Farag v Kiip Settlement

If you received notice of the Settlement by email, then you may be a member of the Settlement Class. However, even if you did not receive a notice, you may still be a member of the Settlement Class if you fall within the Settlement Class definition. The “Settlement Class” is defined as:

All individuals who used a software app integrated with the Kiip advertising platform between January 1, 2010, and June 13, 2019.

Excluded from the Settlement Class are Kiip; any entity that is a subsidiary of or is controlled by Kiip; anyone employed by Class Counsel; and any judge to whom the case is assigned, his or her spouse, and members of the judge’s staff.

The Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois (Honorable Celia G. Gamrath) has certified, for settlement purposes only, the Settlement Class.

If you are not sure whether you are in the Settlement Class, or have any other questions about the Settlement, you can view the full Settlement Agreement here, or write to:

Farag v. Kiip
Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2876
Portland, OR 97208-2876

Defendant Kiip is a mobile marketing company that displays advertisements on mobile devices through mobile applications, or “apps,” installed on individuals’ smartphones, including iPhones and Android devices. Plaintiffs brought a class action lawsuit against Kiip alleging that Kiip violated the law by secretly obtaining mobile users’ personal information without their permission and at times when they weren’t using their mobile devices. Plaintiffs have alleged that Kiip’s advertising platform, together with a certain mobile app, illegally collected, intercepted, and/or transmitted consumers’ personal data without their knowledge or consent. This is just a summary of the allegations. The complaint in the lawsuit is posted here and contains all of the allegations.

Kiip denies Plaintiffs’ allegations and denies that it has violated the law. However, in order to avoid the expense, inconvenience, and distraction of continued litigation, Kiip has agreed to a Settlement Agreement.

The Settlement provides for creation of a Settlement Fund totaling $1,000,000, which will be used to make payments to the Class Members after first making deductions for notice and administration costs, Incentive Awards to the Class Representatives, and attorneys’ fees for Class Counsel. Each Settlement Class Member who timely submitted a valid Claim Form will be eligible to receive an equal payment from the Settlement Fund. The exact amount of each Settlement Class Member’s payment is unknown at this time; the final amount of each payment will depend on the number of claims submitted and the amount available in the Settlement Fund after the deductions.

Kiip has also agreed to implement business practices to ensure that mobile users’ personal information isn’t collected or transmitted without their permission.

The deadline to submit a Claim Form was September 11, 2019.

In a class action, one or more people called “class representatives” sue on behalf of other people who have similar claims. In this case, Christine Farag and Jessica Vasil sued Kiip and sought to represent other consumers who similarly had claims against Kiip. The Court has appointed them for settlement purposes to be Settlement Class Representatives for all Settlement Class Members in this case.

The Court also appointed the law firm McGuire Law, P.C. as Class Counsel to represent the Settlement Class Members. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

Class Counsel’s contact information is as follows:

Myles McGuire
 mmcguire@mcgpc.com
Paul T. Geske
 pgeske@mcgpc.com
Timothy P. Kingsbury
 tkingsbury@mcgpc.com

MCGUIRE LAW, P.C.
55 West Wacker Drive, Suite 900
Chicago, Illinois 60601
 Tell: (312) 893-7002

Incentive Award of $5,000 will be awarded to each of the Class Representatives in recognition of their service to the Settlement Class.

No. The Court approved payment of attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses to Class Counsel in the amount of $348,348.69. This amount shall be paid from the Settlement Fund in accordance with the terms of the Settlement Agreement.

The deadline to exclude yourself was September 11, 2019. Unless you excluded yourself, you are part of the Settlement Class, and you are bound by the release of claims in the Settlement. This means that you cannot sue, continue to sue, or be part of any lawsuit against Kiip arising out of, related to, or connected with interception, collection, or receipt of personal data that occurred in connection with software apps integrated with Kiip’s advertising platform during the Class Period. The released claims include all claims that were or could have been asserted in the Litigation, regardless of whether those claims are known or unknown, filed or unfiled, asserted or as yet un-asserted, existing or contingent.

The deadline to Object was September 18, 2019. The court gave Final Approval of the Settlement on October 18, 2019.

The deadline to exclude yourself was September 11, 2019. If you excluded yourself from the Settlement Class, sometimes referred to as “opting out,” you are not be eligible to receive any benefits as a result of this Settlement. However, you will keep the right to sue or continue to sue Kiip on your own and at your own expense concerning any of the claims that will be released as part of this Settlement.

You remain a member of the Settlement Class and released your claims against Kiip. However, you must have filed a valid and timely Claim Form to receive a benefit in this Settlement.

The Court held a Final Approval Hearing on October 18, 2019 where the Settlement was granted Final Approval.

At the Final Approval Hearing, the Court considered whether the Settlement was fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Court also considered the request by Class Counsel for attorneys’ fees and expenses and for the Class Representatives’ Incentive Awards. If there were any objections, the Court considered them at the Final Approval Hearing. After the hearing, the Court decided to approve the Settlement.

At a recent hearing in this case, the Court presiding over the Settlement issued an Order that made several minor changes to the implementation of the Parties’ Class Settlement. All Parties appearing at the Final Approval hearing agreed to the changes, and the Supplemental Notice has been posted on the settlement website here so that you are aware of how the changes may affect you.

Yes. The Court held a Final Approval hearing on October 18, 2019 to consider whether to approve the Settlement. Following the hearing, the Court granted approval to the Settlement, and a copy of the Final Approval Order and Judgment is available here.

Yes. The Court approved a few minor changes, which are listed below:

• If you receive a check from the Settlement, you must cash or deposit your check within 90 days of when it is issued. After 90 days, the checks will become void and any monies remaining in the Settlement Fund will be distributed to a charitable organization approved by the Court.
• Class counsel reduced their fee request to 33% of the Settlement Fund, meaning that more money from the Settlement Fund will be made available to be distributed to the Settlement Class members who submitted valid and compensable claims.
• The Court permitted one of the potential Settlement class members to submit a Claim after the claims deadline.

You can view the full Settlement Agreement here, or you can write to the address below for more information.

Farag v. Kiip
Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2876
Portland, OR 97208-2876

NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT CALL OR WRITE THE COURT, THE COURT CLERK’S OFFICE, KIIP, OR KIIP’S COUNSEL. THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ASSIST YOU.