(1) Accept the Settlement.
To accept the Settlement, you must submit a Claim Form by January 30, 2023. You may submit a claim online, or you may obtain a copy of the Claim Form and submit it by email to the Settlement Administrator at info@NativeBIPASettlement.com or by U.S. Mail to the Settlement Administrator at Native Wholesale, Inc. BIPA Settlement, c/o Analytics Consulting LLC, P.O. Box 2002, Chanhassen, MN 55317-2002. If the Settlement is approved and your claim is deemed valid, a check will be mailed to you. Submitting a valid and timely Claim Form is the only way to receive a payment from this Settlement, and is the only thing you need to do to receive a payment.
(2) Exclude yourself.
You may exclude yourself from the Settlement. If you do so, you will not receive any cash payment, but you will not release any claims you may have against the Released Parties (as that term is defined in the Settlement Agreement) and are free to pursue whatever legal rights you may have by pursuing your own lawsuit against the Released Parties at your own risk and expense. To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must mail a signed letter to the Settlement Administrator at Native Wholesale, Inc. BIPA Settlement, c/o Analytics Consulting LLC, P.O. Box 2002, Chanhassen, MN 55317-2002, postmarked by December 19, 2022. You may also exclude yourself online by December 19, 2022. The exclusion letter must state that you exclude yourself from this settlement and must include the name and case number of this Litigation, as well as your full name, address, telephone number, and email address, and a statement that you wish to be excluded from the Settlement Agreement.
(3) Object to the Settlement.
If you wish to object to the Settlement, you must submit your objection in writing to the Clerk of the Court of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Richard J. Daley Center, 50 West Washington Street, Room 802, Chicago, Illinois 60602. The objection must be postmarked no later than December 19, 2022. You must also send a copy of your objection to the attorneys for all Parties to the lawsuit, including Class Counsel (David Fish of Fish Potter Bolaños, PC, 111 East Wacker Drive, Suite 2300 Chicago, Illinois 60601), as well as Defendant Native Wholesale’s counsel (J. Hayes Ryan of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP, 1 N. Franklin Street, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60606) postmarked no later than December 19, 2022. Any objection to the proposed Settlement must include your (i) full name, address, telephone number, and email address; (ii) the case name and number of this Litigation; (iii) all grounds for the objection, with factual and legal support for the stated objection, including any supporting materials; (iv) the identification of any other objections you have filed, or have had filed on your behalf, in any other class action cases in the last four years; and (v) your signature. If you hire an attorney in connection with making an objection, that attorney must also file with the court a notice of appearance by the objection deadline of December 19, 2022. If you do hire your own attorney, you will be solely responsible for payment of any fees and expenses the attorney incurs on your behalf. If you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you cannot file an objection.
You may appear at the Final Approval Hearing, which will be held via Zoom (Meeting ID: 952 6244 1199, Password: 541722) on April 4, 2023 at 11:00 a.m., in Courtroom 2302 of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Richard J. Daley Center, 50 West Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois 60602, personally or through counsel to show cause why the proposed Settlement should not be approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate. Participating in the hearing is not necessary; however, persons wishing to be heard orally in opposition to the Final Approval of the Settlement, the request for attorneys’ fees and expenses, and/or the request for Service Awards to the Class Representatives are required to indicate in their written objection their intention to appear at the hearing on their own behalf or through counsel and to identify the names of any witnesses they intend to call to testify at the Final Approval Hearing, as well as any exhibits they intend to introduce at the Final Approval Hearing. The hearing date and time, and whether the hearing will be conducted remotely, is subject to change by the Court, so please check this Settlement Website for updates.
(4) Do Nothing.
If you do nothing, you will receive no money from the Settlement Fund, but you will still be bound by all orders and judgments of the Court. Unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you will not be able to file or continue a lawsuit against Defendant or other Released Parties regarding any of the Released Claims. Submitting a valid and timely Claim Form is the only way to receive a payment from this Settlement.