an appeal has been filed in the yahoo settlement. the claims review process has been paused while the appeal to the 9th circuit is reported and determined by the appellate court. this website will be updated when that happens. the court granted final approval to yahoo! class action settlement and entered judgment on July 22, 2020. In the order approving the settlement, the Court also awarded attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses, and service awards to the class representatives who sued on behalf of of the class. Please visit the following links for details on Final Approval and Judgment: Second Amended Final Approval and Amended Judgment of Fee Order.pdf
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A class action settlement has been proposed in litigation against yahoo! Inc. (“yahoo”) and aabaco small business, llc (together referred to as “defendants” in this notice), in connection with data breaches (malicious actors entered the system and took personal data) that occurred between 2013 and 2016, as well as to data security intrusions (malicious actors entered the system but no data appears to have been taken) that occurred from at least January to April 2012 (collectively, the “data breaches”). if you received a notice about the data breaches, or if you had a yahoo account at any time between january 1, 2012 and december 31, 2016 and you are a resident of the united states or israel, you are a “member of the class of the agreement.
Under the terms of the agreement, Yahoo has upgraded, or through its successor in interest, Juramento Holdings Inc. (“oath”), continues to improve its business practices that will improve the security of its users’ personal information stored in its databases. the defendants will also pay a settlement fund of $117,500,000. the settlement fund will provide a minimum of two years of credit monitoring services to protect settlement class members from future harm, or an alternative cash payment for those who verify they already have credit monitoring or identity protection . The Settlement Fund will also provide cash payments to those who have proven out-of-pocket losses, including lost time, as well as payments to Yahoo users who paid for premium or ad-free Yahoo Mail services and those who paid for Aabaco. small business services, which included business email services. the liquidation fund will also pay the expenses of notification and administration of the liquidation; court-approved attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses; and service awards for named plaintiffs. In exchange, Settlement Class Members will release any and all claims they may have against Defendants regarding the data breaches.
settlement class members can act now to protect themselves from potential harm resulting from the data breach
Settlement Class Members are encouraged to file a claim for a minimum of two years of future credit monitoring services. If you already have credit monitoring services, you can still sign up for this added protection. alternatively, if you verify that you already have a credit monitoring service that you will maintain for at least one year, you may submit a claim for a cash payment of $100.00 in lieu of receiving credit monitoring services through the settlement. the payment on such a claim may be less than $100.00 or more (up to $358.80) depending on how many members of the settlement class participate in the settlement.
You may also provide documentation or proof to receive reimbursement for up to $25,000.00 in out-of-pocket expenses, including lost time, that you believe you suffered or are suffering due to data breaches. For documented time lost, you may be paid for up to fifteen hours of time at an hourly rate of $25.00 per hour or unpaid time off at your actual hourly rate, whichever is greater. If your lost time is not documented, you can be paid for up to five hours at the same rate.
If approved, the proposed settlement will resolve the litigation titled in re: yahoo! Inc. litigation for breach of customer data security, case no. 16-md-02752-lhk (n.d. cal.), before judge lucy h. koh in the northern district of california, and yahoo! Inc. cases of disclosure of private information, jccp no. 4895, before Judge Glenda Sanders in Orange County Superior Court. the court must decide whether to finally approve the settlement. no credit monitoring services will be provided and no payments will be made until the agreement is final. the class action settlement approval process can take over a year.
Your legal rights are affected even if you do nothing.
You must file a claim to receive credit monitoring services or alternative compensation.
For detailed information on how to file a claim for alternative compensation or credit monitoring services, see faq 11 and faq 17.
You must make a claim to receive reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses and/or lost time. You can claim both out-of-pocket costs and credit monitoring services or alternative compensation by completing the appropriate section.
For detailed information on how to file an out-of-pocket claim, see faq 14 and faq 18.
If you paid for premium or ad-free yahoo mail services, you must file a claim to be reimbursed for a portion of those costs. you can claim both paid user fees and out-of-pocket costs and credit monitoring services or alternative compensation.
For detailed information on how to file a claim for paid user fees, see faq 15 and faq 19.
If you paid for aabaco’s small business services, you must file a claim to be reimbursed for a portion of those costs. you can claim both small business costs and out-of-pocket costs and credit monitoring services or alternative compensation.
For detailed information on how to file a claim for small business costs, see faq 16 and faq 20.
You can object to the settlement and/or the amount of attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses, or class representative service awards by writing to the court and telling them why you do not think the settlement should be approved, and /or why the amount of attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses or awards for services are inappropriate. You may also write to the court to provide comments or reasons why you support the settlement and/or the amount of attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses, or class representative service awards.
for detailed information on how to object or comment on the settlement, see faq 25.
You may attend the final fairness hearing where the court may hear arguments related to approving the settlement, but you are not required to do so. if you want to speak at the final fair hearing, you must ask in your written objection or comment.
For detailed information about the Final Fair Hearing, see FAQs 27-29.
You may opt out of the Settlement by informing the Settlement Administrator that you wish to “opt out” of the Settlement. If the settlement becomes final, this is the only option that allows you to preserve your rights to sue the defendants in this lawsuit for claims related to data breaches.
for detailed information on how to exclude yourself from the settlement, see faq 26 and 30-33.
If you do nothing, you will not be eligible for credit monitoring services, alternative compensation, out-of-pocket costs, paid user costs, or small business costs. however, if the settlement becomes final, you will give up your rights to sue the defendants regarding the data breaches.
For detailed information on what happens if you do nothing, see faq 34.