COLIN LATEANO v. CHICAGO CUBS BASEBALL CLUB, LLC

The purpose of the notice is to inform you that a proposed settlement has been reached in the class action lawsuit entitled Lateano v. Chicago Cubs Baseball Club, LLC, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, case no. 23-cv-02757. It is extremely important that you read your notice carefully because your rights will be affected by this settlement. Your notice summarizes the settlement and your rights under it.

If you received an email or mailing describing this settlement, it is because the text message records compiled in this case indicate that you may be a member of the Settlement Class.

In a class action, one or more people called Class Representatives (here, Plaintiff, Colin Lateano) sues on behalf of people who have similar claims. This group is called a class and the persons included are called class members. One court resolves the issues for all of the class members, except for those who exclude themselves from the class.

Here, Plaintiff claims the Cubs violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) by continuing to send marketing text messages after a person made a stop request. The defendant denies these allegations and any wrongdoing. The Court has conditionally certified a class action for settlement purposes only. The Honorable Joan B. Gottschall is the judge in charge of this action.

The Court did not decide in favor of Plaintiff or the Cubs. Instead, the parties agreed to this settlement. This way, the parties avoid the risk, uncertainty and cost of a trial, and the Settlement Class members will receive compensation. Plaintiff and Class Counsel think the settlement is best for all persons in the Settlement Class.

The Court has certified a class action for settlement purposes only. The Settlement Class is defined as:

The 2,486 persons (1) subscribing to a residential telephone number (2) to which Defendant sent at least two text messages within a 12-month period (3) promoting its goods for sale (4) at least 30 days after receipt of a “stop” reply (5) within four years of the date of the Complaint.

The following are excluded from the Settlement Class: (1) the district and magistrate judges presiding over this case; (2) the judges of the Seventh Circuit; (3) the immediate families of the preceding person(s); (4) any Released Party; and (5) any Settlement Class Member who timely opts out of this Action.

The class members were identified by text message records compiled in the litigation. If you received notice of the settlement via mail or email, you appear to be a member of the class. If you are not sure whether you are included, you can visit other sections of this website, you may contact Class Counsel at 866.726.1092 or [email protected]

The Court has appointed Keith J. Keogh and Timothy Sostrin from the law firm of Keogh Law, Ltd. as Class Counsel to represent you and the other persons in the Settlement Class. You will not be personally charged by these lawyers.

Class Counsel will be paid from the Settlement Fund. Class Counsel will ask the Court to approve payment of attorneys’ fees of up to 36% of the Settlement Fund after class administration costs, which is $430,706.16, as well as payment of reasonable expenses incurred in the litigation. Class Counsel also will ask the Court to approve payment of $10,000 to Plaintiff for his services as Class Representative. The Court may award less than these requested amounts.

Class Counsel’s fee petition, along with all settlement related filings, will be posted on the Important Court Documents page by March 22, 2024.

Settlement Fund. The Cubs will make a one-time, all-inclusive payment of $1,225,000 into a fund (the “Settlement Fund”), which will cover: (1) cash payments to Settlement Class Members; (2) an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses to Class Counsel, plus expenses, as approved by the Court; (3) service award to the Plaintiff, Colin Lateano, in an amount approved by the Court; and (4) the costs of notice and administration of the Settlement.

Class Counsel estimates that the amount of the cash award to each class member will be approximately $300, on average. This is an estimate only, and may vary depending on how many text messages were received. The final cash payment amount will also depend on the final cost of notice and administration, and the amounts awarded for attorneys’ fees, expenses, and any incentive award.

Unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you will be a Settlement Class Member and will be bound by the release of claims in the Settlement. This means that if the Settlement is approved, you cannot rely on any Released Claim to sue, or continue to sue, the Cubs or other Released Parties, on your own or as part of any other lawsuit, as explained in the Settlement Agreement. It also means that all of the Court’s orders and rulings will apply to you and legally bind you. Unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you will agree to release the Cubs and all other Released Parties from any and all of the Released Claims, as defined in the Settlement Agreement.

In summary, the Plaintiff and all Settlement Class Members, other than those who submit timely and proper Out-Out Requests, and their heirs, executors, personal representatives, administrators, agents, attorneys, predecessors, successors, and assigns, will release the Cubs and “MLB Entities,” which shall mean MLB Advanced Media, L.P., the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball (“BOC”), its Bureaus, Committees, Subcommittees and Councils, the Major League Baseball Clubs and Professional Development League Clubs (“Clubs”), Major League Baseball Properties, Inc., The MLB Network, LLC, each of their parent, subsidiary, affiliated and related entities, any entity which, now or in the future, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with the Clubs or the BOC and the owners, general and limited partners, shareholders, directors, officers, employees and agents of the foregoing entities, from all claims, demands, damages, debts, liabilities, accounts, obligations, costs, expenses, liens, actions and/or causes of action relating to the text messages sent to them.

