Text Message Class Action Settlement

English
Español

Long Form Notice

NOTICE OF PENDENCY OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

 

Click Here to View this Document formatted as a PDF file

 

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS, EASTERN DIVISION
Weinstein, et al. v. Airit2me, Inc. et al., Case No. 06 C 0484

 

Click Here to File a Claim Online

(You must submit a Claim Form by February 2, 2009)

Click Here to View a Copy of the Stipulation of Settlement

 

IF YOU RECEIVED ONE OR MORE TEXT MESSAGES ADVERTISING THE SALE OF GOODS ON TIMBERLAND.COM BETWEEN JANUARY 1, 2003 AND AUGUST 1, 2008, YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO A $150.00 CASH PAYMENT FROM A CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

IMPORTANT
PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY
THIS NOTICE RELATES TO THE PENDENCY OF A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT
AND IF YOU ARE A SETTLEMENT CLASS MEMBER CONTAINS
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR RIGHTS TO MAKE A CLAIM UNDER THE SETTLEMENT OR TO OBJECT TO THE SETTLEMENT

 

A federal court authorized this Notice and it is posted on the Web by Court order.

 

A proposed settlement (the "Stipulation of Settlement") has been reached in this case against the Defendants.  You may be a Member of the Settlement Class and could get a $150.00 settlement cash payment if you are a person in the United States who received one or more unsolicited text messages advertising the sale of goods on Timberland.com during the period between January 1, 2003 and August 1, 2008.

If you are a Settlement Class Member and the Court gives final approval to the Stipulation of Settlement:

 

YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THIS SETTLEMENT
SUBMIT A CLAIM FORM If you are a Settlement Class Member and would like to receive your Settlement Payment, you must submit a Claim Form, either through the mail or by clicking here. You will be giving up legal claims against Defendants and other related entities. Your claim must be submitted or postmarked no later than February 2, 2009. A paper Claim Form can be downloaded by clicking here.
DO NOTHING If you do nothing, you will not receive your Settlement Payment. You will, however, still be giving up legal claims against Defendants and other related entities.
EXCLUDE YOURSELF You will receive no benefits, but you will not be giving up your right to sue Defendants or related entities.
OBJECT Write to the Court about why you don’t like the Stipulation of Settlement and do not want it to be approved.
GO TO A HEARING Ask to speak in Court about the fairness of the Stipulation of Settlement.

 

 

Basic Information

1. What is this lawsuit about?

This lawsuit alleges that Defendants, in violation of a federal statute, sent unsolicited text messages to cell phone subscribers advertising the sale of goods on Timberland.com, and seeks to represent a nationwide class of persons who received such messages. No court has determined the merits of any of the parties’ positions in the lawsuit. Rather, the parties have agreed to settle the lawsuit so as to avoid the uncertainties, the expense, and the diversion of resources from further litigation. This Notice is not an admission by either party as to the strength of the other’s position or of any weakness in its own position.

 

2. Why is this a class action?

In a class action, one or more people called Class Representatives (in this case, Jeffrey Weinstein and Lei Shen), sue on behalf of a group (or a “class”) of people who have similar claims. After the parties reached an agreement to settle the case, the Court recognized this as a case that should be treated as a class action for settlement purposes.

 

3. Why is there a settlement?

The Court has not decided that the Plaintiffs or the Defendants should win this case. Instead, both sides agreed to a settlement. That way, they avoid the cost of a trial, and the Settlement Class Members will get compensation now rather than, if at all, years from now.

 

4. How do I know if I am part of the settlement?

As described above, the Court decided that everyone who fits this description is a Settlement Class Member:

All persons residing in the United States who, between January 1, 2003 and August 1, 2008, received a text message advertising the sale of goods on Timberland.com.

If you believe you are a Settlement Class Member, you may obtain a Claim Form by clicking here.

