Jennifer Waller et al. vs. Times Publishing Company Frequently Asked Questions

A Court authorized this Notice because you have a right to know about a proposed settlement of this class action lawsuit and about all of your options, before the Court decides whether to give Final Judgment to the settlement. This Notice explains the lawsuit, the settlement, and your legal rights.

In a class action, one or more people called the Class Representative sue on behalf of a group or a “Class” of people who have similar claims. In a class action, the court resolves the issues for all Settlement Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Settlement Class.

This Action claims that Defendant violated the Video Privacy Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2710, et seq. (“VPPA”) by disclosing its subscribers’ personally identifiable information (“PII”) to Facebook via the Facebook Tracking Pixel without consent. The VPPA defines PII to include information that identifies a person as having requested or obtained specific video materials or services from a video tape service provider. The Defendant denies that it violated any law. The Court has not determined who is right. Rather, the Parties have agreed to settle the lawsuit to avoid the uncertainties and expenses associated with ongoing litigation.

The Court has not decided whether the Plaintiffs or the Defendant should win this case. Instead, both sides agreed to a settlement. That way, they avoid the uncertainties and expenses associated with ongoing litigation, and Settlement Class Members will get compensation sooner rather than, if at all, after the completion of a trial.

The Settlement Class is defined as: all persons in the United States who, between January 18, 2021, and December 28, 2023, (the “Class Period”) were subscribers with activated digital access or an email newsletter recipient to the Tampa Bay Times’ online website (www.tampabay.com) and also maintained during the same time a Facebook account. The Settlement Class excludes company-issued subscriptions to employees with @tampabay.com accounts.

Monetary Relief: Defendant has created a Settlement Fund totaling $950,000. Settlement Class Member payments, the Settlement Administration Expenses, the cost to inform people about the settlement, Fee Award, and an incentive award to the Class Representatives will also come out of this fund (see Question 13).

Prospective Changes: In addition to this monetary relief, the settlement also requires Defendant to suspend operation of the Facebook Tracking Pixel on any pages on its website that both include video content and have a URL that identifies the video content viewed, unless and until the VPPA is amended, repealed, or otherwise invalidated (including by judicial decision on the use of website pixel technology by the United States Supreme Court, any federal court of appeals, a U.S. Federal District Court in Florida, or a Florida State Court of general jurisdiction), or until Defendant obtains VPPA-compliant consent for the disclosure of the video content viewed to Facebook.

A detailed description of the Settlement Benefits can be found in the Settlement Agreement.

If you are member of the Settlement Class you may submit a Claim Form to receive a portion of the Settlement Fund. The amount of this payment will depend on how many of the Settlement Class Members file Approved Claims. Each Settlement Class Member who files an Approved Claim will receive a proportionate share of the Settlement Fund.

The hearing to consider the fairness of the settlement is scheduled for April 1, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. If the Court approves the settlement, eligible Settlement Class Members whose claims were approved by the Settlement Administrator will receive their payment 90 days after the settlement has been finally approved and/or any appeals process is complete. The payment will be made in the form of a check, unless you elect to receive electronic payment and all checks will expire and become void 180 days after they are issued.

If you are a Settlement Class Member and you want to get a payment, you must complete and submit a Claim Form by April 16, 2024. Claim Forms can be found on this website or by printing and mailing a paper Claim Form, copies of which are available for download  in Documents section of this website.

We also encourage you to submit your claim online. Not only is it easier and more secure, but it is completely free and takes only minutes!

If the settlement becomes Final, you will give up your right to sue Defendant for the claims this settlement resolve. The Settlement Agreement describes the specific Released Claims you are giving up against the Defendant. You will be “releasing” the Defendant and certain of its affiliates described in Section 1.25 of the Settlement Agreement. Unless you exclude yourself (see Question 14), you are “releasing” the claims, regardless of whether you submit a claim or not. The Settlement Agreement is available through the “Documents” link on this website.

The Settlement Agreement describes the released claims with specific descriptions, so read it carefully. If you have any questions you can talk to the lawyers listed in Question 12 for free or you can, of course, talk to your own lawyer if you have questions about what this means.

If you do nothing, you won’t get any benefits from this settlement. But, unless you exclude yourself, you won’t be able to start a lawsuit or be part of any other lawsuit against the Defendant for the claims being resolved by this settlement.

The Court has appointed lawyers from the law firms of Edelsberg Law, P.A., Shamis & Gentile, P.A., and Liddle Sheets Coulson P.C. to represent you. These attorneys are called Class Counsel. They believe, after conducting an extensive investigation, that the Settlement Agreement is fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the Settlement Class. You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer in this case, you may hire one at your expense.

