Marlboro-Chesterfield Settlement: Claim Window Closed, Oct 12

At a glance

Status

Pending final approval

Defendant

Marlboro-Chesterfield Pathology, P.C.

Settlement fund

Not publicly disclosed

Claim deadline

August 21, 2026

No-proof cash option

Yes — $10 alternative cash payment (pro-rata), or up to $1,000 documented losses from fraud or identity theft

Max documented payout

$1,000

Administrator

Kroll Settlement Administration LLC

Official site

m-cpsettlement.com

Court

Superior Court of North Carolina, Moore County

Case number

25CV001289-620

Last verified September 9, 2026

Key dates

Milestone	Date	What it means
Claim deadline	August 21, 2026(passed)	Last day to file for a payment
Opt-out (exclusion) deadline	August 21, 2026(passed)	Last day to leave the settlement and keep the right to sue
Objection deadline	August 21, 2026(passed)	Last day to object to the terms
Final approval hearing	October 12, 2026(passed)	When the judge decides whether to approve the settlement
Expected payout	Not yet scheduled	Payments are not sent until after final approval and any appeals

Where to file

Marlboro-Chesterfield Pathology Data Breach Settlement is administered by Kroll Settlement Administration LLC. The only place to file is the official settlement website:

Verify on the official site

m-cpsettlement.com

Filing is free. No legitimate settlement charges a fee to file a claim.

You cannot file on RecordingLaw.com. We are an independent publisher, not the settlement administrator, and we are not affiliated with any court, agency, or defendant.

What the Marlboro-Chesterfield Pathology settlement covers

Marlboro-Chesterfield Pathology, P.C., a pathology laboratory, announced a data breach on or around May 22, 2025. A proposed class action, styled Cox v. Marlboro-Chesterfield Pathology, followed in North Carolina and a settlement is now before the court for final approval.

If you never dealt with this lab directly, that is normal. Pathology labs process specimens sent by a doctor, hospital, or outpatient clinic; most patients never set foot in the building or sign anything with the lab's name on it. Your records ended up there because a provider you saw sent a sample out for testing, and the lab's systems held your personal and protected health information as part of that process.

Where the case stands right now

As of September 9, 2026, the settlement has preliminary approval but has not been finally approved by the court. The final approval hearing is scheduled for October 12, 2026, in Moore County Superior Court in North Carolina (case number 25CV001289-620), and the official settlement site notes that date may change. Until the judge signs off, no payments go out, and there is no set payout date. The claim window closed on August 21, 2026, so no new claim can be filed; for anyone who filed on time, the money moves only after the hearing clears and any appeal period passes.

Who is in the class

The class covers roughly 235,000 individuals whose personal information, protected health information, or both were compromised in the breach the lab announced on or around May 22, 2025. If you received a written notice from Marlboro-Chesterfield Pathology about this incident, or if a doctor's office told you your test results went through this lab around that time, you are likely a class member. The settlement notice mailed or emailed to class members is the most reliable way to confirm your status; the official site also has a way to check.

How much you can realistically expect

There are two payment paths, and you pick one, not both. The first is a flat $10 cash payment that requires no proof of loss, but it is only available to class members whose Social Security number was compromised in the breach. If your Social Security number was not involved, the $10 option does not apply to you; the credit monitoring described below is still available.

The official settlement site describes these as amounts MCP has agreed to pay per class member who submits a valid claim, separate from the up to $100,000 in attorneys' fees and costs MCP has also agreed to pay. It does not describe a common settlement fund.

The second path is reimbursement for documented losses tied to fraud or identity theft, capped at $1,000. That cap is lower than the $5,000 documented-loss ceiling common in many other breach settlements, so do not assume this one works the same way. If your actual, provable losses from this breach were higher than $1,000, this settlement will not make you whole for the difference.

Separately from either cash option, the settlement includes one year of three-bureau credit monitoring with at least $1,000,000 in identity-theft fraud protection. This is a real, no-cost benefit built into the settlement itself; it is not the same thing as a paid identity-theft product a company is trying to upsell you.

What proof you need

For the $10 payment, you need to submit a claim as a class member whose Social Security number was compromised in the breach. No receipts or records are required.

For the up-to-$1,000 documented-loss payment, you need records that tie a specific financial loss to this breach: things like bank or credit card statements showing fraudulent charges, or documentation of identity-theft related expenses you paid out of pocket. The stronger and more specific your paper trail, the more of that $1,000 ceiling you can realistically claim.

