Infidelity site’s $11.2M suit payout OK’d

ST. LOUIS — A federal judge on Friday approved an $11.2 million settlement between the marital infidelity website Ashley Madison and users who sued after hackers released personal information, including users’ financial data and details of their sexual proclivities.

U.S. District Judge John Ross in St. Louis gave preliminary approval to a settlement that was announced last week by Toronto-based Ruby Corp., the parent company of Ashley Madison. Several lawsuits were consolidated in the Eastern District of Missouri.

A final-approval hearing is scheduled for Nov. 20.

The lawsuits were filed after hackers outed millions of people who used the website. The suits said Ashley Madison misled consumers about its security measures and safeguards.

The company denied wrongdoing but said in a statement that it settled to “avoid the uncertainty, expense, and inconvenience associated with continued litigation.”

Ashley Madison is marketed to people seeking extramarital relationships. Its slogan is, “Life is short. Have an affair.” At one time, it purported to have about 39 million members.

Hackers broke into Ashley Madison’s systems in July 2015 and posted the details a month later after the company didn’t comply with their demands to shut down.