Order | Filed: May 21, 2026
| Entered: May 21, 2026
Spearman et al v. Nelnet Servicing,LLC
Contract: Recovery Student Loan | Nebraska
Order on Motion for Settlement Order on Motion for Attorney Fees
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER The plaintiffs' motion for final approval of class action settlement (filing 165 ) is granted. The plaintiffs' motion for attorney's fees, costs, and service awards (filing 168 ) is granted. The settlement agreement (filing 110 -1) is approved in all respects, and the parties are directed to carry out the settlement agreement in accordance with all of its terms and provisions, including the termination provisions. Unless otherwise noted, the Court generally adopts the definitions contained therein for purposes of this Order. Pursuant to Rule 23, for settlement purposes only, this action is certified as a class action, and the settlement class is certified, defined as: "All Persons in the United States whose Personal Information was compromised in the Data Security Incident," as those terms are defined in the settlement agreement. Excluded from the class are:
a. The Settling Entities, any Person in which the Settling Entities have a controlling interest, and the Settling Entities' officers, directors, legal representatives, successors, subsidiaries, and assigns;
b. Any judge, justice, or judicial officer presiding over this action and the members of their immediate families and judicial staff;
c. Any Person who timely and validly opted out of the Settlement, whose names are listed in Attachment 1 (see filing 172 at 4); and
d. Any Person found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be guilty under criminal law of initiating, causing, aiding, or abetting the Data Security Incident or who pleads guilty or nolo contendere to any such charge.
Ian Scott, Jessica Alexander, Pamela Bump, Bridget Cahill, Lesly Canales, Melissa Charbonneau, Douglas Conley, Noah Helvey, Dallin Iler, Dustin Jones, Kayli Lazarz, Brittni Linn, Delilah Oliveira, Devinne Peterson, Eric Polanco, Justin Randall, Sofia Rodriguez, Joshua Sanchez, Charles Sangemeister, William Spearman, Taylor Vetter, Rachel Woods, Garner J. Kohrell, Olivia Covington, Alexis Luna, MaKayla Nelson, and Mary Traynor are, for settlement purposes only, designated as the settlement class representatives. Lowey Dannenberg, P.C., and Silver Golub & Teitell LLP are appointed as settlement class counsel. Within the time periods set forth in the settlement agreement, the settlement benefits provided for in the agreement shall be paid to the class members submitting valid claim forms, pursuant to the terms and conditions of the settlement agreement. The plaintiffs and the releasing parties are bound by the settlement agreement and this final approval order and judgment, and the action and the released claims against any of the released parties, as provided under the settlement agreement, are hereby dismissed with prejudice and released.
All settlement class members and their legally authorized representatives, unless they have submitted a timely and valid request to opt out from the settlement class are hereby enjoined
a. from filing, commencing, prosecuting, intervening in, or participating as a plaintiff, claimant, or class member in any other lawsuit or administrative, regulatory, arbitration, or other proceeding in any jurisdiction based on the Released Claims;
b. from filing, commencing, or prosecuting a lawsuit or administrative, regulatory, arbitration, or other proceeding as a class action on behalf of any Settlement Class Members (including by seeking to amend a pending complaint to include class allegations or seeking class certification in a pending action), based on the Released Claims; and
c. from attempting to effect an opt-out of a group, class, or subclass of individuals in any lawsuit or administrative, regulatory, arbitration, or other proceeding based on the Released Claims.
Nothing in this Order or the Settlement Agreement shall be construed as, or used as an admission by or against, the Settling Entities of any fault, wrongdoing, or liability on the part of the Settling Entities or of the validity or certifiability for litigation of any claims. The class representatives are each awarded a service award in the amount of $1,500, to be paid out of the Settlement Fund in accordance with the Settlement Agreement. Class counsel are awarded attorneys' fees in the amount of $3,333,333.33, and costs and expenses in the amount of $65,000. Such amounts shall be paid by the settlement administrator pursuant to and co... (truncated)