1. Why did I get the Notice?
2. What is this lawsuit about?
3. Why is this a class action?
4. Why is there a Settlement?
5. Who is in the Settlement Class?
6. What are my options?
7. What does the Settlement provide?
8. What rights am I giving up in this Settlement?
9. When will I be paid?
10. When will the court rule on the Settlement?
11. Who represents the class?
12. Where can I get additional information?
The Court authorized notice of a proposed settlement in a class action lawsuit, Mazya v. Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital, et. al., No. 2018 CH 07161, consolidated with Singer, et al v. Northwestern Memorial Healthcare, et al., No. 2022 CH 08798, in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Chancery Division.
The Settlement would resolve a lawsuit brought on behalf of persons who allege that, while in the State of Illinois, they had their alleged biometric identifier(s) (including, but not limited to, a retina or iris scan, fingerprint, voiceprint, or scan of hand or face geometry) and/or alleged biometric information (including, but not limited to, any information regardless of how it is captured, converted, stored, or shared, based on an individual’s biometric identifier used to identify an individual) collected, captured, taken, received, converted, or otherwise obtained, maintained, stored, used, shared, disseminated, or disclosed by Defendants Northwestern Memorial HealthCare, Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital, Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital, and Central DuPage Hospital Association (collectively referred to as “Northwestern”) between June 6, 2013 to [the date of Preliminary Approval] without first executing a written consent under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), 740 ILCS 14/1, et seq. Northwestern contests these claims and denies that it violated BIPA. However, Northwestern agreed to settle the matter to avoid further costly, distracting, and time-consuming litigation without any admission or finding of wrongdoing.
If you received the Notice, you have been identified as someone who, while in the State of Illinois, had their alleged biometric identifier(s) (including, but not limited to, a retina or iris scan, fingerprint, voiceprint, or scan of hand or face geometry) and/or alleged biometric information (including, but not limited to, any information regardless of how it is captured, converted, stored, or shared, based on an individual’s biometric identifier used to identify an individual) collected, captured, taken, received, converted, or otherwise obtained, maintained, stored, used, shared, disseminated, or disclosed by Northwestern at any time from June 6, 2013 to October 22, 2024 without first executing a written consent.
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.
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BIPA generally prohibits private entities from capturing, obtaining, storing, transferring, and/or using the biometric identifiers and/or information, such as fingerprints, of another individual for any purpose, including timekeeping, without first providing such individual with certain written disclosures and obtaining written consent. This lawsuit alleges that Northwestern violated BIPA by collecting, capturing, receiving, storing, or otherwise obtaining, retaining, disseminating, or disclosing individuals’ fingerprints, finger scan data, and/or any other alleged biometric identifiers and/or information without first providing the requisite disclosures or obtaining the requisite consent.
Importantly, after the Parties agreed to a settlement, the Illinois Supreme Court, on November 30, 2023, issued a decision in this case finding that the “biometric information, as alleged in the complaints, was collected, used, and stored to access medications and medical supplies for patient health care treatment and is excluded from coverage under [BIPA] because it is ‘information collected, used, or stored for health care treatment, payment, or operations under [HIPAA].’” Mosby v. The Ingalls Memorial Hospital, 2023 IL 129081, ¶ 57. This means that had the Parties not agreed to a settlement when they did, the Settlement Class would have received nothing.
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Before the Illinois Supreme Court issued its decision, the Parties agreed to a settlement to resolve this matter. The Parties’ Settlement, which resolves all claims against Northwestern, requires Northwestern to pay money to the Settlement Class, as well as pay settlement administration expenses, attorneys’ fees and costs to Class Counsel, and service awards to the Class Representative and Additional Class Representatives, if such payments are approved by the Court.
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 certified the Settlement Class for settlement purposes only, so that members of the Settlement Class can be given this Notice and the opportunity to exclude themselves from the Settlement Class, or 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.
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Before the Illinois Supreme Court issued its decision, the Parties agreed to a settlement to resolve this matter. The Parties’ Settlement, which resolves all claims against Northwestern, requires Northwestern to pay money to the Settlement Class, as well as pay settlement administration expenses, attorneys’ fees and costs to Class Counsel, and service awards to the Class Representative and Additional Class Representatives, if such payments are approved by the Court.
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 certified the Settlement Class for settlement purposes only, so that members of the Settlement Class can be given this Notice and the opportunity to exclude themselves from the Settlement Class, or 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.
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You are a member of the Settlement Class if you, while in the State of Illinois, had your alleged biometric identifier(s) (including, but not limited to, a retina or iris scan, fingerprint, voiceprint, or scan of hand or face geometry) and/or alleged biometric information (including, but not limited to, any information regardless of how it is captured, converted, stored, or shared, based on an individual’s biometric identifier used to identify an individual) collected, captured, taken, received, converted, or otherwise obtained, maintained, stored, used, shared, disseminated, or disclosed by Northwestern at any time from June 6, 2013 to October 22, 2024 without first executing a written consent. You will be considered a member of the Settlement Class unless you timely file an exclusion request as described in FAQ 6.
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(2) Exclude yourself.
(3) Object to the Settlement.
