Proposed Order re 137 MOTION for Settlement Notice of Motion and Motion for Preliminary… — Plaid Privacy (Dkt. 141)

Record facts

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California · No. 4:20-cv-03056-DMR · Doc. 141 · 2021-08-06 · Docket on CourtListener

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MASTER DOCKET NO. 4:20-CV-03056-DMR 
ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT 
HERRERA KENNEDY LLP 
Shawn M. Kennedy (SBN 218472) 
skennedy@herrerakennedy.com 
Bret D. Hembd (SBN 272826) 
bhembd@herrerakennedy.com 
4590 MacArthur Blvd., Suite 500 
Newport Beach, CA 92660 
Tel: (949) 936-0900 
Fax: (855) 969-2050 
 
HERRERA KENNEDY LLP 
Nicomedes Sy Herrera (SBN 275332) 
nherrera@herrerakennedy.com 
Laura E. Seidl (SBN 269891) 
lseidl@herrerakennedy.com 
1300 Clay Street, Suite 600 
Oakland, CA 94612 
Tel: (510) 422-4700 
Fax: (855) 969-2050 
 
LIEFF CABRASER HEIMANN & 
BERNSTEIN, LLP 
Rachel Geman (Pro Hac Vice) 
rgeman@lchb.com 
Rhea Ghosh (Pro Hac Vice) 
rghosh@lchb.com 
250 Hudson Street, 8th Floor 
New York, NY 10013-1413 
Tel: (212) 355-9500 
Fax: (212) 355-9592 
Interim Co-Lead Class Counsel 
LIEFF CABRASER HEIMANN &  
BERNSTEIN, LLP 
Michael W. Sobol (SBN 194857) 
msobol@lchb.com 
Melissa Gardner (SBN 289096) 
mgardner@lchb.com 
275 Battery Street, 29th Floor 
San Francisco, CA 94111-3339 
Tel: (415) 956-1000 
Fax: (415) 956-1008 
BURNS CHAREST LLP 
Warren T. Burns (Pro Hac Vice) 
wburns@burnscharest.com 
900 Jackson Street, Suite 500 
Dallas, TX 75202 
Tel: (469) 904-4550 
Fax: (469) 444-5002 
 
BURNS CHAREST LLP 
Christopher J. Cormier (Pro Hac Vice) 
ccormier@burnscharest.com 
4725 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Suite 200 
Washington, DC 20016 
Tel: (202) 577-3977 
Fax: (469) 444-5002 
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 
OAKLAND DIVISION 
IN RE PLAID INC. PRIVACY  
LITIGATION 
Master Docket No.: 4:20-cv-03056-DMR 
 
[PROPOSED] ORDER GRANTING 
PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF 
SETTLEMENT 
 
Hon. Donna M. Ryu 
Action Filed: 
May 4, 2020 
Trial Date:  
None Set 
THIS DOCUMENT RELATES TO:  
ALL ACTIONS 
Case 4:20-cv-03056-DMR     Document 141     Filed 08/06/21     Page 1 of 9

 
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MASTER DOCKET NO. 4:20-CV-03056-DMR 
ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT 
 
WHEREAS, Plaintiffs James Cottle and Frederick Schoeneman filed a Complaint and 
commenced the action entitled Cottle et al. v. Plaid Inc., No. 4:20-cv-03056-DMR (“Cottle Action”), 
and the Court granted a stipulation to consolidate the Cottle Action with four-subsequently-filed 
related actions to form the action pending before the Court and entitled In re Plaid Inc. Privacy, No. 
4:20-cv-03056-DMR (N.D. Cal.) (collectively, the “Action”) (Dkt. 57); 
WHEREAS, Plaintiffs Caroline Anderson, James Cottle, Rachel Curtis, David Evans, Logan 
Mitchell, Alexis Mullen, Jordan Sacks, Frederick Schoeneman, Gabriel Sotelo, Jeffrey Umali, and 
Nicholas Yeomelakis filed a Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint (Dkt. 61) and 
subsequently entered into an Agreement with Defendant Plaid Inc. that, if approved, would settle 
the Action; 
WHEREAS, Plaintiffs have moved, pursuant to Rule 23(e), for an order preliminarily 
approving the settlement of this Action pursuant to the terms and conditions set forth in the Parties’ 
Agreement (the “Motion”); and  
WHEREAS, the Court, having considered the Motion, the Agreement together with all 
exhibits and attachments thereto, the record in the Action, the parties’ briefs, and arguments of 
counsel, 
NOW THEREFORE, THE COURT HEREBY FINDS AND ORDERS AS FOLLOWS:  
1. Settlement Terms.  Unless otherwise defined herein, all capitalized terms herein shall 
have the same definitions as set forth in the Class Action Settlement Agreement (“Agreement” or 
“Settlement Agreement”) between Defendant Plaid Inc. (“Plaid”) and Plaintiffs Caroline Anderson, 
James Cottle, Rachel Curtis, David Evans, Logan Mitchell, Alexis Mullen, Jordan Sacks, Frederick 
Schoeneman, Gabriel Sotelo, Jeffrey Umali, and Nicholas Yeomelakis (“Plaintiffs”) (collectively, 
the “Parties”). 
2. Jurisdiction.  This Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of the Action and all 
parties to the Action, including members of the Class. 
3. Preliminary Approval of Proposed Settlement Agreement.  The Court finds that, 
subject to further consideration at the Final Approval Hearing, the Parties’ proposed Settlement 
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MASTER DOCKET NO. 4:20-CV-03056-DMR 
ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT 
 
