WILLIAMSPORT — A federal judge has given preliminary approval of the $5 million settlement in the federal lawsuit arising from a 2023 data breach that impacted more than 1.3 million Geisinger patients.

U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew W. Brann on Tuesday also certified membership in the class at 1,308,363 and approved the form by which they will be notified of the settlement.

Members will have the choice of participating or opting out of the settlement.

Multiple lawsuits against Geisinger and Nuance Communications Inc. were consolidated into one case known as the Geisinger Health Data Security Litigation.

The focus of the individual cases was the data breach discovered by Geisinger on Nov. 29, 2023, but patients were not notified until the following June 24.

The plaintiffs claimed

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