright, a paid subscriber who argued that had she known of the company's “lax security practices” in advance, she would have viewed them as “less valuable.” Between 20,000 and 50,000 subscribers would be eligible to receive payment from the settlement.

In its 2012 breach, LinkedIn's server's were compromised and attackers stole and posted 6.4 million user passwords online, one of which Wright alleges was hers.