A court-authorized notice was sent of a proposed settlement in a class action lawsuit, Paulson et al. v. New Crown Holdings, LLC, Case No. 2021 CH 00000324, in the Circuit Court, Chancery Division of Lake County, Illinois. The Settlement would resolve a lawsuit brought on behalf of persons who allege that New Crown Holdings, LLC (“Defendant”) collected, captured, received, stored or otherwise obtained, retained, disseminated, or disclosed their finger scan data and/or any other biometric identifier and/or information without first providing them with legally-required written disclosures and obtaining written consent under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, 740 ILCS 14/1 et seq. (“BIPA”).

Defendant contests these claims and denies that it violated BIPA. However, Defendant agreed to settle the matter to avoid further costly, distracting, and time-consuming litigation without any admission or finding of wrongdoing.

If you received the Notice, you have been identified as someone who had their finger scan data and/or any other biometric identifier and/or information collected, captured, received, retained, transmitted or otherwise used by Defendant in violation of BIPA as alleged in the Complaint at any time from December 30, 2015 to September 7, 2023.

Without making any finding as to the merits of this case, the Court has granted preliminary approval of the Settlement and has conditionally certified the Settlement Class for purposes of settlement only. The Notice explains the nature of the class action lawsuit, the terms of the Settlement, and the legal rights and obligations of the Settlement Class Members. Please read the instructions and explanations below so that you can better understand your legal rights.

The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act generally prohibits private entities from capturing, obtaining, storing, transferring, and/or using the biometric identifiers and/or information, such as fingerprints, of another individual for any purpose, including timekeeping, without first providing such individual with certain written disclosures and obtaining written consent. This lawsuit alleges that Defendant violated BIPA by collecting, capturing, receiving, storing, or otherwise obtaining, retaining, disseminating, or disclosing individuals’ finger scan data and/or any other biometric identifier and/or information without first providing the requisite disclosures or obtaining the requisite consent. Defendant contests these claims and denies that it violated BIPA.

A class action is a lawsuit in which an individual called a “Class Representative” brings a single lawsuit on behalf of other people who have similar claims. All of these people together are a “Class” or “Class Members.” Once a Class is certified, a class action Settlement finally approved by the Court resolves the issues for all Settlement Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Settlement Class.

The class action settlement provides for a total payment of $453,600.00 that Defendant has agreed to pay to settle the claims of Settlement Class Members. Subject to Court approval, the gross settlement fund shall be reduced by the following: (1) an award of up to 33.33% of the total settlement for Settlement Class Counsel’s attorney fees and litigation costs; (2) an Incentive Award of $7,500.00 to the Settlement Class Representative; and (3) the Settlement Administrator’s costs of up to $7,000.00. Following these reductions, it is estimated that your net settlement payment is approximately $908.00. The Settlement Administrator will issue a check to each Class Member following the final approval of the Settlement. All checks issued to Settlement Class Members will expire and become void 120 days after they are issued.

To resolve this matter without the expense, delay, and uncertainties of litigation, the Parties have reached a Settlement, which resolves all claims against Defendant. The Settlement requires Defendant to pay money to the Settlement Class, as well as pay settlement administration expenses, attorneys’ fees and costs to Class Counsel, and an incentive award to the Class Representative, if such payments are approved by the Court.

The Settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing by Defendant and does not imply that there has been, or would be, any finding that Defendant violated the law.

The Court has already preliminarily approved the Settlement. Nevertheless, because the settlement of a class action determines the rights of all members of the class, the Court overseeing this lawsuit must give final approval to the Settlement before it can be effective. The Court has certified the Settlement Class for settlement purposes only, so that members of the Settlement Class can be given the Notice and the opportunity to exclude themselves from the Settlement Class, or to voice their support or opposition to final approval of the Settlement. If the Court does not give final approval to the Settlement, or if it is terminated by the Parties, the Settlement will be void, and the lawsuit will proceed as if there had been no settlement and no certification of the Settlement Class.

You are a member of the Settlement Class if, at any time between December 30, 2015, and September 7, 2023, you had your finger(s) scanned and/or any other biometric identifier and/or information collected, captured, received, stored, or otherwise obtained, retained, disseminated, or disclosed by Defendant. You will be considered a member of the Settlement Class unless you timely file an exclusion request as described in the Notice.

(1) Accept the Settlement.

To receive a Settlement Payment, you do not need to do anything. If you have received a Notice, you are currently considered a member of the Settlement Class and will continue to be unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement.  You will be bound by the judgment, and you will release claims against Defendant as discussed below.

(2) Exclude yourself.

You may exclude yourself from the Settlement. If you do so, you will not receive any payment. You will not be part of the class and will not release any claims you may have against Defendant and the Released Parties (as that term is defined in the Settlement Agreement) and you will be free to pursue whatever legal rights you may have at your own risk and expense. To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must mail or email your written request for exclusion to the Settlement Administrator with your name, address, and telephone number; the name and number of this case; a statement that you wish to be excluded from the Settlement Class; and your signature, postmarked by March 4, 2024.  If your request for exclusion is not postmarked by this date, or does not contain any of this required information, your request for exclusion will be denied.

(3) Object to the Settlement.

You may object to the settlement and, as discussed below, any such objection must be made and postmarked no later than  March 4, 2024. If you want to object to the settlement, you must mail or email a written objection to the Settlement Administrator (contact information below).  Any objection to the proposed Settlement must include your (i) full name, address, and telephone number; (ii) the case name and number of this Action; (iii) the date range during which you were employed by Defendant; (iv) all grounds for the objection, with factual and legal support for the stated objection, including any supporting materials; (v) the identification of any other objections you have filed, or have had filed on your behalf, in any other class action cases in the last five years; and (vi) your signature. If you hire an attorney in connection with making an objection, you must provide the name, address, and telephone number of your attorney, and that attorney must also file with the Court a notice of appearance by the objection deadline of March 4, 2024. If you do hire your own attorney, you will be solely responsible for payment of any fees and expenses the attorney incurs on your behalf. If you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you cannot file an objection. Class Members who do not timely make their objections in this manner will be deemed to have waived all objections and will not be heard or have the right to appeal approval of the Settlement.

