What is this lawsuit about?
A Proposed Settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against The New York Times Company (“Defendant” or “NYT”). The class action lawsuit alleges that NYT automatically renewed its customers’ digital, print, and standalone subscription offerings (the “NYT Subscriptions”) and charged customers’ payment methods without providing the disclosures and authorizations required by California law. NYT denies these claims. The Court has not ruled in favor of Plaintiff or NYT. Instead, the parties agreed to a Proposed Settlement to avoid the expense and risks of continuing the lawsuit.
How do I know if I am in the Settlement Class?
The class is defined as all persons who, from June 17, 2016, to and through May 12, 2021, enrolled in an automatically renewing NYT Subscription directly through NYT using a California billing and/or delivery address, and who were charged and paid an automatic renewal fee(s) in connection with such subscription.
What does the Settlement provide?
Those included in the Settlement will be entitled to receive Automatic Access Code(s) for a free one-month digital NYT Subscription or, at their election, a pro rata (meaning proportional) cash payment from the Settlement Fund, which Class Counsel estimates to be $5 based on expected claims rates.
Class members wishing to receive cash could have made an election to receive cash by submitting a valid Claim Form to the Settlement Administrator. Class members who neither submitted a valid Claim Form nor excluded themselves from the Settlement will receive Automatic Access Codes for one month of free access to select NYT digital products and services that normally require a paid subscription, with no expectation or obligation to continue using the services beyond the free period. The type of NYT Subscription a particular class member is eligible to receive depends on whether his or her NYT Subscription was active or inactive as of June 9, 2021.