Class Counsel’s Fee Award, and expenses will be paid from the Settlement Fund in an amount determined and awarded by the Court. Class Counsel is entitled to seek no more than 25% of the Settlement Fund for these items, subject to Court approval.

As approved by the Court, the Class Representatives will each be paid an incentive award from the Settlement Fund for helping to bring and settle the case. The Class Representatives will seek no more than $5,000 each as an incentive award, but the Court may award less than this amount.

To exclude yourself from the settlement, you must mail or otherwise deliver a letter (or request for exclusion) stating that you want to be excluded from the Waller, et al. vs. Times Publishing Company class action settlement. Your letter or request for exclusion must also include your name, Class Member ID, your address, your telephone number, your signature, the name and number of this case, and a statement that you wish to be excluded. You must mail or deliver your exclusion request no later than March 2, 2024, to:

Waller, et al. vs. Times Publishing Company Settlement

c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC

PO Box 225391

New York, NY 10150-5391

No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up any right to sue the Defendant for the claims being resolved by this settlement.

No. If you exclude yourself, do not submit a Claim Form to ask for benefits.

If you’re a Settlement Class Member, you can object to the settlement if you don’t like any part of it. You can give reasons why you think the Court should not approve it. The Court will consider your views. To object, you must file with the Court a letter or brief stating that you object to the settlement in Waller, et al.  vs. Times Publishing Company, and identify all your reasons for your objections (including citations and supporting evidence) and attach any materials you rely on for your objections. Your letter or brief must also include your name, an explanation of the basis upon which you claim to be a Settlement Class Member, including information sufficient to identify your Facebook page, the name and contact information of any and all attorneys representing, advising, or in any way assisting you in connection with your objection, and your signature. If you, or an attorney assisting you with your objection, have ever objected to any class action settlement where you or the objecting attorney has asked for or received payment in exchange for dismissal of the objection (or any related appeal) without modification to the settlement, you must include a statement in your objection identifying each such case by full case caption. You must also mail or deliver a copy of your letter or brief to Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel listed below.

Class Counsel will file with the Court and post on this website its request for a Fee Award by March 18, 2024.

If you want to appear and speak at the Final Approval Hearing to object to the Settlement, with or without a lawyer (explained below in answer to Question Number 21), you must say so in your letter or brief. File the objection with the Court and mail a copy to these two different places postmarked no later than March 2, 2024. 

Court	Class Counsel	Defendant’s Counsel
Dade County Courthouse  73 West Flagler St. Miami, FL 33130	Adam Schwartzbaum Edelsberg Law, P.A. 20900 NE 30th Ave Aventura, FL 33180	Aaron Weiss  David Karp  Carlton Fields, P.A.  700 N.W. 1st Ave Suite 1200 Miami, FL 33136

Objecting simply means telling the Court that you don’t like something about the settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Settlement Class. Excluding yourself from the Settlement Class is telling the Court that you don’t want to be part of the Settlement Class. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object because the case no longer affects you.

The Court will hold the Final Approval Hearing at 1:00 p.m. on April 1, 2024, via Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/98458405897. 

The purpose of the hearing will be for the Court to determine whether to approve the settlement as fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the Settlement Class; to consider the Class Counsel’s request for Fee Award; and to consider the request for an incentive award to the Class Representatives. At that hearing, the Court will be available to hear any objections and arguments concerning the fairness of the settlement.

The hearing may be postponed to a different date or time without notice, so it is a good idea to check this Settlement Website or call (833) 462-3515. If, however, you timely objected to the settlement and advised the Court that you intend to appear and speak at the Final Approval Hearing, you will receive notice of any change in the date of such Final Approval Hearing.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. But, you are welcome to come at your own expense. If you send an objection or comment, you don’t have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as you filed and mailed your written objection on time, the Court will consider it. You may also pay another lawyer to attend, but it’s not required.

Yes. You may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Final Approval Hearing. To do so, you must include in your letter or brief objecting to the settlement a statement saying that it is your “Notice of Intent to Appear in Waller, et al.  vs. Times Publishing Company” It must include your name, address, telephone number and signature as well as the name and address of your lawyer, if one is appearing for you. Your objection and notice of intent to appear must be filed with the Court and postmarked no later than March 2, 2024, and be sent to the addresses listed in Question 17.

This Notice summarizes the settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement. You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreement here. You may also write with questions to Waller, et al. vs. Times Publishing Company Settlement, c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, PO Box 225391, New York, NY 10150-5391. You can contact the Settlement Administrator at (833) 462-3515 if you have any questions. Before doing so, however, please read this full Notice carefully. You may also find additional information elsewhere on this website.