1. WHY DID I GET A NOTICE?
2. WHAT IS THIS LAWSUIT ABOUT?
3. WHY IS THIS A CLASS ACTION?
4. WHY IS THERE A SETTLEMENT?
5. HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM PART OF THE SETTLEMENT?
6. WHAT DOES THE SETTLEMENT PROVIDE?
7. WHAT CAN I GET FROM THE SETTLEMENT?
8. HOW CAN I GET THE BENEFITS FROM THIS SETTLEMENT?
9. WHEN WOULD I GET THESE BENEFITS?
10. WHAT AM I GIVING UP IF I GET BENEFITS UNDER THIS SETTLEMENT?
11. HOW DO I GET OUT OF THE SETTLEMENT?
12. IF I DON’T EXCLUDE MYSELF, CAN I SUE DEFENDANT FOR THE SAME THING LATER?
13. IF I EXCLUDE MYSELF, CAN I GET BENEFITS FROM THIS SETTLEMENT?
14. DO I HAVE A LAWYER IN THIS CASE?
15. HOW WILL THE LAWYERS BE PAID?
16. HOW DO I TELL THE COURT THAT I DON’T LIKE THE SETTLEMENT?
17. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OBJECTING AND EXCLUDING?
18. WHEN AND WHERE WILL THE COURT DECIDE WHETHER TO APPROVE THE SETTLEMENT?
19. DO I HAVE TO COME TO THE HEARING?
20. MAY I SPEAK AT THE HEARING?
21. WHAT HAPPENS IF I DO NOTHING AT ALL
22. WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SETTLEMENT?
The computer system of Carvin was accessed by unknown, unauthorized individuals between February 22, 2023 and March 9, 2023 (the “Data Breach”). During the Data Breach, Personal Information of approximately 189,319 people may have been accessed and compromised. Carvin has identified you as a person who may have been impacted by the Data Breach, and the Court determined that you have a right to know about the proposed Settlement of this class action lawsuit and your options before the Court decides whether to grant final approval of the Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement, and after any objections and appeals are resolved, the benefits will be distributed to eligible claimants in the way described below.
The notice explains the Lawsuit, the Settlement, your legal rights, what benefits are available, who is eligible for them, and how to get them.
The Court in charge of this case is the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, and the case is known as Perez, et al. v. Carvin Wilson Software, LLC, Case No. 2:23-cv-00792. The people who sued are called the Plaintiffs. Carvin is called the Defendant.
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Plaintiffs allege that Carvin did not maintain proper cybersecurity measures, and is therefore responsible for the Data Breach. Carvin disputes Plaintiffs’ allegations and denies that it did anything wrong. Carvin further maintains that it has good and meritorious defenses to Plaintiffs’ and would prevail if the case were to proceed.
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In a class action, one or more people, called Class Representatives (in this case Amanda Perez, Sasha Lipp, James Murray, Michael Halpren, and Elijah Johnson), sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. All of these people are collectively referred to as a Class or Class Members. One court resolves the issues for all Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Class. The United States District Court for the District of Arizona oversees this class action.
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The Court did not decide in favor of either the Plaintiffs or the Defendant. Instead, after numerous documents were filed and exchanged, both sides agreed to a Settlement. By settling, they avoid the cost and uncertainty of a trial. The Class Representatives and the attorneys think the Settlement is best for everyone. Notwithstanding the Settlement, Carvin continues to deny the allegations of Plaintiffs as well as any wrongdoing.
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The Court decided that everyone who fits the following description is a Settlement Class Member:
All individuals in the United States and its Territories whose Personal Information was identified by Defendant as having been potentially exposed in the Data Breach.
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Defendant has agreed to establish a settlement fund of $825,000.00 from which settlement benefits will be distributed to Settlement Class Members who timely submit a valid claim. Your benefits will depend on the type of claim you file and the number of Class Members who timely submit valid claims. In addition to the settlement fund, Defendant has agreed to remedial enhancements to its data security practices and systems, the cost of which totals approximately $700,000.00.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys will ask the court to approve attorneys’ fees and costs of litigation. Up to now, Plaintiffs’ attorneys have not been compensated for the time or reimbursed for the expense, of litigating this lawsuit.
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The following benefits are available to Settlement Class members who file a valid, timely claim:
You may file a claim to receive some or all of these benefits.
If, after paying out all court approved fees, expenses, and claims, there is sufficient money left over in the settlement fund, all Class Members who filed any type of claim will receive a pro rata share of that remaining money.
If, however, the value of the claims is greater than the settlement fund after court-approved fees and expenses have been paid out, then claims will be paid on a pro rata basis as explained in the Settlement.
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To receive the benefits described above you must timely submit a valid claim. You may do this by filling out and submitting the Claim Form, HERE, or downloading the Claim Form here and submitting it by mail. You may also call (855) 444-5824 to request that a Claim Form be mailed to you. If you are submitting a paper Claim Form, make sure that all fields are completed, including your full name, mailing address, email address, and contact phone number, and that the attestation is signed and dated.
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The Court will hold a hearing on September 25, 2024 to decide whether to approve the Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement, there could be appeals afterward, which will take time to resolve. Please be patient.
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Unless you exclude yourself, you are staying in the Settlement Class, and that means that you can’t sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against Defendant related to the legal issues in this case. It also means that you will be bound by the Settlement Agreement and the release therein as well as all of the Court’s orders will apply to you and legally bind you.
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To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must submit a Request for Exclusion, which is a written statement clearly stating that you wish to be excluded from the Settlement reached in Perez, et al. v. Carvin Wilson Software, LLC, Case No. 2:23-cv-00792, pending in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. The written statement must include your full name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address, the case name and case number, and must be dated and physically signed. You can’t exclude yourself by telephone.
