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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Court: Objectors added little to $85M Zoom settlement, won't get attorney fees

Attorneys & Judges
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SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) - Objectors whose efforts led to changes in an $85 million class action settlement with Zoom won't be awarded nearly $125,000 in attorneys fees.

San Francisco federal magistrate judge Laurel Beeler said the adjustments to agreement, which resolved security problems as Zoom rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, weren't major enough to warrant the payment of attorney fees.

"Neace and Rodgers did not achieve a substantial enhancement of the settlement's class benefits," Beeler wrote Feb. 23. "Several of the changes they caused are only 'technical or coincidental.'"

The settlement drew interest from a handful of objectors, one of whom protested, unsuccessfully, the $21.25 million that will go to plaintiff lawyers. Serving as co-lead counsel for the class are Ahdoot & Wolfson of Burbank, Calif., and Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy of Burlingame, Calif.

Lawsuits alleged negligence and violation of laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act.

They said Zoom shared the user's personal information, including the type of device and software the user has as well as their network carrier and location, with third parties such as Facebook.

The lawsuits also claim Zoom misrepresented its encryption protocols and failed to prevent unwanted users from crashing meetings (called “Zoombombing”).

But the plaintiffs don’t allege they were harmed by the sharing of any data, Zoom says, nor do they allege they ever relied upon any specific Zoom representations about encryption.

A copy of the settlement with details on compensation to class members can be found here.

Changes that came about when objectors settled their gripes related to distribution of funds. One objection from Alvery Neace and Sammy Rodgers wanted the settlement administrator to notify claimants if their check was returned by the post office.

Now, the administrator will run address correction and check for forwarding addresses when checks are returned. The administrator will also email claimants to update their address, when checks are returned.

Neace and Rodgers' effort also gives class members 120 days to cash their checks, as opposed to the original 90. Their settlement allowed their lawyers to seek attorney fees, and they asked for more than $47,000.

Judge Beeler wrote the changes were "minor and procedural."

Attorneys for objector Judith Cohen asked for more than $77,000 after their settlement implemented an exclusion of claims in the Zoom settlement for licensed professionals.

"Cohen enhanced the benefits to the class, but not substantially," Beeler wrote. 

"(H)ere, the amendment to the release affects only a narrow subset of the class and addresses an issue too insubstantial to make the settlement vulnerable to reversal on appeal."

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