IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN DIVISION 

MARIA BROMLEY and KLEBER PAUTA, § 

on behalf of themselves and all others similarly § 

situated, § 

§ 

Plaintiffs, § 

vs. § 

§ 

SXSW, LLC and SXSW HOLDINGS, INC., § 

§ 

Defendants. § 

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Civil Action No. 1 :20-C V-43 9'LY 

ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL 

OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT 

WHEREAS, pursuant to Rules 23(a) and 23(b)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil 

Procedure, the Parties seek entry of an Order Preliminarily Approving the Settlement of this 

Action pursuant to the Settlement Agreement fully executed on September 24, 2021 (the 

"Settlement Agreement" or "Settlement"), which, together with its attached exhibits, sets forth 

the terms and conditions for a proposed Settlement of the Action and dismissal of the Action 

with prejudice; and 

WHEREAS, the Court has read and considered the Settlement and its exhibits, and 

Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Approval; 

THAT: 

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ON THIS 30TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2021, ORDERED 

1. This Order incorporates by reference the definitions in the Settlement 

Agreement, and all terms used in this Order shall have the same meanings as set forth in the 

Settlement Agreement. 

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2. The Court preliminarily approves the Settlement as being within the range of 

reasonableness to the Class, subject to further consideration at the Fairness Hearing described 

below. 

3. Pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court certifies, 

solely for purposes of effectuating the Settlement, the Class as follows: 

All persons, wherever located, who purchased Credentials for the 2020 South 

by Southwest Conference and Festivals in Austin, Texas, pursuant to the 

Participation and Credentials Terms and Conditions ("PCT&C") (Exhibit 1 to 

the Settlement Agreement). The Class includes both the Deferral Class and the 

Non-Deferral Class, defined below. 

Excluded from the Class are all claims for death, personal injury, property 

damage, and subrogation. Also excluded from the Class are all purchasers of 

Credentials who pursued and won a chargeback through their credit card 

company and received a refund of their payment to SXSW for such Credentials; 

businesses or government agencies that obtained Credentials from SXSW's 

Sales, Special Projects, andlor Sponsorship departments as part of their 

purchase of exhibition, marketing, trade and/or sponsorship packages; SXSW; 

any affiliate, parent, or subsidiary of SXSW; any entity in which SXSW has a 

controlling interest; any officer, director, or employee of SXSW; any successor 

or assign of SXSW; any judge to whom this Action is assigned, his or her 

spouse, and all persons within the third degree of relationship to either of them, 

as well as the spouses of such persons. 

4. The Deferral Class consists of members of the Class who accepted SXSW's 

offer to defer their Credential(s) purchased to attend the 2020 South by Southwest Conference 

and Festivals ("the Deferral Offer"). 

5. The Non-Deferral Class consists of members of the Class who did not accept 

the Deferral Offer. 

6. The Court appoints Sauder Schelkopf LLC, Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & 

Sprengel LLP, and Howry Breen & Herman LLP, as Class Counsel for the Class. Any Class 

member may enter an appearance in the action, at their own expense, either individually or 

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through counsel. However, if they do not enter an appearance, they will be represented by 

Class Counsel. 

7. The Court appoints Plaintiffs Maria Bromley and Kleber Pauta as Class 

Representatives. 

8. The Court preliminarily finds, solely for purposes of the Settlement, that: (a) 

the Class is so numerous that joinder of all Class members in the Action is impracticable; (b) 

there are questions of law and fact common to the Class that predominate over any individual 

questions; (c) the claims of the Class Representatives are typical of the claims of the Class; (d) 

the Class Representatives and Class Counsel have and will continue to fairly and adequately 

represent and protect the interests of the Class; and (e) a class action is superior to all other 

available methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy. The Court also 

preliminarily finds that certification of the Class is appropriate when balanced against the risks 

of continued litigation. 

9. It further appears that extensive and costly investigation, research, and 

discovery has been conducted such that counsel for the Parties are reasonably able to evaluate 

the benefits of Settlement, which will avoid substantial additional costs to the Parties and 

reduce delay and risks associated with this Action. 

10. It further appears that the Settlement has been reached as a result of intensive, 

arm's-length negotiations and was reached with the assistance of a 10-hour mediation session 

before mediator Dean Kilgore on December 17, 2020. 

11. The Court approves the form and content of the E-Mailed Notice (Exhibit 3 to 

the Settlement Agreement), the Mailed Notice (Exhibit 4 to the Settlement Agreement), and the 

Notice website (Exhibit 5 to the Settlement Agreement). The Court finds SXSW's distribution 

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of the aforementioned notices in the manner set forth in the Settlement satisfies due process 

and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(e). The foregoing is the best notice practicable under 

the circumstances and shall constitute due and sufficient notice to all Class members entitled 

to notice. The Court authorizes the Parties to make non-material modifications to the notices 

prior to publication if they jointly agree that any such changes are appropriate. Accordingly, 

the Court directs the following notice procedures to be effectuated on or before October 21, 

