Important: The Court will hold the final approval hearing in Department 304 of the courthouse located at 400 McAllister Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 on November 22, 2024, at 10 a.m. PST.
A settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit arising from an alleged data security incident which occurred on May 13, 2020 on behalf of a class defined as “all persons residing in California in August 2021 who were sent notice by Defendant that their PI may have been exposed as a result the Incident.” The class action is brought against Defendant SmartStart Employment Screening, Inc by named plaintiffs Kara Paolilli and Michael Foster.
YOUR OPTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THIS SETTLEMENT | |
Do Nothing | You will receive a Settlement Award by remaining in the Settlement Class and not opting out. If you have received a notice, you are already in the Settlement Class. |
Opt-out of the Settlement | You will not receive a monetary benefit from this settlement, but you will retain the right to bring your own lawsuit against Defendant related to the data security incident. For more detailed information on how to opt-out from the settlement, see Questions 12 through 14. The deadline to opt-out of the settlement is October 15, 2024. |
Object to the Settlement | You may object to the terms of the settlement by submitting a timely objection. For more detailed information on how to object to the settlement, see Questions 17 and 18. The deadline to object to the settlement is October 15, 2024. |
Defendant disputes that it violated any laws, denies all of the plaintiffs’ allegations of wrongdoing, and disclaims all liability with respect to all claims. However, to avoid the risk and expense of further litigation, the parties have agreed to settle the lawsuit on the terms and conditions set forth in an Amended Settlement Agreement between the parties, which is available here. If the court gives final approval of the settlement, Defendant will pay $344,600.00 into a Settlement Fund, which will be used to provide monetary awards to Settlement Class Members as described in the Notice. Settlement administration expenses, an award of attorneys’ fees and costs to Class Counsel, and service awards to the Named Plaintiffs will also be paid from the Settlement Fund.
If you are a Settlement Class Member, you should have already received a notice from the Settlement Administrator in the mail, and/or by email. If for some reason you did not receive a notice, but believe you are a member of the Settlement Class, please call 888-232-1565 to verify your identity and receive further information. You must be a Settlement Class Member to receive a Settlement Award.
Your legal rights are affected even if you do nothing. Please read this website and the notice carefully and completely.