Agreement is fair, reasonable, adequate, and within the range of possible final approval considering 
the possible damages at issue and defenses to overcome. The Court also finds that the Settlement 
Agreement: (a) is the result of extensive, serious, informed, non-collusive, and arm’s length 
negotiations involving experienced counsel familiar with the legal and factual issues of this case and 
made with the assistance of the mediation services of Hon. Jay Gandhi (Ret.); (b) meets all applicable 
requirements of law, including Rule 23(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Class 
Action Fairness Act (“CAFA”), 28 U.S.C. §1715;  (c) is likely to be certified as a class for settlement 
purposes pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; and (d), has no obvious 
deficiencies. Therefore, the Court grants preliminary approval of the Settlement Agreement, 
including the terms and conditions for settlement and dismissal as set forth therein.  
4. Settlement Class.  The Class consists of all natural persons in the United States and 
who own or owned one or more Financial Accounts that:  (1) Plaid accessed using the user’s login 
credentials and connected to a mobile or web-based fintech application that enables payments 
(including ACH payments) or other money transfers; or (2) for which a user provided financial 
account login credentials to Plaid through Plaid Link, at the time such persons resided in the United 
States from January 1, 2013 through the date of this Order granting preliminary approval of the 
Settlement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Financial Account does not include an account 
that was connected, or for which credentials were provided, exclusively through an OAuth Process 
or Managed OAuth Process. 
5. The following entities and individuals are not Class Members: (a) Plaid and any and 
all of its predecessors, successors, assigns, parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, 
employees, agents, representatives, and attorneys, and any and all of the parents’, subsidiaries’, and 
affiliates’ present and former predecessors, successors, assigns, directors, officers, employees, 
agents, representatives, and attorneys; (b) any judicial officer presiding over the Action, or any 
member of his or her immediate family or of his or her judicial staff; and (c) any Excluded Class 
Member. 
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MASTER DOCKET NO. 4:20-CV-03056-DMR 
ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT 
 
6. Class Representatives.  The Court appoints Plaintiffs Caroline Anderson, James 
Cottle, Rachel Curtis, David Evans, Logan Mitchell, Alexis Mullen, Jordan Sacks, Frederick 
Schoeneman, Gabriel Sotelo, Jeffrey Umali, and Nicholas Yeomelakis as Class Representatives. 
7. Class Counsel.  The Court appoints Christopher Cormier, Burns Charest LLP; Shawn 
Kennedy, Herrera Kennedy LLP, and Rachel Geman, Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP as 
Class Counsel. 
8. Settlement Administrator.  The Court hereby approves Angeion Group, LLC to act 
as Settlement Administrator. Angeion Group, LLC shall be required to perform all the duties of the 
Settlement Administrator as set forth in the Agreement and this Order.  
9. Qualified Settlement Fund.  Angeion Group, LLC is authorized to establish the 
Settlement Fund under 26 C.F.R. §§ 1.468B-1 for federal tax purposes. The Settlement Fund shall 
be a court-approved Qualified Settlement Fund (“QSF”) for federal tax purposes pursuant to Treas. 
Reg. § 1.468B-1. Plaid shall be the “transferor” to the QSF within the meaning of Section 1.468B-
1(d)(1) of the Treasury Regulations with respect to the Settlement Fund. The Settlement 
Administrator shall be the “administrator” of the QSF within the meaning of Section 1.468B-2(k)(3) 
of the Treasury Regulations, responsible for causing the filing of all tax returns required to be filed 
by or with respect to the QSF, paying from the QSF any taxes owed by or with respect to the QSF, 
and complying with any applicable information reporting or tax withholding requirements imposed 
by Section 1.468B-2(l)(2) of the Treasury Regulations or any other applicable law on or with respect 
to the QSF. Plaid shall provide to the Settlement Administrator any documentation required for the 
Settlement Administrator to facilitate obtaining QSF status for the Settlement Fund pursuant to 
Treas. Reg. §1.468B-l. All taxes on income or interest generated by the Settlement Fund, if any, 
shall be paid out of the Settlement Fund. 
10. Class Notice.  The Court finds that the content, format, and method of disseminating 
notice as set forth in the Settlement Agreement and documents in support of Plaintiffs’ Motion is 
appropriate notice. The Court approves, as to form and content, the Notice of Class Action 
Settlement attached to the Settlement Agreement, the Notice Plan, the Settlement Website, and the 
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MASTER DOCKET NO. 4:20-CV-03056-DMR 
ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT 
 
