Frequently Asked Questions

BASIC INFORMATION

1. WHY DID I GET NOTICE?

This is a court-authorized notice of a proposed Settlement in a class action lawsuit, Cothron v. White Castle System, Inc. d/b/a White Castle, Case No. 1:19-cv-00382, pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The Settlement would resolve a lawsuit brought on behalf of persons who allege that White Castle System, Inc. d/b/a White Castle (“Defendant” or “White Castle”) collected, captured, otherwise obtained, used, received, converted, maintained, stored, shared, disseminated, or disclosed workers’ biometric identifier(s) and/or biometric information in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”). Defendant contests these claims and denies that it violated BIPA. If you received Notice, you have been identified as a member of the Settlement Class. The Court has granted preliminary approval of the Settlement and has conditionally certified the Settlement Class for purposes of Settlement only. The Notice explains the nature of the class action lawsuit, the terms of the Settlement, and the legal rights and obligations of the Settlement Class Members. Please read the instructions and explanations below so that you can better understand your legal rights.

2. WHAT IS THIS LAWSUIT ABOUT?

The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), 740 ILCS 14/1, et seq., prohibits private companies from capturing, obtaining, storing, transferring, and/or using the biometric identifiers and/or information, such as fingerprints, of an individual for any purpose without first providing such individual with certain written disclosures and obtaining written consent. This lawsuit alleges that Defendant violated BIPA by requiring workers to scan their fingerprint on a biometric finger-scanning device during the course of their employment for such purposes including, but not necessarily limited to, accessing White Castle’s computer system and necessary documents while working between December 6, 2013 to October 15, 2018, without first providing the requisite disclosures or obtaining the requisite consent. Defendant contests these claims and denies that it violated BIPA.

3. WHY IS THIS A CLASS ACTION?

A class action is a lawsuit in which an individual called a “Class Representative” brings a single lawsuit on behalf of other people who have similar claims. All of these people together are a “Class” or “Class Members.” Once a class is certified, a class action settlement finally approved by the Court resolves the issues for all Settlement Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Settlement Class.

4. WHY IS THERE A SETTLEMENT?

To resolve this matter now without further expense, delay, and uncertainties of litigation, the Parties have reached a Settlement, which resolves all claims against Defendant. The Settlement requires Defendant to pay money to the Settlement Class, as well as pay settlement administration expenses, attorneys’ fees and costs to Class Counsel, and an incentive award to the Class Representative, if approved by the Court. The Settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing by Defendant and does not imply that there has been, or would be, any finding that Defendant violated the law.

The Court has already preliminarily approved the Settlement. Nevertheless, because the settlement of a class action determines the rights of all members of the class, the Court overseeing this lawsuit must give final approval to the Settlement before it can be effective. The Court has conditionally certified the Settlement Class for settlement purposes only, so that members of the Settlement Class can be given Notice and the opportunity to exclude themselves from the Settlement Class, and to voice their support or opposition to final approval of the Settlement. If the Court does not give final approval to the Settlement, or if it is terminated by the Parties, the Settlement will be void, and the lawsuit will proceed as if there had been no settlement and no certification of the Settlement Class.

5. WHO IS IN THE SETTLEMENT CLASS?

You are a member of the Settlement Class if you are working or worked for White Castle System, Inc. in the State of Illinois and used a finger-scanning device in the course of your employment without first executing White Castle’s Biometric Information Privacy Team Member Consent Form from December 6, 2013 to October 15, 2018.

You will be considered a member of the Settlement Class unless you properly execute and file a timely request for exclusion from the Class as explained below.

6. WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS?

a) Accept the Settlement.

To accept the Settlement, you do not need to do anything. If you received Notice, you are currently considered a member of the Settlement Class and will continue to be unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement.

b) Exclude yourself.

You may exclude yourself from the Settlement. If you do so, you will not receive any cash payment, but you will not release any claims you may have against Defendant and the other Released Parties (as that term is defined in the Settlement Agreement) and are free to pursue whatever legal rights you may have by filing your own lawsuit against Defendant at your own risk and expense. To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must send a written request for exclusion to the Settlement Administrator providing your name, address, and telephone number; the name and number of this case; a statement that you wish to be excluded from the Settlement Class; and your signature, postmarked by July 7, 2024 to Cothron v. White Castle System, Inc. c/o Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 25226 Santa Ana, CA 92799. A request to be excluded that is sent to an address other than that designated in the Notice, or that is not postmarked within the time specified, shall be invalid and you shall be considered a member of the Settlement Class and shall be bound as a Settlement Class Member by the Settlement Agreement, if approved by the Court.

c) Object to the Settlement.

If you wish to object to the Settlement, you must submit your objection in writing to Courtroom 2303, Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse, 219 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60604, specifying Cothron v. White Castle System, Inc. d/b/a White Castle, Case No.1:19-cv-00382. The objection must be filed with the Court no later than July 7, 2024. You must also send a copy of your objection to the attorneys for all Parties to the lawsuit, including Class Counsel (address below), as well as the attorneys representing Defendant (Melissa A. Siebert and Erin Bolan Hines, Cozen O’Connor, 123 North Wacker Drive, Suite 1800, Chicago, Illinois 60606 and Max E. Kaplan, Cozen O’Connor, 1650 Market Street, Suite 2800, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19103) and the Settlement Administrator (address below), postmarked no later than July 7, 2024. Any objection to the proposed Settlement must include your: (i) full name, address, telephone number, and email address; (ii) the case name and number of this lawsuit; (iii) all grounds for the objection, with factual and legal support for the stated objection, including any supporting materials; (iv) the identification of any other objections you have filed, or have had filed on your behalf, in any other class action cases; (v) a statement of whether you are represented by counsel and, if so, a list of all objections filed by that counsel; (vi) a statement of whether you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing with or without counsel, and (vii) your signature. If you hire an attorney in connection with making an objection, that attorney must also file with the Court a notice of appearance by the objection deadline of July 7, 2024. If you do hire your own attorney, you will be solely responsible for payment of any fees and expenses the attorney incurs on your behalf. If you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you cannot file an objection.

