Open Settlements & Claims You Can File

Hundreds of class action settlements are open right now — accepting claims from people who were affected by data breaches, defective products, deceptive billing, and more. This hub tracks every active settlement, shows you the deadline, and walks you through how to file.

What Are Class Action Settlements?

A class action settlement is a legal agreement where a company pays a pool of money to compensate a large group of people harmed by the same conduct. Courts must approve every settlement before any money changes hands. Once approved, a claims administrator opens a filing period — often 60 to 180 days — during which eligible people can submit claims online or by mail.

The settlement fund is then divided among all valid claimants. Individual payouts can range from a few dollars to several thousand, depending on how many people file and how much harm they experienced. You do not need to have sued the company to participate.

According to the Federal Judicial Center, hundreds of class action cases reach settlement each year across federal courts alone. Billions of dollars go unclaimed because eligible class members never file.

Major Open Settlements Accepting Claims Now

Several high-profile class action settlements are currently open and accepting claims from eligible consumers. The list below reflects the largest and most widely eligible settlements as of June 2026.

AT&T Data Breach Settlement

AT&T agreed to a settlement after a data breach exposed the personal information of approximately 73 million current and former customers. The breach included Social Security numbers and account passcodes. Eligible class members can file claims for documented losses or a flat-rate payment.

T-Mobile Data Breach Settlement

T-Mobile settled for $350 million after a 2021 breach exposed data for roughly 76 million people. The claims period has closed for the primary fund, but supplemental distributions may still be available. Check the official settlement site to confirm your status.

Facebook / Meta Privacy Settlement

Meta settled a $725 million lawsuit over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, covering Facebook users in the United States between May 2007 and December 2022. This is one of the largest privacy settlements in U.S. history. Distributions are ongoing for verified claimants.

Equifax Data Breach Settlement

Equifax settled for up to $425 million after its 2017 breach exposed the data of 147 million Americans. The settlement offers free credit monitoring or a cash payment for documented time and losses. The Federal Trade Commission maintains an official page tracking distributions and eligibility requirements.

Data Breach Settlements

Data breach settlements are the fastest-growing category of class action claims, driven by an increase in large-scale corporate data exposures. A breach settlement typically pays eligible class members for two categories of harm: out-of-pocket losses (like fraudulent charges or credit monitoring costs) and general compensation for the risk of identity theft.

To qualify, you usually need to show that the company stored your personal data and that the breach exposed it. Many settlements do not require you to prove you suffered actual fraud. You simply need to confirm you were a customer or account holder during the relevant period.

Non-obvious detail: many breach settlements offer a "time spent" category, paying $15–$25 per hour for time you spent dealing with the breach — updating passwords, disputing charges, monitoring accounts. Most people overlook this category entirely and leave money on the table.

How Much Money Can You Get?

Settlement payouts vary widely based on the total fund size, the number of valid claims filed, and whether you qualify for a higher-tier payment category. Understanding the payout structure before you file improves your outcome.

Payouts shrink when more people file claims — this is called pro-rata distribution. Filing early and accurately, with supporting documentation where available, maximizes your share of the fund.

How to File a Claim

Filing a settlement claim takes 5 to 15 minutes in most cases and requires no attorney. The process follows a predictable pattern across nearly all settlements.

First, confirm your eligibility by checking the settlement's official website. Every approved settlement has a dedicated claims administrator site, often named after the case (e.g., ATTDataBreachSettlement.com). Enter your name and the email or phone number associated with your account. The site will verify whether you appear in the class list.

Second, complete the claim form. Basic claims require your name, contact information, and a statement that you are a class member. Documented claims require supporting files — bank statements, credit reports, receipts, or other evidence of loss. Upload these directly through the portal.

Third, submit before the deadline. Late claims are almost always rejected with no exceptions. Set a calendar reminder for the deadline date shown on the settlement site.

Our full guide on how to claim a class action settlement walks through each step with screenshots and common pitfalls. Use our free eligibility check to instantly see which open settlements match your profile.

Deadlines and Payout Dates

Settlement deadlines are firm — courts rarely grant extensions for individual claimants who miss the filing window. Tracking deadlines is the single most important thing you can do to protect your right to claim.

After the claims period closes, the administrator reviews submissions, removes duplicates and fraudulent claims, and calculates each claimant's share. This review period can take 3 to 12 months. Payment follows after final court approval of the distribution plan.

Most settlements pay by check or electronic payment (ACH, PayPal, Venmo, or virtual prepaid card). Some large settlements have made multiple distribution rounds as additional funds become available after uncashed checks are redistributed.

Our live tracker updates deadlines daily. Bookmark this hub and check back — new settlements are approved and listed every week.

Class Action vs. Mass Tort: Key Differences

Class actions and mass torts both allow large groups to pursue claims against a single defendant, but they are legally distinct — and the difference affects your payout and your role in the case.

If your injuries are severe — cancer, organ damage, permanent disability — you likely need a mass tort claim, not a class action settlement. See our full open class actions tracker to find cases that match your situation.

Unclaimed Settlement Money

Billions of dollars in approved settlement funds go unclaimed every year because eligible class members never received notice, lost the notification email, or simply did not know they qualified. When a settlement has low claim rates, administrators sometimes conduct a second notice campaign and extend deadlines.

