Source: https://www.ubertcpasettlement.com/Home/FAQ
Timestamp: 2019-04-26 03:56:07+00:00

Document:
Why didn't I receive a Settlement Check?
The Settlement Check is made out to a company that is no longer in business or that I represent/own. How can I have the check reissued in my name?
Who is in the Settlement Classes?
What benefits can I receive from the Settlement?
Do I have to pay the lawyers representing me?
What am I agreeing to by remaining in the Settlement Classes in this case?
What if I do not agree with the Settlement?
How do I exclude myself from the Settlement Classes?
What is the difference between objecting and asking to be excluded?
What will be decided at the Final Approval Hearing?
Does the Notice contain the entire Settlement Agreement?
Settlement Checks were issued pursuant to the terms of the class action Settlement in Vergara, et al. v. Uber Technologies, Inc., No. 1:15-CV-06942 (N.D. Ill.) to eligible claimants who submitted a timely Claim Form. The Settlement Check you received constitutes full satisfaction of your claim.
Please negotiate the check promptly. The check is only valid for 180 days from the issue date.
Each Settlement Class Member who timely submited a valid Claim Form by the Claims Deadline, December 15, 2017, shall be entitled to a single payment in an amount equivalent to his or her pro rata share of the Settlement Fund after any approved Fee Award, any approved Service Awards, and Settlement Administration Costs are deducted. Each Settlement Class Member shall be entitled to receive an amount equal to the Settlement Class Recovery divided by the total number of Approved Claims.
If you received a Notice but did not receive a Settlement Check, then you may not be eligible for a payment under the terms of the Settlement Agreement. Settlement Checks were issued on August 29, 2018 to eligible Settlement Class Members on a claims-made basis. To receive a Settlement Check, you must have submitted a timely and complete claim prior to the filing deadline.
You cannot dispute the amount of your Settlement Payment and the deadline to object to the Settlement was December 22, 2017.
The amount of your Settlement Payment is final and represents the amount to which you were entitled under the terms of the Settlement Agreement. The Court approved the Settlement, including the methodology used to compute the amount of Settlement Payments, at the Final Approval Hearing on January 23, 2018.
If you are unable to return the initial Settlement Check, for the protection of the Settlement Fund, a replacement check can only be issued to you after the initial settlement check passes its stale date. Your replacement check could be issued sooner if the initial check returns to the Settlement Administrator as undeliverable, or if you are able to locate and return the check to the Settlement Administrator at Vergara v Uber TCPA Settlement, PO Box 5053, Portland, OR 97208-5053.
If the financial institution will not accept the check, please return the original check to the Settlement Administrator at Vergara v Uber TCPA Settlement, PO Box 5053, Portland, OR 97208-5053, accompanied by a signed written request asking that a replacement check be issued and mailed to you. Please include instructions for the name that should be included on the replacement check and include a copy of a form of identification that contains the new name.
If your financial institution will not accept the check, please provide a Death Certificate of the person on the Settlement Check, as well as documentation of your legal authority to file on behalf of the Claimant(s). For example, Orders of Estate or Letters of Administration.
Send all documents, along with the original check, to the Settlement Administrator at Vergara v Uber TCPA Settlement, PO Box 5053, Portland, OR 97208-5053.
If your bank will not cash or deposit your check, please return the original check to the Settlement Administrator at: Vergara v Uber TCPA Settlement, PO Box 5053, Portland, OR 97208-5053, accompanied by a letter with instructions for the name that should be included on the replacement check, as well as documentation that you may have proving you are authorized to act on behalf of the business. Documentation may include Articles of Incorporation, Articles of Organization, Articles of Dissolution, or any other similar legal documentation that explicitly states the individual is an acting party for the business.
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Honorable Thomas M. Durkin) has conditionally certified, for Settlement purposes only, Settlement Classes in Vergara, et al. v. Uber Technologies, Inc., Case No. 1:15-cv-06942.
If you received notice of the Settlement directed to you, then you may be a member of the Settlement Classes. But even if you did not receive a notice, you may still be a member of the Settlement Classes.
Settlement Class A: All persons or entities within the U.S. who, from December 31, 2010, up to and including August 17, 2017, used or subscribed to a wireless or cellular service and were sent one or more non-emergency text messages, utilizing Twilio Inc.’s system, in connection with Uber’s Refer-a-Friend Program.
