UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA

Transcription

1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA Keith Moran, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, vs. Lurcat, LLC, d/b/a Café Lurcat, Plaintiff, Defendant. No.: 10-cv (JNE/FLN NOTICE OF PROPOSED CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT TO: All persons who used a personal credit or debit card at Café & Bar Lurcat, which is located at 1624 Harmon Place, Minneapolis, MN ( Lurcat between July 16, 2008 and January 18, 2009 (inclusive. YOU ARE NOT BEING SUED. PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE NOTICE CAREFULLY YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED BY A PROPOSED CLASS-ACTION SETTLEMENT IN A LAWSUIT NOW PENDING IN THIS COURT. This notice is given by the Court to inform you that your rights may be affected by a proposed classaction settlement in a lawsuit pending in this Court, Keith Moran, on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated v. Lurcat, LLC, d/b/a Café Lurcat, Court File No. 10-cv (JNE/FLN.THIS NOTICE IS NOT AN OPINION BY THE COURT ABOUT THE CLAIMS OR DEFENSES IN THE CASE. A. THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. This class-action lawsuit, filed on July 16, 2010, is brought on behalf of people who used personal credit or debit cards at Lurcat, which is located at 1624 Harmon Place, Minneapolis, MN 55403, between July 16, 2008 through January 18, 2009, inclusive, and who received a copy of Lurcat s receipt that contained the card s unredacted expiration date. Keith Moran ( Class Representative, on behalf of all members of the Class, claims that Lurcat violated certain requirements of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act ( FACTA. Specifically, Keith Moran claims that Lurcat printed the unredacted expiration dates of its customers credit or debit cards on receipts presented to them at Lurcat, in violation of FACTA. The specific claims can be found in the Class Action Complaint, which is on file and available at the Court at the United States Courthouse, 300 South Fourth Street, Minneapolis, MN

2 B. THE PARTIES HAVE REACHED A PROPOSED SETTLEMENT. You have the right to know about a proposed settlement of this lawsuit, and about your options, before the Court decides whether to approve the settlement. The Court has not decided in favor of the Plaintiff or Lurcat. Instead, all sides agreed to a settlement. That way, they avoid the cost of a trial, and the people affected can get benefits. The Class Representative and Class Counsel believe that the settlement is fair and reasonable and best for everyone who was affected. If the Court approves the settlement, it will include everyone in the following description (referred to as Class Members : All persons who, during the time period from July 16, 2008, through January 18, 2009, inclusive, used a credit or debit card at Lurcat and received a copy of Lurcat s receipt that contained the credit or debit card s unredacted expiration date. C. THE BENEFITS OF THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT. On July 21, 2011, the Court preliminarily approved the settlement for the Class as fair, adequate, and reasonable. If finally approved, the settlement will certify a Class that will bind the named Plaintiff and all Class Members who do not exclude themselves from the Class. Under the terms of the settlement, Class Members will be entitled to receive a Lurcat Gift Card in the amount of $95. Class Counsel believes that the settlement is fair and reasonable and that the Class Members should accept this settlement. In light of the risks and expenses of litigation and Lurcat s potential defenses, Class Counsel believes it is in the best interests of the Class that the case be settled and that the settlement terms are fair and reasonable. The amount paid in this settlement reflects an evaluation of the claims and potential recovery, considering the facts as known to counsel after discovery and careful investigation, the likelihood of the Court certifying this action as a class action, the likelihood of prevailing at trial, and the likelihood that this litigation, if not settled now, would be further protracted and involve complex issues of fact and law. The amount is also based upon an evaluation of the potential recovery under FACTA. D. YOUR RIGHTS AND OPTIONS You may choose either to participate in the proposed settlement or to exclude yourself from it. To receive a gift card under the proposed settlement, you must go to by September 26, 2011 and fill out an application in which you state, under penalty of perjury, that between July 16, 2008 and January 18, 2009, inclusive, you used a personal credit or debit card at Lurcat and received a copy of Lurcat s receipt that contained the card s unredacted expiration date. If you apply for a gift card or simply do nothing, you are choosing to stay in the Class. This means you will give up any right to bring your own lawsuit against Lurcat for the claims described in this suit. Specifically, you will release Lurcat as follows: Each Class Member, except for those who have timely and properly excluded themselves from the settlement, is deemed hereby to have forever released, relieved, discharged, covenanted not to sue or proceed in any way against, and consent to be enjoined from suing (i Lurcat; (ii all entities that are direct or indirect parents or subsidiaries of Lurcat; (iii all entities that are directly or indirectly under common control with Lurcat; (iv all partnerships, insurers, indemnitors, attorneys, heirs, predecessors, successors, and assigns 2

