The Court authorized the Notice because you had a right to know about a proposed Settlement of this class action lawsuit and about all of your options, before the Court decided to give final approval to the Settlement. This Notice explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, and your legal rights.

The Honorable Ronnie Abrams, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, is overseeing this case. The case is called Moses v. The New York Times Company, Case No. 1:20-cv-04658-RA. The person who sued is called the Plaintiff. The Defendant is The New York Times Company

In a class action, one or more people called class representatives (in this case, Maribel Moses) sue on behalf of a group or a “class” of people who have similar claims. In a class action, the court resolves the issues for all class members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Class.

This lawsuit claims that NYT violated California law by automatically renewing its customers’ subscriptions and charging customers’ payment methods without first providing certain disclosures and obtaining the requisite authorizations. NYT denies the claims in the lawsuit and contends that it did not do anything wrong and denies that class certification is warranted or appropriate.

The Court has not decided whether the Plaintiff or NYT should win this case. Instead, both sides agreed to a Settlement. That way, they avoid the uncertainties and expenses associated with ongoing litigation, and Class Members will get compensation sooner rather than, if at all, after the completion of a trial.

The issuance of this Notice is not an expression of the Court’s opinion on the merit or the lack of merit of the Representative Plaintiff’s claims or the defenses in the lawsuit. Both parties recognize that to resolve the issues raised in the lawsuit would be time-consuming, uncertain, and expensive.

The Court decided that everyone who fits the following description is a member of the Settlement Class:

All persons who, from June 17, 2016, to and through May 12, 2021, enrolled in a NYT Subscription using a California billing address and/or delivery zip code with Defendant and whose payment methods were directly billed by NYT in connection with such subscription.

Monetary Relief: A Settlement Fund has been created totaling $2,375,000. The Settlement Fund Class Member payments, as well as the cost to administer the Settlement, the cost to inform people about the Settlement, attorneys’ fees, and an award to the Class Representative, will come out of this fund. (See Question 13.)

Other Relief: NYT has revised the presentation and wording of the automatic renewal terms on its checkout pages in its mobile and desktop platforms and in its direct mail offers to be consistent with the requirements of Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17602(a)(1)-(2). NYT also provides consumers who submit a new order for an automatically renewing subscription with an acknowledgment that includes the automatic renewal terms, cancellation policy, and information regarding how to cancel in a manner that is capable of being retained by the consumer, consistent with Bus. & Prof. Code § 17602(c).

A detailed description of the Settlement benefits can be found in the Settlement Agreement, which can be found on the ‘Important Documents’ page.

If you are a Class Member and you wanted to get a payment, you must have completed and submitted a valid Claim Form by August 19, 2024. The deadline to submit a Claim Form has passed.

Yes. After an appeal to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals to the Second Circuit, the 2021 settlement in this same case is now void. You must submit a valid Claim Form by the claims deadline to receive a payment from the Settlement Fund.

The Court held a Final Approval Hearing on October 4, 2024 and released an Order approving the Settlement on October 10, 2024. Now that the Settlement is final, we estimate payments will be sent to eligible class members on January 21, 2025. Please keep in mind that checks will expire and become void 180 days after they are issued. All funds remaining of uncashed checks will be donated to the Legal Aid Association of California.

The Court granted Final Approval of the Settlement on October 10, 2024. If you did not exclude yourself from the Settlement, you have given up your right to sue NYT and other Released Parties for the claims being resolved by this Settlement. The specific claims you have given up against NYT are described in the Settlement Agreement. You have “released” NYT and certain of its affiliates, employees and representatives as described in Section 3.2 of the Settlement Agreement. Unless you excluded yourself (see Question 14), you have “released” the claims, regardless of whether you submitted a claim or not. The Settlement Agreement is available through the Important Documents page.

The Settlement Agreement describes the released claims with specific descriptions, so read it carefully. If you have any questions you can talk to the lawyers listed in Question 12 for free, or you can talk to your own lawyer if you have questions about what this means.

If you did nothing, you won’t get any cash payment from this Settlement. You also won’t get any free access codes to NYT services if you did nothing.

Even if you did nothing, you won’t be able to start a lawsuit or be part of any other lawsuit against the Defendant for the claims being resolved by this Settlement, unless you excluded yourself.

The Court has appointed Bursor & Fisher, P.A to be the attorneys representing the Settlement Class. They are called “Class Counsel.” They believe, after conducting an extensive investigation, that the Settlement Agreement is fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the Settlement Class. You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer in this case, you may hire one at your expense.

Now that the Settlement is final, the Defendant has agreed that Class Counsel attorneys’ fees and costs will be paid out of the Settlement Fund. The amount approved by the Court to be paid to Class Counsel in attorneys’ fees is $791,666.66. The fee petition sought no more than one-third (1/3) of the Settlement Fund, inclusive of reimbursement of their costs and expenses.

Additionally, Defendant has agreed, and the Court has approved, that the Class Representative will be paid a service award of $5,000 from the Settlement Fund for her services in helping to bring and resolve this case.

If you had wanted to exclude yourself from the Settlement, you could have written to the Settlement Administrator about why you wanted to exclude yourself from the Settlement by no later than August 19, 2024. The deadline to exclude yourself from the Settlement has passed.

No. Unless you excluded yourself by August 19, 2024, you gave up any right to sue NYT for the claims being resolved by this Settlement.

No. If you excluded yourself, you will not receive any settlement benefits.

If you are a Class Member, you could have objected to the Settlement if you didn’t like any part of it. To object, you must have filed with the Court a letter or brief stating that you object to the Settlement and sent a copy to Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel.

Class Counsel filed with the Court and posted on the website its request for attorneys’ fees.

If you wanted to appear and speak at the Final Approval Hearing to object to the Settlement, with or without a lawyer, you must have said so in your letter or brief. The deadline to file an objection was August 19, 2024, and has passed.

Objecting simply means telling the Court that you don’t like something about the Settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Class. Excluding yourself from the Class is telling the Court that you don’t want to be part of the Class. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object because the Settlement no longer affects you.

The Court held the Final Approval Hearing on October 4, 2024. The purpose of the hearing was for the Court to determine whether to approve the Settlement as fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the Class; to consider the Class Counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees and expenses; and to consider the request for a service award to the Class Representative. At that hearing, the Court was available to hear any objections and arguments concerning the fairness of the Settlement. The Court approved the Settlement and released an Order on October 10, 2024, which can be viewed on the Important Documents page of the Settlement website.

The Notice summarizes the Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement, which can be found on the Important Documents page. You may also write with questions to NYT Renewal Settlement, c/o JND Legal Administration, PO Box 91307, Seattle, WA 98111. You can call the Settlement Administrator at 1-877-495-6974 if you have any questions. Before doing so, however, please read this full Notice carefully. You may also find additional information elsewhere on the case website. Please do not telephone the Court to inquire about the Settlement or the claims process.