Settlement Class B: All persons or entities within the U.S. who, from December 31, 2010, up to and including August 17, 2017, started Uber’s driver application process but did not become an “active” driver in Uber’s system, who used or subscribed to a wireless or cellular service, and to whom Uber sent one or more non-emergency text messages after the user or subscriber requested Uber to discontinue sending text messages.
Settlement Class C: All persons or entities within the U.S. who, from December 31, 2010, up to and including August 17, 2017, were not party to a contract with Uber and/or who did not provide his or her cellular phone number to Uber, and who used or subscribed to a wireless or cellular service to which Uber sent one or more non-emergency text messages.
Excluded from the Settlement Classes are all persons who elect to exclude themselves from the Settlement Classes, the Court and staff to whom this case is assigned, and any member of the Court’s or staff’s immediate family.
If you are not sure whether you are in the Settlement Classes, or have any other questions about the Settlement, please review this website or call the toll-free number 1-800-330-1683.
This case was brought as a class action alleging that Uber engaged in violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227 et seq. (“TCPA”), by sending automated text messages without consent to the people and entities in the Settlement Classes. This is just a summary of the allegations. The complaint in the lawsuit is available here and contains all of the allegations. Uber denies these allegations; however, in order to avoid the expense, inconvenience, and distraction of continued litigation, Uber has agreed to the Settlement.
In a class action, one or more people or entities called “class representatives” sue on behalf of people and entities who have similar claims. In this case, Maria Vergara, James Lathrop, Jonathan Grindell, Sandeep Pal, Jennifer Reilly, and Justin Bartolet sued Uber in a representative capacity, and the Court has appointed them to be Plaintiff Class Representatives for all Class Members in this case.
The Court also approved the law firms of Tycko & Zavareei LLP and McGuire Law, P.C., to represent the Settlement Classes. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.
Under the Settlement, Uber has agreed to provide monetary compensation to Class Members who timely submit valid claims. The amount of the checks are not yet known. The total Settlement Fund is $20,000,000. The amount of the check you will be sent depends on the number of Class Members who timely submit valid claims, the costs of settlement administration, attorneys’ fees and costs, and service awards for the Class Representatives, all of which will be paid from the Settlement Fund. Class Counsel will apply to the Court for an award of attorneys’ fees of up to $6,660,000 plus costs and expenses, as well as Class Representative service awards of $10,000 to each of the six Class Representatives.
Every Settlement Class Member who submits a timely, valid claim will be sent a check in the same amount. Submitting a timely and valid Claim Form is the only way to receive a payment from the Settlement, and is the only thing you need to do to receive a payment. Claim Forms are available here. Claim Forms may be submitted online here, or mailed to Uber TCPA Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 5053, Portland, OR 97208-5053. Claim Forms must be postmarked or submitted online no later than December 15, 2017.
If you timely submit a valid Claim Form, your claim will be paid by a check mailed to you. Claims will only be paid after the Court grants Final Approval of the Settlement and after any appeals are resolved (see FAQ20). If there are appeals, resolving them can take time. Please be patient.
Note that if you receive a check, you will have one year to cash the check sent to you. If you do not cash the check within one year, the check will be void and the funds will be utilized as the Court deems appropriate. The Court will decide whether any such remaining funds will go to a charitable organization or will be dispersed differently.
Uber agrees that for a period of two years from the Effective Date of the Settlement it will not send server-assisted driver-referral text messages from the Uber app on Uber-issued cellular phones.
Uber agrees that for at least two years from the Effective Date it will maintain an opt-out protocol for recipients of text messages who initiate but do not complete the driver sign up process, which will at a minimum unsubscribe recipients from pipeline driver SMS messaging who reply with any of the opt-out words or phrases on Appendix A of the Settlement Agreement.
Uber agrees to adhere to the following procedures by December 31, 2017, or the Effective Date of the Settlement, whichever is later, for a minimum of two years: (i) Uber’s servers will delete any phone number entered during the rider account sign-up process that is not verified within 15 minutes; (ii) Uber will display the phone number used during the rider account sign-up process on the app screen where a new verification text can be requested with the note “Did you enter the correct number?”; and (iii) after one attempted verification text resend, the user will be forced to re-enter the phone number used during sign-up.
