If you disputed something on your C.L.U.E. insurance report through LexisNexis between March 13, 2022 and May 1, 2026, and the item was an auto insurance claim from GEICO that did not belong to you or anyone on your policy, you may be a member of a $1.65 million class action settlement. Class members are expected to receive about $150 each, automatically. The deadline to opt out, which is the only way to keep your own claim against GEICO, is October 20, 2026. For most people the automatic payment is the sensible outcome. If that wrong claim on your report raised your insurance rates or cost you coverage, read on first.
What the case is about
The case is Kohama v. Government Employees Insurance Co., No. 8:24-cv-00743-TDC, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, before Judge Theodore D. Chuang.
GEICO reports its customers’ insurance claims to the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, or C.L.U.E., a database run by the consumer reporting agency LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Insurers pull C.L.U.E. reports when they decide whether to cover you and what to charge. The lawsuit alleges that GEICO linked the named plaintiff to an at-fault accident on another person’s policy, and that when she disputed it through LexisNexis, GEICO did not correct the information or mark it as disputed. The claim is brought under the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s rules for companies that supply information to consumer reporting agencies, 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b). GEICO denies the allegations, and the court has not decided who is right.
Who is in the settlement
The settlement class covers people who meet all of these conditions:
- they filed one or more disputes through LexisNexis Risk Solutions between March 13, 2022 and May 1, 2026;
- they disputed information they said was wrongly linked to their C.L.U.E. report or reflected a mixed file, meaning it did not belong to them;
- the information was not attributable to an insured person or a member of their household;
- LexisNexis told them GEICO was the source, and that the information was “unverifiable” or “accurate”;
- GEICO did not tell LexisNexis to correct or remove it, and it stayed on their report;
- they appear on the class list GEICO generated.
Class members were sent a notice by mail or email. If you received one, you are likely in the class.
The money
GEICO will pay up to $1,650,000 into a settlement fund. Class counsel will ask for up to one-third of it ($549,945) in attorney’s fees and up to $10,000 in expenses, and the named plaintiff will ask for a $10,000 service award. Administration costs also come out of the fund.
What remains is divided equally among class members who do not opt out and whose notices were not returned as undeliverable. The administrator expects each payment to be about $150. No claim form is required. The settlement website also lets class members choose how they are paid, using the notice ID and PIN printed on the notice. The deadline for that choice is January 14, 2027.
The dates
- Deadline to opt out (exclude yourself): postmarked by October 20, 2026.
- Deadline to object: postmarked by October 31, 2026.
- Final approval hearing: January 14, 2027, at 2:30 p.m., Courtroom 2B, U.S. Courthouse, 6500 Cherrywood Lane, Greenbelt, Maryland. The hearing date can change, so check the settlement website.
- Official website: www.Kohama2026Settlement.com, (833) 215-9289.
Your choices
Do nothing. If the court approves the settlement, you receive the automatic payment, and you give up your own claims against GEICO that are covered by the settlement.
Object. You stay in the class and tell the court what you think is wrong with the settlement. You still receive the payment if it is approved.
Opt out. You receive no payment, you cannot object, and you keep the right to bring your own case against GEICO.
What the settlement releases, and what it does not
Class members who stay in release GEICO from claims that were or could have been raised in the complaint, or that arise from the facts alleged in it, including claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and California’s consumer credit reporting law.
The settlement agreement also states that nothing in the release affects class members’ rights against LexisNexis Risk Solutions. That matters, because LexisNexis has its own duties when you dispute a LexisNexis report, separate from GEICO’s. Staying in this settlement does not settle any claim you may have against LexisNexis.
When opting out may be worth considering
If the wrong entry was noticed and fixed before it changed anything, the automatic payment is the sensible outcome. The calculation is different if an accident or claim that was not yours followed you for months or years. Examples include:
- higher auto or homeowners premiums at renewal or when shopping for a new policy;
- a quote refused, or a policy not renewed;
- repeated disputes that came back “verified” while the entry stayed on your report.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows an individual consumer to recover actual damages caused by a negligent violation (15 U.S.C. § 1681o). For a willful violation, it allows actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, plus any punitive damages the court allows (§ 1681n). Both sections allow costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. A settlement payment is the same for everyone in the class. An individual claim is measured by what happened to you, and extra premiums paid over several years can add up to more than $150.
How to opt out
Mail a written statement that you sign yourself to:
Kohama v. GEICO Settlement
c/o Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 16
West Point, PA 19486
It must include your name, mailing address and telephone number, and a statement substantially to the effect of: “I request to be excluded from the Settlement Class in the matter of Kohama v. GEICO.” It must be postmarked by October 20, 2026. Use a method that gives you proof of mailing, and keep a copy.
The time limit if you opt out
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681p, an FCRA lawsuit must be filed within two years after you discover the violation, and no later than five years after it happened. The disputes in this case go back to March 2022, so for some people the two-year limit may already be close or past. Whether the class case paused the clock for someone who opts out is a legal question that depends on the facts and the court. Do not assume it did. Our guide to the FCRA statute of limitations explains how the two clocks work.
What to gather now
If you think the wrong entry cost you more than a settlement payment, collect:
- your settlement notice, and any C.L.U.E. report showing the entry;
- your dispute to LexisNexis and every response, including any that said the information was verified or accurate (see what to do when a dispute is denied);
- insurance quotes, renewal notices or non-renewal letters from the period;
- anything showing the claim belonged to someone else.
Then decide before October 20, with the documents in hand.
We handle errors on consumer reports under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, including insurance claim histories and other property and insurance reports. You pay nothing unless we win.
Admitted in Pennsylvania and New Jersey; available to appear pro hac vice in other federal courts.
Related reading on this site: C.L.U.E. report errors · LexisNexis report disputes · TransUnion’s $8.31 million bankruptcy remark settlement · Equifax’s $100 million credit score settlement.
Sources
- Notice of Class Action Settlement and Frequently Asked Questions, Kohama v. GEICO, No. 8:24-cv-00743-TDC (D. Md.), Kohama2026Settlement.com
- Class Action Settlement Agreement and Release, Kohama v. GEICO, ECF No. 68-4 (filed June 22, 2026), and the Class Action Complaint (filed March 13, 2024)
- Order Preliminarily Approving Settlement and Directing Notice to Settlement Class, ECF No. 74 (July 7, 2026)
- ClaimDepot, “Geico $1.65M CLUE Report Dispute Class Action Settlement” (2026)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2, § 1681n, § 1681o, § 1681p
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