You must also send a copy of your objection to the attorneys for all Parties to the lawsuit, including Class Counsel (addresses below) and the attorneys representing Defendant (Daniel K. Cray at Cray Huber Hortsman Heil & Vanausdal LLC at 303 W. Madison St., Suite 220, Chicago, Illinois 60606 and Thaddeus A. Harrell at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP at 222 W. Adams St., Suite 3400, Chicago, IL 60606), postmarked no later than March 4, 2024.

You may appear in person or through counsel at the Final Approval Hearing, which is to be held via Zoom videoconference  and in Courtroom C302 of the 19^th Judicial Circuit Court of Lake County, Illinois at 301 Washington Street, Waukegan, Illinois 60085 to show cause of why the proposed Settlement should not be approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate. For the Zoom login information for the March 13, 2023 Final Approval Hearing, if you wish to attend via Zoom, please either call Class Counsel or the Claims Administrator or check this website for the Zoom login information. Attendance at the hearing is not necessary; however, persons wishing to be heard orally in opposition to the approval of the Settlement, the request for attorneys’ fees and expenses, and/or the request for an incentive award to the Class Representative are required to indicate in their written objection their intention to appear at the hearing on their own behalf or through counsel and to identify the names of any witnesses they intend to call to testify at the Final Approval Hearing, as well as any exhibits they intend to introduce at the Final Approval Hearing.

Unless you exclude yourself from this Settlement, you will be considered a member of the Settlement Class, which means you give up your right to file or continue a lawsuit against Defendant and the Released Parties relating to biometrics and the use of the timekeeping system at issue. Giving up your legal claims is called a release. The precise terms of the release are in the Settlement Agreement, which is available upon request and at this site here. Unless you formally exclude yourself from this Settlement, you will release your claims and all claims that you do or may have against Defendant under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. If you have any questions, you can talk for free to Class Counsel, who is identified below and who have been appointed by the Court to represent the Settlement Class, or you are welcome to talk to any other lawyer of your choosing at your own expense.

The Parties cannot predict exactly when (or whether) the Court will give final approval to the Settlement, so please be patient. However, if the Court finally approves the Settlement, you will be paid as soon as possible after the court order becomes final, which should occur within 30 days after the Settlement has been finally approved. If there is an appeal of the Settlement, payment may be delayed. Updated information about the case can be obtained through Class Counsel at the information provided below, or via the settlement website here.

The Court has already given preliminary approval to the Settlement. A final hearing on the Settlement, called a Final Approval Hearing, will be held to, among other things, determine the fairness of the Settlement. At the Final Approval Hearing, the Court will also consider whether to make final the certification of the Class for settlement purposes, hear any proper objections and arguments to the Settlement, as well as any requests for an award of attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses and Class Representative’s incentive award that may be sought by Class Counsel. The Court will hold the Final Approval Hearing on March 13, 2024 at 9:00 a.m.  The Final Approval Hearing will be held via Zoom videoconference and in Courtroom C302 of the 19^th Judicial Circuit Court of Lake County, Illinois at 301 Washington Street, Waukegan, Illinois 60085. The Final Hearing may be continued to a future date without further notice.

If the Settlement is given final approval, the Court will not make any determination as to the merits of the claims against Defendant or its defenses to those claims. Instead, the Settlement’s terms will take effect and the lawsuit will be dismissed on the merits with prejudice. This means that Class Members who do not exclude themselves will be barred from bringing their own lawsuits or joining or participating as a class member in any other lawsuit for recovery against Defendant based on, related to, or derivative of the allegations made in this case. Both sides have agreed to the Settlement to achieve an early and certain resolution to the lawsuit, in a manner that provides specific and valuable benefits to the members of the Settlement Class.

If the Court does not approve the Settlement, if it approves the Settlement and the approval is reversed on appeal, or if the Settlement does not become final for some other reason, you will not be paid and Class Members will receive no benefits from the Settlement. Plaintiff, Defendant, and all of the Class Members will be in the same position as they were prior to the execution of the Settlement, and the Settlement will have no legal effect, no class will remain certified (conditionally or otherwise), and the Plaintiff and Defendant will continue to litigate the lawsuit. If the Settlement is not approved, there can be no assurance that the Settlement Class will recover more than is provided in the Settlement, or indeed, anything at all.

The Court has approved the following attorneys to represent the Settlement Class. They are called “Class Counsel.” You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer instead, you may hire one at your own expense.

Thomas M. Ryan
Law Office of Thomas M. Ryan, P.C.
35 E. Wacker Drive, Suite 650
Chicago, IL 60601
312.726.3400
tom@tomryanlaw.com

James X. Bormes
Catherine P. Sons
8 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 2600
Chicago, IL 60603
312.201.0575
bormeslaw@sbcglobal.net
cpsons@bormeslaw.com

The Notice is only a summary of the proposed Settlement of this lawsuit. More details are in the Settlement Agreement which, along with other documents, can be obtained by contacting Class Counsel or on this site here. If you have any questions, you can also contact Class Counsel at the number or email addresses set forth here or contact the Settlement Administrator. In addition, all pleadings and documents filed in court may be reviewed or copied in the Office of the Clerk. Please do not call the Judge or the Clerk of the Court about this case. They will not be able to give you advice on your options.