If you wish to object to the Settlement, you must submit your objection in writing to the Clerk of the Court of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, Calendar 4, Courtroom 2408, 50 W. Washington St., Chicago, IL 60602. The objection must be filed with the Court no later than March 7, 2025. You must also send a copy of your objection to the attorneys for all Parties to the lawsuit, including Class Counsel (see FAQ 11), as well as the attorneys representing Northwestern (Bonnie Keane DelGobbo, Baker & Hostetler, One North Wacker, Suite 3700, Chicago, Illinois 60606), postmarked no later than March 7, 2025. A copy of the objection must also be mailed to Mazya v. Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital, et. al. at, P.O. Box 25226 Santa Ana, CA 92799.
Any objection to the proposed Settlement must include your (i) full name, address, and telephone number; (ii) the case name and number of this Litigation; (iii) the location and date range during which you used an allegedly biometric-enabled device; (iv) all grounds for the objection, with factual and legal support for the stated objection, including any supporting materials; (v) the identification of any other objections you have filed, or have had filed on your behalf, in any other class action cases in the last five years; and (vi) your signature. If you hire an attorney in connection with making an objection, you must provide the name, address, and telephone number of your attorney, and that attorney must also file with the Court a notice of appearance by the objection deadline of March 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. Class Members who do not timely make their objections in this manner will be deemed to have waived all objections and will not be heard or have the right to appeal approval of the Settlement.
You may appear at the Final Approval Hearing, which is to be held on April 9, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. CST via Zoom (Meeting ID: 974 5431 3798 Password 501494) and in Courtroom 2408 of the Daley Center, Cook County Courthouse, 50 W. Washington St., Chicago, Illinois 60602, 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 service awards to the Class Representative and Additional Class Representatives, 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.
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Payments. Northwestern will make available a $3,883,000 Settlement Fund for the Class Members. All Settlement Class Members, unless they seek exclusion, are entitled to receive a payment out of the Settlement Fund. If the Settlement is approved, each Settlement Class Member will be entitled to an equal gross amount share of approximately $250 out of the Settlement Fund, less deductions for settlement administration costs, attorneys’ fees and costs, and service awards to the Class Representative and Additional Class Representatives. The Settlement Administrator will issue a check to each Class Member for which it has a U.S. Mail address following final approval of the Settlement. If you received the Notice via U.S. Mail, you will automatically receive a settlement check if the Settlement receives Final Approval. Checks issued to Settlement Class Members will expire and become void 120 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 and negotiating the Settlement. The Class Representative, Yana Mazya, will also apply to the Court for a service award of up to $10,000 for her time, effort, and service to the Class in this matter, as well as a total service award of up to $20,000, collectively, to the Additional Class Representatives, Sarah Singer, Cameron DeHaven, Lilliana Del Toro, and Leanne Wilhemi.
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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 against Defendants and the Released Parties relating to the collection or obtainment, storage, use and disclosure of fingerprints, finger scan data, and/or any other alleged biometric identifiers and/or information. Giving up your legal claims is called a release. The precise terms of the release are in the Settlement Agreement, which is available upon request. Unless you formally exclude yourself from this Settlement, you will release your claims. If you have any questions, you can talk for free to Class Counsel, who is identified below and 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.
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The Parties cannot predict exactly when (or whether) the Court will give final approval to the Settlement, so please be patient. 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 35 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.
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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, among other things, 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, administration expenses and Class Representative’s service award. The Court will hold the Final Approval Hearing on April 9, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. CST via Zoom (Meeting ID: 974 5431 3798 Password: 501494) and in Courtroom 2408 of the Daley Center, Cook County Courthouse, 50 W. Washington St., Chicago, Illinois 60602. The Final Approval Hearing may be continued to a future date without further notice.
If the Settlement is given final approval, the Settlement’s terms will take effect and the lawsuit will be dismissed on the merits with prejudice. This means that Class Members who do not exclude themselves will be barred from bringing their own lawsuits or joining or participating as a class member in any other lawsuit for recovery against Defendants and the Released Parties based on or related to claims that were or could have been brought against the Released Parties relating in any way to the automated dispensing systems used at or by any Released Party, regardless of whether such causes of action or claims are known or unknown, filed or unfiled, asserted or unasserted, and/or existing or contingent, including, but not limited to, any claims under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, 740 ILCS 14/1 et seq. 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 and Class Members will receive no benefits from the Settlement. Plaintiff, Defendants, and all of the Class Members will be in the same position as they were before execution of the Settlement, the Settlement will have no legal effect, and no class will remain certified (conditionally or otherwise).
Also, if the Settlement is not finally approved, because of the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision finding that Plaintiff’s and other workers’ allegedly biometric data collected through Northwestern’s allegedly biometric automated dispensing cabinets is excluded from BIPA’s protections, this case will be dismissed and you will not recover anything.
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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.
Ryan F. Stephan
James B. Zouras
Catherine Mitchell Duffy
STEPHAN ZOURAS, LLC
222 W. Adams Street, Suite 2020
Chicago, Illinois 60606
312.233.1550
312.233.1560 (fax)
rstephan@stephanzouras.com
jzouras@stephanzouras.com
cmitchell@stephanzouras.com
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This website 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 found here. If you have any questions, you can also contact Class Counsel at the number or email addresses set forth in FAQ 11 or contact the Settlement Administrator (contact information below). In addition, all pleadings and documents filed in court may be reviewed or copied from the Office of the Clerk.
Mazya v. Northwestern Memorial Healthcare, et al.
P.O. Box 25226
Santa Ana, CA 92799
info@NorthwesternBIPASettlement.com
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