 

5. What can I get from the settlement?

Defendants have created a cash settlement fund of seven million dollars ($7,000,000) (the "Settlement Fund"). If you are a Settlement Class Member, and the Court gives final approval to the Stipulation of Settlement, you may be entitled to receive $150.00 from the Settlement Fund in the form of a check, unless the number of claims requires that you receive a lesser pro rata payment.

 

6. When will I receive these benefits?

You will receive these benefits within 90 days after the Stipulation of Settlement has been finally approved and the time to appeal that approval to a higher court has expired and/or any appeals have been resolved in favor of the Stipulation of Settlement.

 

7. I want to be part of the settlement and receive these benefits, what do I do?

You must submit a timely, truthful, accurate, and properly completed Claim Form. If you do not do so, you will not receive any Settlement Payment. You may obtain a Claim Form by clicking here. You may either submit the Claim Form online by following the instructions found with the link, or you may print out the Claim Form, fill it out completely and mail it in so that it is received or postmarked no later than February 2, 2009.

Please mail your Claim Form only to the following address:

Weinstein v Airit2me, Inc., et al. Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 6177
Novato, CA 94948-6177

Or you may submit your claim online by clicking here.

Please mail your Claim Form only to the address above or submit it by clicking on the link above.

 

8. What am I giving up to receive these benefits?

Unless you exclude yourself (a process that is explained in answer to Question Number 9 below), you are staying in the class and agreeing to the Stipulation of Settlement. Generally, that means that you can’t sue, continue to sue, or be part of a future suit involving the claims raised in this case. In other words, you are agreeing to “release” those claims. Unless you exclude yourself, you are "releasing" these claims, regardless of whether you submit a claim or not.

The exact release contained in the parties’ Stipulation of Settlement is much more detailed, and you may want or need to consider it before making your decision about participating in the Stipulation of Settlement. You can see a complete copy of the Stipulation of Settlement by clicking here.

 

Excluding Yourself from the Settlement

If you don’t want to receive the benefits from the Stipulation of Settlement, but you want to keep any right to sue that you may have or you want to continue to sue Defendants on your own over the claims in this case, then you must take steps to get out. This is called excluding yourself.

 

9. How do I get out of the settlement?

To exclude yourself from the Stipulation of Settlement, you must send a letter by mail saying that you want to be excluded from Weinstein v. Airit2me, Inc. et al., No. 06 C 0484 (N.D.Ill.) Be sure to include your name, address, your cellular telephone number, and your signature and the name and number of the case. You must mail your exclusion request no later than November 28, 2008 to

Weinstein v Airit2me, Inc., et al. Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 6177
Novato, CA 94948-6177

In order to be valid, any request for exclusion must be received or postmarked no later than November 28, 2008.

 

10. If I exclude myself, do I still receive benefits from this settlement?

No, you will not receive anything resulting from the settlement of this case. But you will have the right to attempt to sue Defendants over the claims raised in this case, either on your own or as part of a different lawsuit. The amount of time the law gives you to sue over such claims (that is, the “statutes of limitation”) may or may not have been extended because of this case; however, they will not be extended any further for you once you exclude yourself. If you want your own attorney to represent you in an individual case, the terms of such representation are a matter for you and your attorney to negotiate.

 

The Lawyers Representing You

11. Do I have a lawyer in this case?

The Court has approved John G. Jacobs and Bryan Kolton of The Jacobs Law Firm, Chtd. and Jay Edelson and Myles McGuire of KamberEdelson, LLC to be the attorneys representing the class. They are called the “Class Counsel.” They believe, after conducting an extensive investigation, that the Stipulation of Settlement is fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the 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.

 

12. How will the lawyers be paid?

Class Counsel will ask the Court for attorneys’ fees and expenses in the amount of $1,625,000. The Court may award less than this amount. Under the Stipulation of Settlement, any amount awarded to Class Counsel will be paid out of the Settlement Fund.

Subject to approval by the Court, Defendants have agreed to pay $5,000 to representative plaintiff Jeffrey Weinstein and $10,000 to representative plaintiff Lei Shen for their services in helping to prosecute this case.