If you have any questions about the Release or what it means, you may contact Class Counsel at 866.726.1092 or [email protected]. Or, you may talk to your own lawyer at your own expense.

You may select how you will receive payment and update your address by visiting the Update Address page. Otherwise, if you received notice in the mail, a paper check will be mailed to you at the same address, and if you received notice via e-mail, an electronic payment will be made using that e-mail address.

Payments will be made only after the Court finally approves the settlement and any appeals are resolved. The Court will hold a hearing on June 17, 2024 to decide whether to finally approve the Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement, after that, there may be appeals. It is always uncertain whether appeals will be made, and if so, when they may be resolved. To stay informed of the progress of the settlement, please check this website. Please be patient.

If you want to keep the right to sue, or continue to sue the Cubs or a Released Party, as defined in the Settlement Agreement, then you must take steps to exclude yourself from or “opt out” of the Settlement.

Persons in the Settlement Class may request exclusion from the Settlement by sending a written request to the Settlement Administrator at Lateano v Chicago Cubs, PO Box 23309, Jacksonville, FL 32241-3309 no later than May 14, 2024. Exclusion requests must: (i) be signed by the person in the Settlement Class who is requesting exclusion, or by their attorney or agent; (ii) include the name and address of the person in the Settlement Class requesting exclusion; and (iii) include a statement or words to the effect of the following: “I request to be excluded from the settlement in the Lateano v. Chicago Cubs action, and understand that by doing so I will not be entitled to receive any of the benefits from the settlement.”

No request for exclusion will be valid unless all of the information described above is included. No person in the Settlement Class, or any person acting on behalf of or in concert or participation with that person in the Settlement Class, may exclude any other person in the Settlement Class from the Settlement Class.

To be valid, you must mail your exclusion request postmarked no later than May 14, 2024, and sent to the settlement administrator at Lateano v Chicago Cubs, PO Box 23309, Jacksonville, FL 32241-3309.

No. If you do not exclude yourself, you give up any right to sue (or continue to sue) the Cubs or any Released Parties for the claims that this Settlement resolves.

No. If you exclude yourself, you will not be able to receive a payment from the Settlement Fund and you cannot object to the Settlement.

If you are in the Settlement Class and do not request exclusion, you can object to the Settlement or any part of the Settlement that you think the Court should reject, and the Court will consider your views.

To object, the Settlement Class Member must make the objection in writing, sign, or have their attorney or agent sign, the objection, and both file it with the Court and mail it to the attorneys in the action as set forth below by May 14, 2024.

An objection must contain the following information: (i) class member ID, full name, current address, current telephone number; (ii) documentation sufficient to establish membership in the Settlement Class; (iii) a statement of reasons for the objection, including the factual and legal grounds for the objector’s position; and (iv) copies of any other documents the objecting Settlement Class Member wishes to submit in support of his/her/its position.

To be considered, you must file your objections with the Court and mail your objections to the addresses below no later than May 14, 2024.

Any Settlement Class Member who fails to comply with the provisions set forth above shall waive and forfeit any and all rights to appear separately and/or to object, and shall be bound by all the terms of this Settlement, and by all proceedings, orders, and judgments in the litigation.

Excluding yourself means that you do not want to be a Settlement Class Member and participate in the Settlement. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object because the case no longer affects you. Objecting is telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object only if you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement.

The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing at 11:00 a.m. on June 17, 2024, in Courtroom 1725, at the Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse, 219 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60604, which may be conducted by remote or electronic means. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate. If there are valid objections that comply with the requirements in Question 16 above, the Court also will consider them and will listen to people who have asked to speak at the hearing. The Court may also decide how much to pay to Class Counsel and Plaintiff.

The Final Approval Hearing may be moved to a different date or time without additional notice, so it is a good idea to check this website for updates.

No. Class Counsel will appear on behalf of the Settlement Class Members. But, you are welcome to come, or have your own lawyer appear, at your own expense.

You may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Final Approval Hearing, but only in connection with an objection that you have timely submitted to the Court according to the procedure set forth in Question 16 above. You cannot speak at the hearing if you exclude yourself from the settlement.

In order to speak at the hearing regarding an objection, you must file with the Court, and serve on all counsel a notice of intention to appear by May 14, 2024. The notice of intention to appear must include copies of any papers, exhibits, or other evidence that the objecting you will present to the Court. Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, if you do not timely provide a notice of intention to appear in conformance with these requirements you may be barred from presenting any views at the Final Approval Hearing.

The notice is only a summary of the proposed settlement. You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreement by visiting the Important Court Documents page, along with copies of the public pleadings, all settlement related filings, any petitions for payment of attorneys’ fees, expenses, and incentive awards. You will also find instructions for selecting preferred payment methods, updating your address, or opting out or objecting to the settlement. For additional information, you may also contact Class Counsel at 866.726.1092 or [email protected].

DO NOT CALL OR WRITE TO THE COURT, THE CLERK OF THE COURT, THE CUBS, OR THE CUBS’ COUNSEL ABOUT THE SETTLEMENT.