A Court authorized this notice because you have a right to know about a proposed Settlement of this class action lawsuit and about all of your options, before the Court decides whether to give final approval to the Settlement. This Notice explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, and your legal rights.

The Honorable Andrew L. Carter, Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, is overseeing this case. The case is called Hufford, et al. v. Maxim Inc., Case No. 1:19-cv-04452-ALC-RWL. The people who sued are called the Plaintiffs. The Defendant is Maxim Inc.

In a class action, one or more people called class representatives (in this case, Patrick Hufford and John Wisbiski) sue on behalf of a group or a “class” of people who have similar claims. In a class action, the court resolves the issues for all class members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Class.

This lawsuit claims that Defendant violated Michigan’s Preservation of Personal Privacy Act, M.C.L. § 445.1712 (“PPPA”) between May 15, 2016 and July 30, 2016, by disclosing information related to its customers’ magazine subscriptions to third parties. The Defendant denies it violated any law. The Court has not determined who is right. Rather, the Parties have agreed to settle the lawsuit to avoid the uncertainties and expenses associated with ongoing litigation.

The Court has not decided whether the Plaintiffs or the Defendant should win this case. Instead, both sides agreed to a Settlement. That way, they avoid the uncertainties and expenses associated with ongoing litigation, and Class Members will get compensation sooner rather than, if at all, after the completion of a trial.

The Court decided that everyone who fits the following description is a member of the Settlement Class:

All Persons with a Michigan street address who subscribed directly to Maxim for receipt of a Maxim magazine to be delivered to a Michigan street address between May 15, 2016 and July 30, 2016.

Monetary Relief: A Settlement Fund has been created totaling $228,165.00. Class Member payments, and the cost to administer the Settlement, the cost to inform people about the Settlement, attorneys’ fees (inclusive of litigation costs), and awards to the Class Representatives will also come out of this fund (see Question 12).

A detailed description of the settlement benefits can be found in the Settlement Agreement, a copy of which is accessible on the Settlement Website by clicking here.

The amount of this payment will depend on how many requests for exclusion are submitted. Each Class Member who files a valid claim will receive a proportionate share of the Settlement Fund, which Class Counsel anticipates will be approximately $52. You can contact Class Counsel at (646) 837-7150 to inquire as to the number of requests for exclusion that have been received to date.

The hearing to consider the fairness of the settlement was held on November 10, 2020 and Court approved the settlement on November 12, 2020. Eligible Class Members will receive their payment 28 days after the Settlement has been finally approved and/or after any appeals process is complete. The payment will be made in the form of a check, and all checks will expire and become void 180 days after they are issued.

If you are a Class Member who received a Notice via postcard and you want to get a payment, do nothing and you will automatically receive a pro rata share of the Settlement Fund, which Class Counsel anticipates will be approximately $52 sent to the postal address identified in the Notice you received. If you have changed addresses or are planning to change addresses prior December 8, 2020 please click here to complete and submit a change of address form on the Settlement Website.

If you are a Settlement Class Member who did not receive a Notice via postcard and you want to get a payment, you were required to complete and submit a Claim Form. The deadline to submit a Claim Form was October 19, 2020 and has passed.

If the Settlement becomes final, you will give up your right to sue the Defendant and other Released Parties for the claims being resolved by this Settlement. The specific claims you are giving up against the Defendant are described in the Settlement Agreement. You will be “releasing” the Defendant and certain of its affiliates, employees and representatives as described in Section 1.26 of the Settlement Agreement. Unless you exclude yourself (see Question 13), you are “releasing” the claims, regardless of whether you submit a claim or not. The Settlement Agreement is available through the “court documents” link on the website here.

The Settlement Agreement describes the released claims with specific descriptions, so read it carefully. If you have any questions you can talk to the lawyers listed in Question 11 for free or you can, of course, talk to your own lawyer if you have questions about what this means.

The Court has appointed Bursor & Fisher, P.A. and Hedin Hall LLP to be the attorneys representing the Settlement Class. They are called “Class Counsel.” They believe, after conducting an extensive investigation, that the Settlement Agreement is fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the Settlement Class. You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer in this case, you may hire one at your expense.

The Defendant has agreed that Class Counsel attorneys’ fees and costs may be paid out of the Settlement Fund in an amount to be determined by the Court. The fee petition will seek no more than one-third of the Settlement Fund, inclusive of reimbursement of their costs and expenses; the Court may award less than this amount. Under the Settlement Agreement, any amount awarded to Class Counsel will be paid out of the Settlement Fund.

Subject to approval by the Court, Defendant has agreed that the Class Representatives may be paid service awards of $5,000 each from the Settlement Fund for their services in helping to bring and resolve this case.

The deadline to exclude yourself from the Settlement was October 19, 2020 and has passed.

No. If you excluded yourself, you gave up any right to sue the Defendant for the claims being resolved by this Settlement.

No. If you excluded yourself, you will not receive a pro rata share of the Settlement Fund.

The deadline to object to the Settlement was October 19, 2020 and has passed.

Objecting simply means telling the Court that you don’t like something about the Settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Class. Excluding yourself from the Class is telling the Court that you don’t want to be part of the Class. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object because the case no longer affects you.

The Court held the Final Approval Hearing on November 10, 2020 and issued an Order for Final Approval of the Settlement on November 12, 2020.

The purpose of the hearing was for the Court to determine whether to approve the Settlement as fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the Class; to consider the Class Counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees and expenses; and to consider the request for service awards to the Class Representatives. At that hearing, the Court heard any objections and arguments concerning the fairness of the Settlement.

No. The Court held the Final Approval Hearing on November 10, 2020 and issued an Order for Final Approval of the Settlement on November 12, 2020. Class Members were not required to attend.   

You could have asked the Court for permission to speak at the Fairness Hearing. To do so, you needed to include in your letter or brief objecting to the settlement a statement saying that it is your “Notice of Intent to Appear in Hufford, et al. v. Maxim Inc., Case No. 1:19-cv-04452-ALC-RWL.” Your objection and notice of intent to appear needed to be filed with the Court and postmarked no later than October 19, 2020. The deadline has passed.

This Notice summarizes the Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement. You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreement here. You may also write with questions to Maxim Magazine Settlement, c/o JND Legal Administration, P.O. Box 91344, Seattle, WA 98111. You can call the Settlement Administrator at (877) 313-0214 or Class Counsel at (646) 837-7150, if you have any questions. Before doing so, however, please read this full Notice carefully. You may also find additional information elsewhere on the case website.