Travel has been at a virtually virtual standstill during the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic; so instead of meeting in person, countless people relied on the Internet and mobile technology to discuss topics and issues — and one of the most popular platforms for audio and video conferencing has been with a software application program called Zoom…
Your Chance to Get Your Share of Money From Zoom Class Action Settlement
…and if you used the Zoom Meetings application between Wednesday, March 30, 2016, and Friday, July 30, 2021, you may be eligible for your share of $85 million from a class action settlement — and if so, you must submit your valid claim using this form no later than Saturday, March 5, 2022; and you must be a legal resident of the United States in order to be a member of the class action lawsuit settlement.
The following compensation — which will be paid out of the Original Settlement Fund — includes:
- Paid Subscription Claim: If you are a Class Member who paid for a Zoom Meetings software application program subscription between Wednesday, March 30, 2016, and Friday, July 30, 2021, you are eligible to file a claim for $25.00 or 15 percent of the money you paid to Zoom for the core software application program subscription — for example, not including optional add-on features or support that customers may add to their subscriptions — during that time.
- The amount which you would potentially receive if you are deemed an eligible recipient is whichever is greater: for example, if you spent $75.00 on a Zoom Meetings software application program subscription during the relevant time period, 15 percent of $75.00 is $11.25. Because $11.25 is less than $25.00, your claim will be treated as a claim for $25.00.
- User Claim: If you registered, used, opened, or downloaded the Zoom Meeting software application program between Wednesday, March 30, 2016, and Friday, July 30, 2021, and you are not eligible to submit a paid subscription claim, you are eligible to file a claim for $15.00.
Plaintiffs claim certain theories of alleged wrongful conduct by Zoom:
- Unauthorized sharing of users’ information with third parties through incorporation of software development kits in the Zoom software application programs
- Unauthorized sharing of users’ information with third parties through the third-party developers’ employment of software application programs that can be installed and run on the Zoom platform — known as “marketplace apps”
- Failure to prevent unwanted meeting disruptions by third parties, and
- Misrepresentations that Zoom provided end-to-end encryption at a time when plaintiffs allege Zoom did not. Plaintiffs claim that such alleged conduct violated California state and federal laws.
Defendants deny any and all allegations of wrongdoing and do not admit or concede any actual or potential fault, wrongdoing, or liability whatsoever with respect to any facts or claims that have been or could have been alleged in the lawsuit or any similar action; and do not concede any defenses that have been or could have been asserted. Defendants deny that they violated the law and specifically deny that any damages were incuned as a result. The proposed settlement does not suggest that the defendants have done anything wrong, or that plaintiffs — as well as the group of individuals that plaintiffs seek to represent — would or would not win their case if it were to go to trial.
Excluding Yourself From — or Objecting To — This Lawsuit
You can choose to exclude yourself from — or object to — this class-action lawsuit.
If you would prefer to exclude yourself from this settlement so that you may sue on your own behalf, you must submit your request for exclusion — including your name, mailing address, e-mail address, and signed with your signature — in a letter via either e-mail or postal mail so that it is received or postmarked no later than Saturday, March 5, 2022 to:
In Re: Zoom Video Communications, Inc. Privacy Litigation
c/o Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 5534
Portland, OR 97228-5534
If you have any objections to the settlement, you must submit your objections to both the court and the lead class counsel and defense counsel either by filing them in person at any location of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California; or via postal mail — and filed or postmarked by Saturday, March 5, 2022 — to:
Class Action Clerk
United States District Court for the Northern District of California
San Francisco Courthouse
Courtroom B – 15th Floor
450 Golden Gate Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
The court will hold a hearing virtually via Zoom — yes, you read that correctly — to decide whether to give final approval to the settlement at 9:30 in the morning Pacific Daylight Time on Thursday, April 7, 2022 at:
https://cand-uscourts.zoomgov.com/j/1614698626?pwd=eXlQRThFajBjT0tieVBaYWpjMjFodz09
Webinar ID: 161 469 8626
Password: 546984
At the final hearing, the court will consider whether the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. If there are objections, the court will consider them.
Final Boarding Call
Does anyone else find ironic that the hearing to decide whether to give final approval to the settlement with Zoom will be broadcast via Zoom?!?
If you do decide to participate in this settlement, completion of the claim form supposedly will consume only a few minutes of your time; but do not expect any major windfall, as you will not exactly get rich from this settlement, as members of this class action who file valid claims will be eligible for a share of the remainder of the settlement fund only after attorneys’ fees and other costs are paid. If more people file a claim than expected, then the final financial settlement amount per person will be less than announced.
For additional information, you can either peruse this list of questions which are frequently asked; or you can call 1-800-397-3418.
All photographs ©2015, ©2016, and ©2022 by Brian Cohen.