After all valid claims are paid, remaining funds may be distributed as a cy pres award to charities — meaning the money leaves the class entirely. This makes filing early the only reliable way to ensure you receive your share.

Some older settlements still have funds available through state unclaimed property programs. Our guide on unclaimed settlement money explains how to search state databases and the Class Action Clearinghouse registry for missed payouts.

Tax Treatment of Settlements

Whether your settlement payment is taxable depends on what the payment compensates you for. The IRS treats different types of settlement income differently, and the rules are not always intuitive.

Payments that compensate for physical injury or physical sickness are generally not taxable under IRC Section 104. Payments for emotional distress alone, punitive damages, or lost profits are generally taxable as ordinary income. Data breach settlements — which typically compensate for risk and inconvenience, not physical injury — are usually taxable.

One non-obvious rule: if a settlement pays you for something you previously deducted (like medical expenses you claimed on a prior tax return), that portion may be taxable as a recovery of deduction. Our detailed guide on are class action settlements taxable? covers every scenario with IRS references.

How We Track Open Settlements

LawfareClaims.org aggregates settlement data from court PACER filings, official settlement administrator websites, state attorney general announcements, and consumer protection agency feeds. Our editorial team verifies each entry before it appears in the tracker.

We check deadlines daily and flag settlements where the claims portal has gone offline, the deadline has passed, or the administrator has issued a revised schedule. We do not list settlements where claims are no longer accepted.

Our data sources include PACER (the federal court filing system), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's enforcement database, and FTC refund pages. We are not affiliated with any settlement administrator or law firm.

Settlement Payout Estimator

Use the tool below to see the typical payout range for your type of claim, based on the same settlement categories tracked in the table above. This is an estimate drawn from historical settlement patterns, not a quote or a guarantee — your actual payout depends on the specific settlement, how many people file valid claims, and whether you have supporting documentation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if I am eligible for a class action settlement?

Eligibility is determined by the class definition in the court's approval order. In most cases, you qualify if you were a customer, user, or employee of the defendant during a specific date range. The settlement's official website has an eligibility lookup tool that checks your name and contact information against the class list.

Do I need a lawyer to file a settlement claim?

No. You can file most class action claims yourself at no cost. The claims portal is designed for self-service. An attorney is only necessary if you want to opt out and pursue a separate individual lawsuit — which makes sense only if your personal damages exceed the settlement's per-person cap.

How long does it take to receive a settlement payment?

Most claimants wait 6 to 18 months after the filing deadline before receiving payment. The administrator must review all claims, handle objections, get final court approval, and then distribute funds. Some large, complex settlements have taken 3 years from initial filing to final payment.

What happens if I miss the settlement deadline?

Late claims are almost always rejected. Courts rarely grant exceptions for individual claimants. If you miss the deadline, your only option is to check whether a second distribution round is scheduled — some settlements redistribute uncashed checks to timely claimants, which can increase your payout.

Can I be in more than one settlement at the same time?

Yes. You can file claims in multiple settlements simultaneously, as long as you are eligible for each one. There is no rule preventing participation in overlapping cases. Many consumers are eligible for several open settlements at once — a data breach, a product defect, and a billing fraud case, for example.

Are class action settlements public record?

Yes. Every class action settlement must be approved by a federal or state court, and the court record is public. You can find settlement agreements, class notices, and distribution reports on PACER (for federal cases) or the relevant state court's public portal. The PACER case locator lets you search by defendant name or case type.

What is a cy pres award and does it affect my payout?

A cy pres award distributes leftover settlement funds to a charity or nonprofit when the remaining amount is too small to distribute economically to class members. It does not reduce your individual payout — you receive your full share before any residual goes to cy pres. However, if claim rates are very low, a large portion of the fund may end up as cy pres rather than in class members' pockets.

Is the settlement notice or email I received legitimate?

Most are, but scams exist. A legitimate settlement notice or claims-administrator email never asks you to pay a fee, provide a credit card number, or send your full Social Security number to "unlock" a payment — filing a claim is always free. If you are unsure, verify the case name and court against the official settlement website or the docket on PACER, or report a suspected scam to the FTC. Our settlement scams guide covers the warning signs in detail.

Are class action settlements worth it given how small typical payouts are?

Yes, for nearly everyone — filing a claim is free and takes only a few minutes, so there is essentially no downside even when your expected payout is a few dollars. The "small payout" framing also undercounts real cases: documented data-breach claims in the payout table above can reach up to $20,000, and wage-theft claims can pay $100 to $1,000 or more depending on hours worked — not just a few dollars. Any share you do not claim does not come back to you later — it is redistributed to a cy pres charity once the claims period closes, so filing costs you nothing and the only way to get $0 is to skip it.

Is LawfareClaims.org affiliated with these settlements, and is this the same thing as the Anti-Weaponization Fund?

No to both. LawfareClaims.org is not a settlement administrator, a court, or a party to any of the settlements listed on this page — we aggregate publicly available filings and deadlines from PACER, official administrator sites, and consumer protection agencies as an independent editorial resource, and we are not a law firm. This settlements hub tracks unrelated consumer class actions (data breaches, product defects, billing disputes) and is a separate topic from the DOJ Anti-Weaponization Fund covered elsewhere on this site; filing a claim in one program has no bearing on your eligibility for the other, and there is no charge to browse this page or use the links to the official settlement claims sites.