forms of notice submitted with Plaintiffs’ Motion. The Court finds that dissemination of the class 
notice, as proposed in the Settlement Agreement and in the Notice Plan, meets the requirements of 
Rule 23 and due process, and further constitutes the best notice practicable under the circumstances. 
Accordingly, the Court hereby approves such notice and directs that such notice be disseminated in 
the manner set forth in the proposed Settlement Agreement under Rule 23. 
11. Objection and Exclusion Deadline.  Class Members who wish either to object to the 
Settlement or to exclude themselves from the Settlement must do so by the Objection and Exclusion 
Deadline of ____________, 2021 both of which are thirty-five (35) days after the Notice Date.  
12. Exclusion from Settlement Class.  To submit a request for exclusion, Class Members 
must follow the directions in the Notice, send a compliant request to the Class Administrator at the 
address designated in the Class notice, and be post-marked by the Exclusion Deadline. To be valid, 
the request for exclusion must:  (a) be in writing and mailed; (b) contain the name and case number 
of this Action, In re Plaid Inc. Privacy Litigation, No. 4:20-cv-03056); (c) contain the full name, 
mailing address, and email address or telephone number of the Class member; (d) contain the words 
“Notification of Exclusion” or a statement that the Class member wishes to be excluded from the 
Settlement; and (e) contain the handwritten or electronically imaged written (e.g., “DocuSign”) 
signature of the Class member. An attorney’s signature or a typed signature will not satisfy this 
requirement. Further, no request for exclusion may be made on behalf of a group of Class Members.  
13. All Class Members who submit a timely, valid request for exclusion will be excluded 
from the Class and will not be bound by the terms of the Settlement Agreement or any determinations 
or judgments concerning the Settlement Agreement. All Class Members who do not submit a valid 
request for exclusion by _______________, 2021 in accordance with the terms set forth in the 
Agreement and Notice will be bound by all determinations and judgments concerning the 
Agreement.  
14. Objections to the Settlement.  Any Class member who is not an Excluded Class 
Member may object to the settlement. Class Members who wish to object to the settlement must 
make a written statement objecting to the Settlement. Such written statement must be filed at any 
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MASTER DOCKET NO. 4:20-CV-03056-DMR 
ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT 
 
location of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California; mailed to the 
Clerk of Court, United States District Court for the Northern District of California, 1301 Clay Street, 
Oakland, CA 94612; or sent to the Settlement Administrator at the address specified in the Notice 
of Class Action Settlement no later than the Objection/Exclusion Deadline set by this Order. 
15. Any objection must:  (a) be in writing; (b) contain the name and case number of this 
Action, In re Plaid Inc. Privacy Litigation, No. 4:20-cv-03056); (c) the objector’s full name and 
mailing address, email address, or telephone number, and personal signature; (d) the objector’s basis 
for believing they are a Class member; (e) a statement whether the objector intends to appear at the 
Final Approval Hearing, either in person or through counsel, and, if through counsel, identifying 
counsel by name, address, and phone number; and (f) a clear and concise statement of the grounds 
for their objection.  
16. The date of the postmark on the envelope containing the written statement objecting 
to the settlement shall be the exclusive means used to determine whether an objection and/or 
intention to appear has been timely submitted.  In the event a postmark is illegible, the date of mailing 
shall be deemed to be three (3) days prior to the date the Settlement Administrator received the 
written statement.  
17. Class Members who fail to file and serve timely written objections in the manner 
specified herein and the Notice Plan shall be deemed to have waived any objections and shall be 
forever barred from making any objection to the Agreement and the proposed settlement by 
appearing at the Final Approval Hearing, appeal, collateral attack, or otherwise. 
18. Objecting Class Members may appear at the Final Approval Hearing and be heard. 
If an objecting Class member chooses to appear at the Final Approval Hearing, a notice of intention 
to appear should be filed with the Court or postmarked no later than the Objection Deadline.  
19. All members of the Class, except those who submit timely requests for exclusion will 
be bound by all determinations and judgments in this Action; whether favorable or unfavorable to 
the Class.  
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MASTER DOCKET NO. 4:20-CV-03056-DMR 
ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT 
 