You may appear at the Final Approval Hearing, which will be held on August 1, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. CDT in Courtroom 2303, Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse, 219 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60604, either in person or through counsel to show cause of why the proposed Settlement should not be approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate. Attendance at the hearing is not necessary; however, persons wishing to be heard orally in opposition to the approval of the Settlement, the request for attorneys’ fees and expenses, and/or the request for an incentive award to the Class Representative are required to indicate in their written objection their intention to appear at the hearing on their own behalf or through counsel and to identify the names of any witnesses they intend to call to testify at the Final Approval Hearing, as well as any exhibits they intend to introduce at the Final Approval Hearing, which must also be attached to, or included with, the written objection.

7. WHAT DOES THE SETTLEMENT PROVIDE?

Cash Payments. Defendant has agreed to create a Settlement Fund for the Class Members in the amount of $9,394,440.00. All Settlement Class Members are entitled to receive a payment out of the Settlement Fund. If the Settlement is approved, each Settlement Class Member will be entitled to a gross payment of approximately $968.00 out of the Settlement Fund, less deductions for settlement administration costs, attorneys’ fees and costs, and an incentive award to the Class Representative, or a net payment of approximately $599.00. The Settlement Administrator will issue a check to each Class Member following the final approval of the Settlement unless you elect to receive a digital payment by logging in here using your Class Member ID and submit a Payment Selection form. All checks issued to Settlement Class Members will expire and become void 150 days after they are issued. Additionally, the attorneys who brought this lawsuit (listed below) will ask the Court to award them attorneys’ fees of up to 37.5% of the Settlement Fund, plus reasonable costs, for the substantial time, expense and effort expended in investigating the facts, litigating the case, including before the Illinois Supreme Court, and negotiating the Settlement. The Class Representative also will apply to the Court for a payment of up to $7,500.00 for her time, effort, and service to the Class in this matter.

8. WHAT RIGHTS AM I GIVING UP IN THIS SETTLEMENT?

Unless you exclude yourself from this Settlement, you will be considered a member of the Settlement Class, which means you give up your right to file or continue a lawsuit for all claims related in any way to information that is or could be protected under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, 740 ILCS 14/1 et seq., against Defendant and relating to the finger-scanning devices used at and by White Castle in the state of Illinois (the “Released Claims”). Giving up your legal claims is called a release. The precise terms of the release are in the Settlement Agreement. Unless you formally exclude yourself from this Settlement, you will release your claims. If you have any questions, you can talk for free to the attorneys identified below who have been appointed by the Court to represent the Settlement Class, or you are welcome to talk to any other lawyer of your choosing at your own expense.

9. WHEN WILL I BE PAID?

The Parties cannot predict exactly when (or whether) the Court will give final approval to the Settlement. However, if the Court finally approves the Settlement, you will be paid as soon as possible after the Court order becomes final, which should occur within approximately 14 days after the Settlement has been finally approved. If there is an appeal of the Settlement, payment may be delayed. Updated information about the case can be obtained through Class Counsel at the information provided below or on this website.

10. WHEN WILL THE COURT RULE ON THE SETTLEMENT?

The Court has already given preliminary approval to the Settlement. A final hearing on the Settlement, called a Final Approval Hearing, will be held to determine the fairness of the Settlement. At the Final Approval Hearing, the Court will also consider whether to make final the certification of the Class for settlement purposes, hear any proper objections and arguments to the Settlement, as well as any requests for an award of attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses and Class Representative’s incentive award that may be sought by Class Counsel. The Court will hold the Final Approval Hearing on August 1, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. CDT in Courtroom 2303, Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse, 219 South Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60604.

If the Settlement is given final approval, the Court will not make any determination as to the merits of the claims against Defendant or its defenses to those claims. Instead, the Settlement’s terms will take effect and the lawsuit will be dismissed on the merits with prejudice. Both sides have agreed to the Settlement in order to achieve a resolution to the lawsuit in a manner that provides specific and valuable benefits to the members of the Settlement Class.

If the Court does not approve the Settlement, if it approves the Settlement and the approval is reversed on appeal, or if the Settlement does not become final for some other reason, you will not be paid at this time and Class Members will receive no benefits from the Settlement. Plaintiff, Defendant, and all of the Class Members will be in the same position as they were prior to the execution of the Settlement, and the Settlement will have no legal effect, no class will remain certified (conditionally or otherwise), and the Plaintiff and Defendant will continue to litigate the lawsuit. There can be no assurance that if the Settlement is not approved, the Settlement Class will recover more than is provided in the Settlement, or indeed, anything at all.

11. WHO REPRESENTS THE CLASS?

The Court has approved the following attorneys to represent the Settlement Class. They are called “Class Counsel.” You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer instead, you may hire one at your own expense.

12. WHERE CAN I GET ADDITIONAL INFORMATION?

The Notice is only a summary of the proposed Settlement of this lawsuit. More details are in the Settlement Agreement which, along with other documents, can be obtained by contacting Class Counsel or the Settlement Administrator. Information is also available regarding this lawsuit in the Documents section of this website. If you have any questions, you can also contact Class Counsel at the number or email address set forth above. In addition, all pleadings and documents filed in court may be reviewed or copied in the Office of the Clerk. Please do not call the Judge or the Clerk of the Court about this case. They will not be able to give you advice on your options.