$9M Tablet, Smartphone Privacy Class Action Settlement Preliminarily Approved

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A California federal judge today granted preliminary approval to a $9 million class action settlement that resolves allegations that multiple smartphone and tablet makers installed wiretapping software on their devices.

U.S. District Judge Edward M. Chen signed off on the initial smartphone privacy settlement on March 1, stating that the court found the agreement to be fair, reasonable and in the best interest of Class Members.

According to court documents, the $9 million tablet/smartphone settlement will be divided equally among all U.S. Class Members, after court expenses have been paid.

Eligible Class Members include individuals who purchased, owned, or were an authorized user of certain phones and tablets manufactured by HTC, Huawei, LG, Motorola, Pantech Wireless, or Samsung with service on AT&T, Cricket, Sprint, or T-Mobile between Dec. 1, 2007 through March 1, 2016.

The class action settlement ends a hard-fought litigation battle that began in 2011, when it was discovered that some of the largest tablet and smartphone makers used a program that was capable of collecting text messages, user names, passwords, Internet searches and other communications from mobile devices.

More than 70 class action lawsuits were filed against Carrier IQ, Motorola, Samsung, HTC, LG Electronics which were then combined into multidistrict litigation. Despite numerous dismissal attempts by the defendants, the case moved forward.

By January 2015, several allegations were trimmed from the smartphone privacy MDL, including violations of the Wiretap Act. 

Last summer, both parties submitted a letter to Judge Chen which informed him that settlement negotiations were taking place, but that they were struggling to finalize a deal.

In January 2016, a proposed class action settlement was reached, naming Gilardi & Co. LLC as Settlement Administrator and the law firms of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Pearson, Simon & Warshaw, LLP as representatives of the Settlement Class.

Under the terms of the settlement, Class Members will be required to submit a valid and timely Claim Form to the Settlement Administrator in order to receive a cash payout.

The smartphone and tablet manufacturers deny any wrongdoing but agreed to the terms of the settlement to avoid the cost of further litigation.

The smartphone privacy class action settlement website should be available soon! 

Keep checking Top Class Actions for claim filing instructions which will be posted as soon as they become available. Sign up for our free newsletter and/or mark this article as a “Favorite” using your free Top Class Actions account to receive notifications when this article is updated.

The plaintiffs are represented by Joseph H. Malley, Law Office of Joseph H. Malley, PC, Steve W. Berman and Robert F. Lopez of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Bruce L. Simon, Daniel L. Warshaw and William J. Newsom ofPearson Simon & Warshaw LLP, and others.

The Smartphone Privacy Class Action Lawsuit Settlement is In re: Carrier IQ Inc. Consumer Privacy Litigation, Case No. C-12-md-2330-EMC, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division.

UPDATE: On Apr. 6, 2016, the Smartphone Privacy Class Action Settlement is now open! Click here to file a Claim Form or visit www.CarrieriQSettlement.com for more details.

UPDATE 2: On June 23, 2016, consumers in this privacy class action lawsuit against several tablet and smartphone makers urged a California federal court to accept a settlement that would resolve allegations that the companies installed wiretapping software on mobile devices.

UPDATE 3: On Oct. 1, 2018, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving checks from the Smartphone privacy class action settlementworth as much as $417. Congratulations to everyone who file a claim and got PAID!