$3.8M Playboy Subscriber Privacy Settlement Reached

A federal court has been asked to approve a settlement worth $3.85 million between a consumer and Playboy Enterprises Inc. related to claims that the company illegally sold subscriber information.

Plaintiff Mark Kokoszki alleges that Playboy disclosed information related to magazine subscription histories and reading habits of customers between Jan. 30, 2016 and July 30, 2016.

In addition, the plaintiff claims that Playboy sent consumers’ reading information to third parties in exchange for demographic and lifestyle data that these companies had already gathered.

In his Playboy class action lawsuit, Kokoszki claims that he was hit with a lot of unwanted marketing from “aggressive advertisers, political organizations, and nonprofits” because Playboy sent his personal information to third parties.

In addition, Kokoszki complains that he started to receive an excessive amount of junk mail from third parties in direct relation to when he started his Playboy subscription.

The plaintiff also alleges that Playboy’s customers have never provided consent to the defendant to disclose their information to third parties.

The Playboy class action lawsuit states that “By renting, exchanging, or otherwise disclosing the Personal Reading Information of its Michigan-based subscribers between January 30, 2016 and July 30, 2016, Playboy violated the PPPA.”

The settlement “represents the best result ever achieved on a per-class member basis in an action brought under the Michigan Preservation of Personal Privacy Act (the ‘PPPA’),” according to the class action settlement.

The motion states that every settlement Class Member will automatically receive a pro rata cash payment of approximately $110. 

The Playboy class action settlement does not make Class Members submit claim forms, which means that, unlike other types of settlement, every Class Member will receive the cash payment when the settlement is approved by the court.

“Simply put, the automatic, per-class member relief secured by this Settlement marks the best result ever achieved in a PPPA class action – by far,” the class action motion states.

In addition, the motion states that Kokoszki will receive a service award of $5,000 from the settlement fund, which is described as appropriate compensation for his leadership in serving as a class representative.

Also, the parties have agreed that no more than 35 percent of the settlement fund will be used to pay attorneys’ fees and to reimburse their expenses in this class action lawsuit.

The settlement Class is defined as “All Persons with a Michigan street address who subscribed to a Playboy Publication to be delivered to a Michigan street address between January 1, 2016 and July 30, 2016, and who did not opt out of Playboy’s information sharing service.”

Do you think your personal information has been sold to third parties? Leave a message in the comments section below.

Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

The plaintiff is represented by Joseph I. Marchese and Philip L. Fraietta of Bursor & Fisher PA and Frank S. Hedin of Hedin Hall LLP.

The Playboy Subscription Class Action Lawsuit is Mark Kokoszki v. Playboy Enterprises Inc., Case No. 2:19-cv-10302, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

UPDATE: March 2020, the Michigan Playboy subscriber class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim. 

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