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Revised Classmates.com Settlement Provides More Money to Class Members
By Kimberly Mirando
UPDATE: The claims filing deadline has been extended to November 18! You can read more about how to file a claim for the Classmates.com class action settlement here.
A federal judge has tentatively approved a revised class action lawsuit settlement against Classmates.com that will now require the company to pay Class Members up to $15 each instead of $3. According to the Settlement Notice, it is predicted that the average payout per Class Member will be $10.
The revised Classmates.com class action settlement will resolve a 2009 class action lawsuit that alleged United Online’s Classmates.com tricked people into purchasing “gold” premium memberships by sending deceptive email ads. The emails falsely told recipients they were being sought out by former schoolmates, but in order to see the friends they would have to purchase a gold membership. Once people purchased the gold memberships, they would often discover these “phantom” friends did not exist.
The prior Classmates.com settlement agreement called for Classmates to pay $3 each to the estimated 3.16 million users who purchased premium memberships after allegedly receiving deceptive emails. The social networking site, which recently rebranded itself as MemoryLane.com, also agreed to provide other members with a $2 renewal/purchase credit to anyone who had registered with or subscribed to Classmates.com dating back to October 30, 2004.
In March 2011, however, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Jones rejected the Classmates.com class action settlement, writing that the $2 credit “will either go unused, or it will transform a non-paying registered user into a paying Classmates customers.”
On July 8, 2011, Judge Jones preliminary approval to the revised class action lawsuit settlement, stating that it marked an improvement over the previous deal.
The revised Classmates.com settlement provides a much larger cash benefit, but it also contains a big catch: It caps damages at $2.5 million, which means Class Members’ individual benefits will depend on how many of Classmate’s 60 million users file valid claims. If all of them make claims, they will receive only 4 cents each. The likelihood of this happening, however, is slim.
The claims filing deadline for the Classmates.com Class Action Lawsuit Settlement has been extended to November 18, 2011. Class Members who already filed claims do not need to refile their claims. However, if you have not filed a claim yet, visit www.CMEmailSettlement.com for more information and to file a claim.
Updated August 11th, 2011
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13 thoughts onRevised Classmates.com Settlement Provides More Money to Class Members
What a joke. I got $3.93 and the lawyers got over 1 million dollars.
Got the $3.93 in paypal as well
I received $3.93 in my PayPal… Hmmm… Oh well.