Unless you exclude yourself, you will be part of the Settlement Classes, and you will be bound by the release of claims in the Settlement. This means that if the Settlement is approved, you cannot sue, continue to sue, or be party of any lawsuit against Uber or the other Releasees asserting a “Released Claim,” as defined below. It also means that the Court’s Order approving the Settlement and the judgment in this case will apply to you and legally bind you.
The “Released Claims” that you will not be able to assert against Uber or Releasees if you remain a part of the Settlement Classes are as follows: any and all claims whatsoever arising out of, related to, or connected with Uber or any of the Releasees sending, causing someone to send, or assisting someone to send a text or SMS message related to Uber without consent, including but not limited to claims brought under 47 U.S.C. § 227, et seq. (“TCPA”), during the Class Period. “Released Claims” include all claims that were or could have been asserted in the Litigation or Related Actions, regardless of whether such claims are known or unknown, filed or unfiled, asserted or as yet unasserted, existing or contingent.
“Releasees” shall refer, jointly and severally, and individually and collectively, to Uber, its past and present parents, predecessors, successors, affiliates, holding companies, subsidiaries, employees, agents, board members, assigns, partners, contractors, joint venturers, or third-party agents with which it has or had contracts or their affiliates.
“Related Actions” shall mean any proceeding, other than this Litigation, that alleges that Uber violated the TCPA brought by a plaintiff and/or on behalf of persons or entities who would be a Class Member, including Giacomaro v. Uber Technologies, Inc. (EDNY; Case No. 2:17-cv-03923) and Kolloukian v. Uber Technologies, Inc. (C.D. Cal.; Case No. 2:15-cv-02856).
If you want to exclude yourself from the Settlement Classes, sometimes referred to as “opting out,” you will not be eligible to recover any benefits as a result of this Settlement. However, you will keep the right to sue or continue to sue Uber or Releasees on your own and at your own expense about any of the Released Claims.
REQUESTS FOR EXCLUSION FROM THE CLASSES THAT ARE NOT POSTMARKED ON OR BEFORE DECEMBER 15, 2017, WILL NOT BE HONORED.
You cannot exclude yourself from the Settlement Classes by telephone, by email, or on this website. You cannot exclude yourself by mailing a request to any other location or after the deadline. Your Exclusion Form must be signed by you.
“Objecting” is simply telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object to the Settlement only if you do not exclude yourself. “Excluding” yourself is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object to the Settlement because it no longer affects you.
You will remain a member of the Settlement Classes. However, you must file a Claim Form in order to receive a benefit in this Settlement. See FAQ 13.
The Court will hold a hearing to decide whether to approve the Settlement and any requests for fees, service awards, and expenses (“Final Approval Hearing”). The Final Approval Hearing is currently set for January 23, 2018 at 9:00 a.m., at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, located in Courtroom 1441, 219 S. Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60604. The hearing may be moved to a different date or time without additional notice, so it is a good idea to check this website and the Court’s docket for updates.
At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Court will also consider the request by Class Counsel for attorneys’ fees and expenses and for the Class Representatives’ service awards. If there are objections, the Court will consider them at the Final Approval Hearing. After the hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the Settlement. We do not know how long these decisions will take.
You may attend the hearing, at your own expense, but you do not have to do so.
You cannot speak at the hearing if you exclude yourself from the Settlement.
No. The Notice is only a summary of the Settlement. If the Settlement is approved and you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Classes, you will be bound by the release contained in the Settlement Agreement, and not just by the terms of the Notice. Capitalized terms in the Notice are defined in the Settlement Agreement. You can view the full Settlement Agreement here, or you can write to the Uber TCPA Settlement Administrator at P.O. Box 5053, Portland, OR 97208-5053 for more information.
This website summarizes the proposed Settlement. For the precise terms of the Settlement, please see the Settlement Agreement available here. For more information, you may call the Uber TCPA Settlement Administrator at 1-800-330-1683.
PLEASE DO NOT CALL OR WRITE THE COURT, THE COURT CLERK’S OFFICE, UBER, OR UBER’S COUNSEL FOR MORE INFORMATION. THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ASSIST YOU.
Questions? Contact the Settlement Administrator at 1-800-330-1683 (Toll-Free).

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