Dr. David Muransky et al. v. The Cheesecake Factory, Inc.

If you made a purchase at a Cheesecake Factory owned, operated, or branded restaurant using an EMV credit card or debit card between November 10, 2016, and February 4, 2017, you may be entitled to benefits under a class action settlement.

Plaintiffs allege that willfully printing receipts at the point of sale for EMV credit or debit card transactions that include the first six and last four digits of the card number violates the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681c(g)(1) et seq. (“FACTA”). Plaintiffs further allege that Cheesecake Factory, Inc. (“Cheesecake Factory”) willfully violated FACTA in the lawsuit identified above by printing point-of-sale receipts for EMV credit and debit card transactions at Cheesecake Factory owned, operated, or branded restaurants in the United States that displayed the first six and last four digits of the card number for a period of time commencing at select stores on November 10, 2016, and ending by no later than February 4, 2017. Cheesecake Factory denies Plaintiffs’ allegations and denies any wrongdoing whatsoever. The Court has not ruled on the merits of Plaintiffs’ claims or the defenses of Cheesecake Factory. By entering into the Settlement, Cheesecake Factory has not conceded the truth or validity of any of the claims against it.

Cheesecake Factory has agreed to pay $4,750,000 (the “Settlement Fund”) in full and final settlement and release of the claims of persons for whom Cheesecake Factory owned, operated, or branded restaurants may have printed the first six and last four digits of the EMV card number. The Settlement Class is defined as the cardholders who hold the 1,000,000 unique credit or debit card numbers, whose EMV debit or credit card was used to make a purchase at a payment terminal at a Cheesecake Factory owned, operated, or branded restaurant that was programmed to print the first six and last four EMV card numbers on customer transaction receipts, for a period of time commencing at select stores on November 10, 2016, and ending by no later than February 4, 2017.

Any transactions involving Cakepay; Branded Pre-Pay or Mall-branded cards are excluded, as those transactions did not print the first six and last four EMV card numbers on customer transaction receipts.

The Settlement Fund will be used to pay all amounts related to the Settlement, including payments to each Settlement Class Member who submits a valid and timely claim form to receive payment (“Claim Form”), attorneys’ fees and reasonable expenses, and the costs of notice and administering the Settlement. Class Counsel anticipate that they will petition the Court for attorney fees not to exceed one third of the Settlement Fund, and will also petition for Incentive Payments of $10,000 to Plaintiff Dr. David S. Muransky, $5,000 combined to Adriana Tibbetts and Darryl Tibbetts, and $5,000 to Kristy Zhang for their service as Class Representatives. Settlement Class Members who timely submit a valid Claim Form will receive a pro rata payment distribution, calculated by dividing the available funds for distribution to the Settlement Class by the number of persons who submit valid Claim Forms.

Your rights and options, and the deadlines to exercise them, are explained in the Notice. Your legal rights are affected whether you act or don’t act. Read the Notice carefully.

Please read the Notice and this website carefully.

Summary of Your Legal Rights and Options in This Settlement

Submit a Claim Form	If you submitted a valid Claim Form or Publication Claim Form by March 31, 2022, you will receive a payment, and you gave up your rights to sue Cheesecake Factory and/or any other released parties (“Cheesecake Factory Releasees” and “GK Software Releasees”, as defined in the Settlement Agreement) on any Released Claim, as defined in the Settlement Agreement.
Exclude Yourself of "Opt-Out" of the Settlement	If you asked to be excluded, you will not receive a payment (see FAQ 13). This was the only option that allowed you to pursue or continue to pursue claims against Cheesecake Factory, GK Software or any other Cheesecake Factory Releasee or GK Software Releasee on your own in the future. The deadline for excluding yourself was March 31, 2022.
Object to the Settlement	You could have written to the Court about why you believed the Settlement was unfair in any respect (see FAQ 16). The deadline for objecting was March 31, 2022.
Do Nothing	If you did nothing, you will not receive any monetary award, but you gave up your rights to pursue or continue to pursue a Released Claim against Cheesecake Factory, GK Software, or any other Cheesecake Factory Releasee or GK Software Releasee.
Go to the Final Approval Hearing	You could have asked to speak in Court about the fairness of the Settlement, if you objected to the Settlement. The deadline to object was March 31, 2022.

Your rights and options—and the deadlines to exercise them—are explained in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page of this website.