 

Objecting to the Settlement

You can tell the Court that you don’t agree with the Stipulation of Settlement or some part of it. Only those that remain in the Settlement Class may object to the Stipulation of Settlement. You cannot object if you have opted out of the Settlement Class.

 

13. How do I tell the Court that I don’t like the settlement?

If you’re a Settlement Class Member, you can object to the Stipulation of 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 send a letter (or legal "brief") saying that you object to the Stipulation of Settlement in Weinstein et al. v. Airit2me, Inc., et al, No. 06 C 0484 (N.D.Ill.) and clearly identify all your reasons for your objections and attach any materials you rely on for your objections. Be sure to include your name, address, cellular telephone number as well as your current non-cellular telephone number if you have one, your signature, and the reasons you object to the Stipulation of Settlement. You must also specifically identify whether you received a text message of the kind described in the case and when it was received. If you want to speak at the Final Approval Hearing (explained below in answer to Question Number 14), you must say so in your objections. At the same time, you must also serve complete copies of your objection papers on both counsel for Defendants and Class Counsel. If you fail to object as specified above, you will be deemed to have waived any objections and will be barred from raising any such objections in this case or any other proceeding.

In order to be considered, any objections must be received or postmarked no later than November 28, 2008. Any objections and supporting materials should be sent to

Clerk of the Court
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
219 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, IL 60604

AND TO:

Jay Edelson, Esq.
KamberEdelson, LLC
350 North LaSalle Street, Suite 1300
Chicago, IL 60654

AND TO:

Thomas A. Marrinson, Esq.
ReedSmith, LLP
10 South Wacker Drive
40th Floor
Chicago, IL 60606

YOU MAY NOT DO THIS ONLINE.

 

The Final Approval Hearing

The Court has preliminarily approved the Stipulation of Settlement and will hold a hearing to decide whether to give final approval to the Stipulation of Settlement. You may attend and you may ask to speak, but you don’t have to.

 

14. When and where is the Final Approval Hearing?

The Court will hold the Final Approval Hearing at 8:45 a.m. on December 18, 2008 in the courtroom of Judge Wayne R. Andersen at the United States Courthouse in Chicago at 219 South Dearborn Street, Room 1403. The purpose of the hearing will be for the Court to determine whether the Stipulation of Settlement should be approved as fair, reasonable and adequate and in the best interests of the Class; to consider the request of Class Counsel for an award of attorneys' fees and expenses in the amount of $1,625,000; and to consider the request for an incentive award to Mr. Weinstein in the amount of $5,000 and to Ms. Shen in the amount of $10,000. At that hearing, the Court will be available to hear any objections and arguments concerning the fairness of the Stipulation of Settlement that have properly been requested, as set forth above.

The hearing may be postponed to a different date or time without notice.

You are not required to come to the Final Approval Hearing.

If the Court determines that the Stipulation of Settlement should be approved as fair, reasonable and adequate and in the best interests of the Class, you and your representatives are barred from filing any lawsuit asserting any claims against Defendants that relate to the claims discussed above.

 

Getting More Information

15. How do I get more information?

This Notice is necessarily an incomplete summary of the Stipulation of Settlement and its terms. You are free to inspect the court files from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on weekdays at the office of the Clerk of the Court, United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 219 South Dearborn Street, 20th Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60604. You may also see a complete copy of the Stipulation of Settlement by clicking here. You can call KamberEdelson, one of the law firms representing the class, at 1-866-541-0323 if you have any questions. Before doing so, please read this full Notice carefully. You may also find additional information elsewhere on this website.

Do not call or direct any inquiries to the Court, to Defendants or to Defendants’ lawyers.

 


On any communication concerning this case, you should always provide a telephone number where you can be reached with any questions.

Date: September 11, 2008


PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT OR COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANTS ABOUT THIS NOTICE. YOU MAY CALL CLASS COUNSEL AT 1-866-541-0323.