United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Butler, et al. v. Whitepages, Inc., No. 19-cv-4871
IF YOU LIVE IN ILLINOIS OR OHIO AND SOMEONE SEARCHED YOUR NAME AND PURCHASED A SUBSCRIPTION TO WHITEPAGES.COM BETWEEN MAY 7, 2019 AND JANUARY 27, 2022, YOU CAN CLAIM A PAYMENT FROM A CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT.
This is an official court notice. You are not being sued. This is not an ad for a lawyer.
· A Settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit between individuals who have an Illinois or Ohio residential address and Whitepages, Inc. (“Defendant” or “Whitepages”) about the use of information displayed on Whitepages.com. The lawsuit claims that Whitepages violated an Illinois law called the Illinois Right of Publicity Act and an Ohio law called Ohio Revised Code § 2741.01 when it used individuals’ names, ages, contact information, former residence locations, lists of possible relatives, likenesses, photographs, images, or other identifying information to advertise or promote the subscription service to its people search engine. Whitepages denies those allegations and the law’s applicability to Whitepages. The Court has not decided who is right or wrong.
· If you received a notice of the Settlement in the mail or by e-mail, our records indicate that you are either an Illinois Settlement Class Member or an Ohio Settlement Class Member and are included in the Settlement, and you may submit a claim form online or by mail to receive a payment through Venmo, Zelle, Paypal, or a check. Those included in the Settlement have a primary Illinois or Ohio residential address, had their individual detail pages displayed on Whitepages.com in response to a search on the website, and had their name clicked on between May 7, 2019 and January 27, 2022, and where the searcher during that same site visit purchased a subscription.
· If the Court approves the Settlement, members of the settlement classes who submit valid claims will receive an equal, or pro rata, share of either a $1,208,440 fund that Whitepages agreed to create for Illinois residents, or of a $2,864,200 fund that Whitepages agreed to create for Ohio residents, after all notice and administration costs, incentive award, and attorneys’ fees have been paid. Individual payments to Illinois Settlement Class Members who submit a valid Claim Form are estimated to be $125 to $245, and payments to Ohio Settlement Class Members who submit a valid Claim Form are estimated to be $315 to $630, but the settlement payments could be more or less depending on the number of valid claims submitted.
· Please read this notice carefully. Your legal rights are affected whether you act, or don’t act.