3 of Lurcat; and (v all past and present employees, agents, officers, shareholders, partners, representatives and directors of Lurcat ( Released Parties, from and for any and all actions, causes of action (in law or equity, suits, claims, contentions, damages, losses, injuries, obligations, liabilities, demands, debts, judgments, costs, and expenses (including attorney fees, known and unknown, liquidated or unliquidated, absolute or contingent, accrued or not accrued,, which they have, will have, had, ever had, claim to have, claim to have ever had, against any of the Released Parties based in whole or in part on, arising out of, or related in any way to the violation or alleged violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(g, including: (i the facts, transactions, occurrences, events, acts, omissions, or failures to act that were alleged in the Action; and (ii credit and debit card receipts provided by Lurcat. E. THE LAWYERS REPRESENTING YOU As a Class Member, your interests will be represented by counsel for the Plaintiff and the Class (collectively, Class Counsel : Thomas J. Lyons, Sr. Lyons Law Firm, P.A. Trista M. Roy Consumer Justice Center, P.A. 367 Commerce Court You do not need to hire your own lawyer because Class Counsel is working on your behalf. If you would like your own lawyer, you may do so at your own expense. If you already have a lawyer or have filed your own lawsuit or dispute about the same claims in this case, you should contact your lawyer about this Notice. In connection with the proposed settlement, Class Counsel will ask the Court for attorney fees and expenses in an amount up to $50,000 and for fees of the Class Representative in an amount up to $5,000. The Court may award less than these amounts. If the proposed settlement becomes final, Lurcat will pay the amount that the Court awards out of its own funds. The amount will not be charged to Class Members or come out of the funds for providing gift cards to Class Members. Lurcat has agreed not to oppose these amounts. F. WHAT TO DO IF YOU WISH TO BE EXCLUDED FROM THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT If you do not wish to participate in the proposed settlement, you have the right to exclude yourself. If you exclude yourself from the settlement, you will not release any claims you may have and will retain the right to bring your own claim against Lurcat at your own expense or to do nothing at all. If you exclude yourself from the settlement, however, you will not be entitled to share in any of the benefits offered by the settlement, as described above. If you exclude yourself, your decision will be final and you will not be able to change your mind and rejoin the Class. If you wish to exclude yourself from the Class, you must send a letter by U.S. mail stating: I/We wish to be excluded from the Moran v. Lurcat, LLC settlement, postmarked on or before September 26, 2011 to: 3

4 Lurcat Settlement c/o Matt McBride Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. Capella Tower, Suite South Sixth Street Minneapolis, MN Any request for exclusion must also include the following information: 1 the name; 2 address; and 3 signature of each Class Member requesting exclusion. G. OBJECTING TO OR SUPPORTING THE SETTLEMENT. You can tell the Court if you don t like the settlement or some part of it by submitting an objection. If you wish to object to the proposed settlement, you must file, in writing, a statement describing your objections, together with any supporting papers or briefs, and a statement of whether you or your attorney intend to appear at the Fairness Hearing. Your Objection must be received by each of the addresses below by September 26, 2011 to be considered valid: COURT CLASS COUNSEL DEFENSE COUNSEL Clerk of Court Thomas J. Lyons, Sr., Esq. Matthew R. McBride, Esq. United States Courthouse Lyons Law Firm, P.A. Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A. 300 South Fourth Street Trist M. Roy Capella Tower, Suite 3500 Suite 202 Consumer Justice Center, P.A. 225 South Sixth Street Minneapolis, MN Commerce Court Minneapolis, MN To be valid, the written statement of objections must include the objecting Class Member s name, address, telephone number, a sentence confirming that he or she is a Class Member, and the specific objections that he or she is making and the reasons for the objections, together with a statement regarding whether the Class Member intends to appear at the Fairness Hearing. If you fail to comply with the required procedure for making your objections known, you will be deemed to have waived any objections and you will be barred from raising objections. If you file your objection properly, it will be considered. You do not have to come to the hearing to talk about your objection; however you may attend at your own expense. See Section H below for more information. H. THE COURT S FAIRNESS HEARING. The Honorable Joan E. Ericksen will hold a Fairness Hearing at 9:30 a.m. on November 10, 2011, in Courtroom 12W at the United States Courthouse, 300 South Fourth Street, Minneapolis MN At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. If there are objections, the Court will consider them. Judge Ericksen will listen to people who have asked to speak at the hearing. The Court may also decide how much to award Class Counsel and the Class Representative for fees and costs. After the hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the settlement. We do not know how long these decisions will take. If the Court approves the settlement and the approval becomes final, then the gift cards described above will be provided. If the Court does not approve the settlement, then the parties will continue to litigate the case in Court and prepare for trial. You do not have to attend the hearing, but you are welcome to come at your own expense. At the hearing, Class Counsel will answer questions Judge Ericksen may have. If you file a valid objection, you 4

5 don t have to come to Court to talk about it, but you may. If you come to the hearing, you may speak to the Judge either to support or object to the settlement. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend, but it s not necessary. I. GETTING MORE INFORMATION. This Notice summarizes the proposed settlement. If you have further questions, you may write to Class Counsel at the address below, or you may Class Counsel at tlyons@lyonslawfirm.com or tristacjc@aol.com. Thomas J. Lyons, Sr. Lyons Law Firm, P.A. Trista M. Roy Consumer Justice Center, P.A. 367 Commerce Court The pleading and other records in this litigation may be examined and copied during regular office hours at the office of the Clerk of Court, United States Courthouse, 300 South Fourth Street, Minneapolis, MN DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT, THE OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR, COUNSEL FOR LURCAT, OR LURCAT IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS MATTER. ANY QUESTION SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO CLASS COUNSEL, AS DESCRIBED ABOVE. THIS NOTICE IS GIVEN WITH THE APPROVAL AND AT THE DIRECTION OF THE COURT. Joan N. Ericksen United States Judge v1 5