Your written request for exclusion must be mailed and postmarked no later than August 26, 2024 to:
Carvin Class Action Settlement
Settlement Administrator
PO Box 25410
Santa Ana, CA 92799
You may also email a scanned copy of your written statement to info@CarvinClassActionSettlement.com. You can only exclude yourself. If you ask to be excluded, you should not submit a Claim Form, and you cannot object to the Settlement. If you exclude yourself, you will not be legally bound by anything that happens in this Lawsuit. You may be able to sue, or continue to sue, Defendant over these claims in the future.
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No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up the right to sue Defendant for the claims that this Settlement resolves. If you have a pending lawsuit, speak to your lawyer in that lawsuit immediately. You must exclude yourself from this Settlement Class to continue your own lawsuit. Remember, the exclusion deadline is August 26, 2024.
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No. If you exclude yourself, you cannot receive any of the benefits of this Settlement. However, you may sue, continue to sue, or be part of a different lawsuit against Defendant.
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Yes. The Court has appointed A. Brooke Murphy with the Murphy Law Firm, William B. Federman with the law firm of Federman & Sherwood, and Mason A. Barney with the law firm of Siri & Glimstad LLP, as “Class Counsel” to represent you and other Settlement Class Members. You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.
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Class Counsel will ask the Court to approve attorneys’ fees not to exceed 27.5% of the total Settlement Consideration ($419,375) and expenses not to exceed $35,000. The amount approved by the Court will be paid from the settlement fund. Up to now, Class Counsel have not been compensated for the time, or reimbursed for the expense, of litigating this lawsuit.
Additionally, Class Counsel will ask for a service award of up to $1,500 each for Amanda Perez, Sasha Lipp, James Murray, Michael Halpren, and Elijah Johnson because they are the Plaintiffs who brought this Lawsuit on behalf of all Settlement Class Members. Service awards are commonly granted by the court to recognize the efforts of Plaintiffs in bringing and prosecuting lawsuits on behalf of others.
The cost of administering the Settlement will also be paid from the settlement fund.
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If you are a Settlement Class Member, You can tell the Court that you don’t agree with the Settlement, or some part of it. This is called an “objection.” You can give the specific reasons why you think the Court should not approve the Settlement. The Court will consider your views.
To object, you must send a letter stating that you object to the proposed Settlement in Perez, et al. v. Carvin Wilson Software, LLC, Case No. 2:23-cv-00792, pending in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Be sure to include your full name, mailing address, telephone number and email address (if any), the specific factual and legal reasons for each objection, including whether the objection applies only to you, a specific subset of the Settlement Class, or the entire Settlement Class, a description of any and all evidence the you intends to offer at the Final Approval Hearing, if any, including but not limited to the names, addresses, and expected testimony of any witnesses and all exhibits intended to be introduced at the Final Approval Hearing, the identity of all counsel representing you, a statement whether you and/or your counsel will appear at the Final Approval Hearing, and a list, by case name, court, and docket number, of all other cases in which you and/or your counsel has filed an objection to any proposed class action settlement within the last five (5) years. you object to the Settlement (including copies of any documents on which your objection is based, and any persons you intend to call to testify in support of your objection), a list (by case name, court, and docket number) of all other cases in which you or your counsel has filed an objection to any proposed class action settlement within the last five years, and whether you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing. Additionally, you must provide proof that you are a member of the Settlement Class, as defined above in question 5. If you have an attorney representing you in connection with this objection, provide their name, address, and telephone number, and state whether they intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing. Make sure to sign and date your objection. The objection must be postmarked no later than August 26, 2024, and sent to each of the following:
COURT | CLASS COUNSEL | DEFENSE COUNSEL |
Clerk of the Court | Mason A. Barney A. Brooke Murphy William B. Federman | William W. Cheney, III |
Full instructions on objecting to this Settlement may be found in the Settlement Agreement, which can be reviewed here.
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Objecting is simply telling the Court that you don’t like something about the Settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Settlement Class. Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you don’t want to be part of the Settlement Class. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object because the case no longer affects you.
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The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on September 25, 2024, at 11 a.m. at the Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse, courtroom #401, located at 401 W Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85003. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. If there are objections, the Court will consider them. The Court will listen to people who have asked to speak at the hearing. The Court may also decide how much to pay Class Counsel, and whether to grant the requests for service awards. After the hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the Settlement. We do not know how long these decisions will take.
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No. Class Counsel will answer questions the Court may have. But you are welcome to come at your own expense if you choose. If you send an objection, you don’t have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as you mailed your written objection on time, the Court will consider it. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend, but it is not necessary.
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You may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Final Approval Hearing. To do so, you must send a letter stating that it is your “Notice of Intention to Appear in Perez, et al. v. Carvin Wilson Software, LLC, Case 2:23-cv-00792.” You may include this notice in your written objection. Be sure to include your name, telephone number, and mailing address, and sign and date your letter. Your Notice of Intention to Appear must be postmarked no later than August 26, 2024, and be sent to:
Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse
401 W Washington St
Phoenix, AZ 85003
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If you do not exclude yourself and do nothing, you will not receive any of the benefits of the Settlement, and will still be bound by the terms of the Settlement. and by past and any future Court rulings, including rulings on the Settlement and release.
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The notice summarizes the proposed Settlement. Full details are in the Settlement Agreement and other documents available on the Important Documents page of this Settlement website. You may also contact the Settlement Administrator at (855) 444-5824.
PLEASE DO NOT WRITE, CALL, OR OTHERWISE CONTACT THE COURT, THE DEFENDANT, OR THE DEFENDANT’S LAWYERS FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OR THIS LAWSUIT.
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