How to file

Claims were submitted through the official settlement website, which is still where to check the status of a claim already filed. The deadline to file a claim, to exclude yourself from the class (opt out), or to object to the settlement was the same date, August 21, 2026, and all three have passed.

Those were three different choices with different consequences. Filing a claim kept you in the class and in line for a payment. Opting out removed you from the class entirely; you gave up any payment from this settlement, but you kept the right to sue Marlboro-Chesterfield Pathology on your own over this breach. Objecting meant staying in the class and remaining eligible for a payment if the settlement is approved, while telling the judge in writing that you think some part of the deal is unfair before the October 12, 2026 hearing.

Watch for medical identity theft, not just financial fraud

Because this breach involved a pathology lab, the risk profile is a little different from a typical breach involving only names and card numbers. When protected health information is exposed, one thing to watch for is medical identity theft: someone using your information to obtain care, prescriptions, or medical equipment billed under your name. A standard credit freeze does not catch this, because it is not a credit transaction.

The way to catch it is to actually read the explanation of benefits (EOB) statements your health insurer sends you, and to request a copy of your health record or an accounting of disclosures from your providers if something in an EOB looks unfamiliar. If you see a visit, test, or service you never received, that is worth flagging to your insurer and provider directly. Patients on Original Medicare get a Medicare Summary Notice rather than a private insurer's EOB, and tests or equipment billed to your Medicare number for care you never got are one of the patterns our guide to Medicare and health insurance scams walks through, along with how to report them.

If you missed the deadline, or there is nothing to file yet

That deadline has now passed. If you did not file in time, or if you are looking at a different breach involving a company that has not reached a settlement, the same baseline steps apply. Place a free credit freeze with all three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion); a freeze is free and blocks most new-account fraud. Given the medical nature of this particular breach, also keep an eye on insurance statements as described above. Start a recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov if you find anything suspicious, and keep monitoring your accounts and statements for the next several months, since stolen health data can surface in fraud well after the original breach.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened in the Marlboro-Chesterfield Pathology data breach?

Marlboro-Chesterfield Pathology, P.C. announced a data breach on or around May 22, 2025, that compromised the personal and protected health information of an estimated 235,000 individuals, mostly patients whose specimens the lab tested on behalf of another provider.

How much money will I get from the Marlboro-Chesterfield Pathology settlement?

You could file for up to $1,000 in documented losses tied to fraud or identity theft from this breach, or, if your Social Security number was compromised in the breach, a flat $10 cash payment with no proof required instead. The official site describes these as amounts MCP agreed to pay per class member with a valid claim, not shares of a common fund, and no payment goes out until the court grants final approval.

Do I need to prove I was harmed to get a payment?

No, not for the $10 option, which requires no documentation but is limited to class members whose Social Security number was compromised in the breach. Proof is required if you are seeking the higher, up-to-$1,000 documented-loss payment.

Does the settlement include credit monitoring?

Yes. The Marlboro-Chesterfield Pathology settlement includes one year of three-bureau credit monitoring with at least $1,000,000 in fraud protection, separate from either cash payment option.

When is the deadline to file a claim?

The deadline to submit a claim, opt out, or object was August 21, 2026. As of September 9, 2026 that deadline has passed and the administrator is no longer accepting claims.

When will payments actually be sent?

No payout date has been set. The settlement still needs final court approval at a hearing scheduled for October 12, 2026, in Moore County Superior Court, North Carolina, before any payments can go out.

What is the difference between opting out and objecting?

Opting out removes you from the class entirely, so you give up a settlement payment but keep the right to sue on your own. Objecting keeps you in the class and eligible for payment while you tell the court in writing that you disagree with some part of the deal.

Is this settlement taxable?

It depends on what the payment is meant to replace, such as reimbursing a financial loss versus compensating for something else, and the rules can differ by claim type. Consult a tax professional and see IRS guidance on settlement taxability for specifics.

Where do I file a claim, and is RecordingLaw the settlement administrator?

No. RecordingLaw is an independent publisher and is not the court, the administrator, or a filing venue. Claims for the Marlboro-Chesterfield Pathology settlement were filed only through the official settlement website run by Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, which is also where to check the status of a claim already filed.