Yahoo Class action Lawsuit settled.
August 30, 2007Maybe a few more of these court rulings and some of the major paid sites will finally Stop using Fake profiles, Fake emails, autogenerated winks etc to convert members to paying subscribers.
*************************
ROBERT ANTHONY v. YAHOO! INC., Case No.: C05 04175 RMW
(USDC, NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA SAN JOSE DIVISION)
THIS NOTICE MAY AFFECT YOUR RIGHTS
PLEASE READ ALL OF IT CAREFULLY
ATTENTION: ALL PERSONS IN THE UNITED STATES WHO WERE PAID SUBSCRIBERS
TO YAHOO! PERSONALS BETWEEN OCTOBER 1, 2004 AND AUGUST 3, 2007
Dear Yahoo!, Inc. Customer,
This notice (the “Notice”) informs you of a proposed settlement of class action claims against Yahoo!, Inc. For the sake of brevity and clarity, Yahoo!, Inc. will be referred to for the remainder of this Notice simply as Yahoo! This Notice describes the proposed settlement and informs you of your potential rights as a settlement Class Member. You are being sent this Notice because you have been identified as a Yahoo! customer who paid to subscribe to Yahoo! Personals between October 1, 2004 and August 3, 2007. Yahoo! has agreed, under the terms of the Settlement, to provide you with the opportunity to submit a valid and timely Claim Form through which you may be eligible to receive monetary compensation as discussed below in Section 5.A.2.
READ THIS FIRST
1. WHY SHOULD I READ THIS?
This Notice, given pursuant to an Order of the Court dated August 3, 2007, describes a proposed settlement of a class action against Yahoo!, and you have been identified as a potential Class Member.
2. WHY DID I RECEIVE THIS NOTICE?
You received this Notice because a search of Yahoo!’s computer records indicates that you were a subscriber of Yahoo! Personals at some point between October 1, 2004 and August 3, 2007. This Notice provides a summary of the terms of the proposed settlement. It also explains the lawsuit, your potential legal rights under the Settlement, what benefits may be available to you under the Settlement, and how to get them.
3. WHAT IS A CLASS ACTION?
In a class action, one or more individuals or businesses, called Class Representatives (in this case, Robert Anthony) sue on behalf of others that have similar claims. All of these other individuals are members of the “class”. One court resolves the issues for all Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Class. United States District Court Judge Ronald M. Whyte is in charge of this class action.
4. WHAT ARE THE CRITICAL DATES?
Event Date
The last date that your Claim Form must be postmarked if you wish to be eligible to possibly receive a payment under the terms of the Settlement. December 15, 2007
The last date to submit your written request to be excluded from the Settlement if you are not willing to be bound by it and do not want to be eligible to receive a payment. October 15, 2007
The last date to submit any written objection to the Settlement. October 15, 2007
The hearing on any objections and to give final approval to the Settlement. November 15, 2007
5. WHAT IS THIS CASE ABOUT?
On October 12, 2005, Robert Anthony (”Plaintiff”) filed suit against Yahoo!, Inc. (”Yahoo!”) in the United States District Court, Northern District of California. Plaintiff alleged various claims against Yahoo! (specifically, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, Florida statute §501.204 et seq.,fraud, and negligent misrepresentation), by virtue of his allegation that profiles posted for purposes other than dating appeared on the Yahoo! Personals website. Plaintiff brought suit on his own behalf and on behalf of all Yahoo! Personals paid subscribers in the United States since October 1, 2004. Plaintiff sought recovery of damages, various forms of equitable relief and attorneys’ fees and costs. Yahoo! has denied, and continues to deny any and all claims and allegations of wrongdoing asserted in the case and has substantial factual and legal defenses to all claims alleged in the case. Yahoo! has maintained and continues to maintain that it has acted in accordance with governing law. Nonetheless, the parties have concluded that further participation in the case would be protracted and expensive, and that it is desirable that the case be fully and finally settled in the manner and upon the terms set forth in this Notice and in the Parties’ Settlement Agreement.
A. The Proposed Settlement
Since filing the Action, Plaintiff, through Class Counsel, has conducted an investigation of the facts and has analyzed the relevant legal and factual issues. Class Counsel obtained substantial information about the nature and extent of Yahoo!’s challenged practices through this process.
Although Yahoo! does not believe it has done anything wrong and continues to deny all claims and allegations of wrongdoing asserted in the case, Plaintiff and Yahoo! agreed to enter into a Settlement Agreement after an extensive exchange of information and vigorous arms-length negotiation. If approved by the Court, the Settlement Agreement will result in dismissal of this case and final resolution of all claims raised. Such dismissal will release Yahoo! from future liability for the acts and practices complained of. The settlement terms are described in full in a document known as the Settlement Agreement (hereinafter “Agreement”)1 . The Agreement is available for your inspection at the clerk’s office of the United States District Court, Northern District of California. The terms of the Settlement, in summary form, are as follows:
1. To the extent that they are not already in place, no later than 30 days after Final Approval of the Settlement, Yahoo! will take the following actions, which shall remain in force and effect for a period of two (2) years from the date of Final Approval of this Settlement by the Court:
(a) Yahoo! will maintain the “Report a Complaint” link on the profile detail pages appearing on the Yahoo! Personals website.
(b) Profiles that have been inactive for a period of 120 days shall be rendered unsearchable by Yahoo! and Yahoo! shall include this notification in its Additional Terms of Service relating to Yahoo! Personals.
(c) When a user of Yahoo! Personals cancels his or her subscription, a screen will be presented to the user giving the user the option to delete the profile, render the profile unsearchable or keep the profile active. If the user makes no selection, the profile will automatically be deactivated.
(d) Yahoo! will maintain mechanisms in place to detect duplicative photographs, abusive language and the revelation of improper personal information.
(e) Yahoo! will update its Additional Terms of Service relating to Yahoo! Personals to inform its users that that they may see profiles or other content which they feel were created by third parties, contrary to obligations in the applicable terms of services, guidelines and code of conduct, for purposes other than dating, including spam and commercial profiles.
(f) Yahoo! will modify its Additional Terms of Service relating to Yahoo! Personals to include disclosures regarding searchable Yahoo!-created test profiles, if any, that may be used when necessary to ensure service quality. The modifications will disclose how searchable test profiles, if any, are designated so that they are readily identifiable to users.
(g) Yahoo! may make additional changes to its site content, si