2021: 

a. SXSW shall provide E-Mailed Notice to the most current email address 

SXSW possesses for each Class member. If an E-Mailed Notice is returned as undeliverable as 

to any Class member, SXSW shall, as soon as practicable, but within no less than fifteen (15) 

business days, attempt to contact such Class member by calling the contact phone number, if 

any, provided by such members to SXSW to obtain an alternate email address and then 

promptly sent the B- Mailed Notice to that address. If such Class members do not provide an 

alternative email address, request notice by mail, or cannot be reached by phone after 

reasonable efforts, SXSW will send by U.S. Postal Service First Class Mail a Mailed Notice to 

the most current mailing address, if any, SXSW possesses for that Class member. 

b. SXSW shall provide Publication Notice through a Settlement Website 

(Exhibit 5 to the Settlement Agreement). 

c. The Notice shall contain instructions on how a Class Member may make a 

Claim by completing a Claim Form on the Settlement Website. The Claim Form shall: (i) 

display the Class Member's 2020 SXSW credential purchase(s) by credential purchased, 

registrant, deferral status (if any), and amount(s) paid; (ii) require the Class Member to certify 

that they are the purchaser of the 2020 SXSW credentials displayed or are acting with the 

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purchaser's knowledge and consent; (iii) request the Class Member to identifr the preferred 

method of payment as offered in the Class Benefits; (iv) provide Non-Deferral Class Members 

the opportunity to choose to join the Deferral Class and receive Deferral Benefits as to each 

credential purchased; (v) display the Class Benefits elected to be received by the Class 

Member; and (vi) require the Class Member to confirm their choice(s) by clicking an "I 

Agree" button to submit their Claim Form. Claims shall be submitted and received no later 

than December 20, 2021. 

d. Members of the Non-Deferral Class who have not effectively elected to be 

excluded from the Settlement may choose either to remain in the Non-Deferral Class, or join 

the Deferral Class and obtain the Benefits to the Deferral Class. For purposes of this 

Settlement, wristband purchasers are considered members of the Non-Deferral Class. 

12. SXSW shall be responsible for all costs of notice and settlement administration 

and may, in its discretion, retain a claims administration company, subject to input and 

approval from Class Counsel, to assist it in handling notice, claim administration, and payment 

of Class Benefits. By November 18, 2021, SXSW shall provide Class Counsel with the total 

number of notices sent to Class members and the method by which those notices were sent. 

SXSW shall, by January 10, 2022, provide Class Counsel with a report regarding Claims, if 

any, that SXSW believes are invalid, ineligible, fraudulent, or duplicative. 

13. An application of Class Counsel for an award of fees and expenses shall be 

filed with the Court no later than December 6, 2021. 

14. If Class members do not wish to participate in the Settlement, they may exclude 

themselves as set forth in the Notice. All requests to be excluded from the Class must be in 

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writing and postmarked on or before the Opt-Out Deadline, which shall be December 20, 

2021. 

a. Any request for exclusion must (i) state the Class member's full name 

and current email and mailing address, and (ii) specifically and clearly state his/her/its desire 

to be excluded from the Settlement and from the Class. 

15. Any Class member who has not previously submitted a Request for Exclusion 

may object to the Settlement and appear at the Fairness Hearing to support or oppose the 

approval of the Settlement Agreement. All objections and requests to appear at the Fairness 

Hearing must be in writing and postmarked on or before the Objection Deadline, which shall 

be December 20, 2021. 

a. The following information must be provided in the Class member's 

written objection: (i) full name and current address, email address, and telephone number; (ii) a 

statement of the objection(s), including all factual and legal grounds for the position; (iii) 

copies of any documents the objector wishes to submit in support; and (iv) sign and date the 

objection. In addition, any Class member objecting to the Settlement shall provide a list of any 

other objections submitted by the objector, or the objector's counsel, to any class action 

settlements submitted in any court, whether inside or outside the United States, in the previous 

five years. If the Class member or his or her counsel has not made any such prior objection, 

the Class member shall affirmatively so state in the written materials provided with the 

objection. If the objecting Class member intends to appear, in person or by counsel, at the 

Fairness Hearing, the objecting Class member must so state in the objection. 

b. All objections must be sent to the address identified in the Mailed 

Notice, Emailed Notice, and Publication Notice. 

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16. Any Class member who does not object in the manner provided in this Order 

shall be deemed to have waived such objections and shall forever be foreclosed from 

objecting to the fairness, reasonableness, or adequacy of the proposed Settlement and any 

judgment approving the Settlement. 

17. The Court hereby schedules the Fairness Hearing for February 18, 2022, at 

9:30 a.m. The Fairness Hearing will take place at 501 West 5th Street, 7th Floor, Austin, TX 

78701, to determine whether the proposed Settlement should be approved as fair, reasonable, 

and adequate, whether a judgment should be entered approving the Settlement, and whether 

Class Counsel's motion for attorneys' fees and for service payments to the Class 

Representatives should be approved. The Court may adjourn the Fairness Hearing without 

further notice to Class members. 

SIGNED on this day of September, 2021. 

TED STA 

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