20. Submission of Claims.  To participate in the Settlement, Class Members must follow 
the directions in the Settlement Agreement, Notice, and submit an Approved Claim with the Claims 
Administrator by the Claims Deadline of ___________, which is ninety (90) days after the 
settlement Notice Date. Class Members who do not submit a claim and those who do not submit 
Approved Claims will not receive a cash award, but they will be bound by the Settlement.  
21. The Settlement Administrator shall review all claims to determine their validity and 
shall employ reasonable procedures to screen claims for abuse and fraud.  The Settlement 
Administrator may reject any claim that is not submitted by a Class member; is a duplicate of another 
claim; is reasonably suspected to be fraudulent; or is submitted after the Claims Deadline. The 
Settlement Administrator shall determine whether a Claim Form submitted by a Class member is an 
Approved Claim and shall reject Claim Forms that fail to comply in any material respect with the 
instructions in the Notice Plan or the terms of the Agreement.  
22. Schedule of Future Events.  The Court adopts the Plaintiffs proposed schedule of 
future events as set forth below: 
 
Event 
Date 
Deadline to substantially complete notice 
pursuant to Notice Plan (“Notice Date”) 
70 days after entry of the Court’s 
Preliminary Approval Order 
Deadline for Class Counsel’s motions for 
final approval and for attorneys’ fees, 
costs, and service awards. 
35 days before Objection/Exclusion 
Deadline 
Objection / Exclusion Deadline 
35 days after Notice Date 
Deadline for Parties to file a written 
response to any comment or objection 
filed by a class member 
 
50 days after Notice Date 
Claims Deadline 
90 days after Notice Date 
Final Approval Hearing 
Not less than 160 days after entry of the 
Preliminary Approval Order, or as soon 
thereafter as is convenient for the Court 
 
23. Final Approval Hearing.  A Final Approval Hearing is scheduled for 
______________, 2021 at _______ for the Court to determine whether the proposed settlement of 
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MASTER DOCKET NO. 4:20-CV-03056-DMR 
ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT 
 
the Action, pursuant to the terms and conditions provided in the Settlement Agreement, is fair, 
reasonable, and adequate to the Class and should be finally approved by the Court; whether to certify 
the settlement Class under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23; whether a Judgment should be entered; to determine 
any amount of fees, costs, and expenses that should be awarded to Class Counsel; and to determine 
the amount of any Service Award to Plaintiffs. The Court reserves the right to adjourn the date of 
the Final Approval Hearing without further notice to the Class Members, and the Court retains 
jurisdiction to consider all further applications arising out of or connected with the proposed 
Settlement.  The Court may approve the Settlement with such modifications as may be agreed to by 
the settling parties, if appropriate, without further notice to the Class.  
24. Stay of Proceedings.  On June 16, 2021, the parties filed a stipulation to stay all non-
settlement proceedings in the Action, pending finalization and execution of a long form settlement 
agreement, which was granted on June 17, 2021. (Dkt. 132, 133) All proceedings in this Action are 
stayed until further ordered by this Court, except as may be necessary to implement the Settlement 
or comply with the terms of the Settlement Agreement. Pending final determination of whether the 
proposed Settlement should be approved, neither Plaintiffs nor any Class member, directly or 
indirectly, representatively, or in any other capacity, shall commence or prosecute against Plaid any 
action, or proceeding in any court or tribunal asserting any of the Plaintiffs’ Released Claims.  
25. If the Settlement is not approved or consummated for any reason whatsoever, the 
Settlement and all proceedings in connection with the Settlement will be without prejudice to the 
right of Plaid or the Class Representatives to assert any right or position that could have been 
asserted if the Agreement had never been reached or proposed to the Court, except insofar as the 
Agreement expressly provides to the contrary. In such an event, the certification of the Class will 
be deemed vacated.  
26. No Admission of Liability.  By entering this Order, the Court does not make any 
determination as to the merits of this case. Preliminary approval of the Settlement Agreement is not 
a finding of admission or liability by Plaid. Furthermore, the Agreement and any and all negotiations, 
documents, and discussions associated with it will not be deemed or constructed to be an admission 
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MASTER DOCKET NO. 4:20-CV-03056-DMR 
ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY APPROVAL OF SETTLEMENT 
or evidence of any violation of any statute, law, rule, regulation, or principle of common law or 
equity, or of any liability or wrongdoing by Plaid or any Class member, or the truth of any of the 
claims in this Action.  
27. Retention of Jurisdiction.  The Court retains jurisdiction over the Action to consider
all further matters arising out of, or connected to, the Settlement Agreement and the settlement 
process as described herein and/or permitted under applicable law.  
28. The Court may approve the Settlement with such modifications as may be agreed by
the Parties and approved by the Court, if appropriate, without further notice to the class.  
IT IS SO ORDERED. 
Dated: _________________, 2021 
____________________________________ 
Hon. Donna M. Ryu  
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 
Case 4:20-cv-03056-DMR     Document 141     Filed 08/06/21     Page 9 of 9

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