Frequently Asked Questions

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

The Honorable Valerie E. Caproni, of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, is overseeing this case. The case is called Lucchese-Soto, et al. v. The Criterion Collection, LLC, Case No. 1:24-CV-07345-VEC. The people who have sued are called the Plaintiffs. The Defendant is The Criterion Collection, LLC.
 

In a class action, one or more people called the class representative(s) (in this case, Francis Lucchese-Soto, Kevin McGuire, Matthew Wickham, and Amitai Heller) 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 Settlement Class.

This Action claims that Defendant violated several privacy laws Video Privacy Protection Act (the “VPPA”), 18 U.S.C. § 2710, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (“ECPA”), 18 U.S.C. § 2510, the Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act (“WESCA”), 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. §§ 5701, et seq., and the Florida Security of Communications Act (“FSCA”), Fla. Stat. §§ 934.01, et seq. by disclosing its subscribers’ personally identifiable information (“PII”) to Twilio, Inc. and Meta Platforms, Inc. without subscribers’ consent. The VPPA defines PII to include information which identifies a person as having requested or obtained specific video materials or services from a video tape service provider. The Defendant denies that it engaged in any wrongdoing or violated any law. The Court has not determined who is right. Rather, the Parties have agreed to settle the lawsuit to avoid the uncertainties and expenses associated with ongoing litigation.

The Court has not decided whether the Plaintiffs or the Defendant 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 Settlement Class is defined as:

All Persons who during September 27, 2022, through December 27, 2024 in the United States, (i) were a registered user of, or had subscription to, the Criterion Channel Service; and (2) watched a pre-recorded video through the Criterion Channel Service.

Excluded are: (1) any Judge or Magistrate presiding over this Action and members of their families; (2) the Defendant, its subsidiaries, parent companies, successors, predecessors, and any entity in which the Defendant or its parents have a controlling interest and their current or former officers, directors, agents, attorneys, and employees; (3) Persons who properly execute and file a timely request for exclusion from the
class; and (4) the legal representatives, successors or assigns of any such excluded persons.
 

Defendant has agreed to make $4,500,000 available under the Settlement (the “Settlement Fund”). Class Member payments, and the Settlement Administration Expenses to administer the Settlement, attorneys’ fees or Fee Award, and an Service Awards to the Class Representatives will also come out of this fund (see Question 13).

If you are Settlement Class Member you may submit a Claim Form to receive a cash payment of a pro rata (meaning equal) portion of the Settlement Fund after the above-stated costs, expenses, Settlement Administration Expenses, and Service Awards have been paid out. The amount of payment will depend on how many of the Class Members file Approved Claims. Each Class Member who files an Approved Claim will receive a proportionate share of the Settlement Fund. You can contact Class Counsel to inquire as to the number of claims filed.   

The hearing to consider the fairness of the settlement is scheduled for Wednesday, October 15, 2025 at 2:30 pm ET. If the Court approves the settlement, eligible Class Members whose claims were approved by the Settlement Administrator will receive their payment thirty (60) days after the Effective Date. The payment will be made in the form of a check, unless you elect to receive payment by PayPal or Venmo, and all checks will expire and become void 180 days after they are issued.

If you are a Class Member and you want to get a payment, you must complete and submit a Claim Form by Tuesday, August 19 2025. Claim Forms can be found and submitted by clicking here [hyperlink], or by printing and mailing a paper Claim Form, copies of which are available for download here [hyperlink].

We also encourage you to submit your claim on-line. Not only is it easier and more secure, but it is completely free and takes only minutes!
 

If the Settlement becomes final, you will give up your right to sue Defendant for the claims this Settlement resolves. The Settlement Agreement describes the specific claims you are giving up against the Defendant. You will be “releasing” the Defendant and certain of its affiliates described in Section 3 of the Settlement Agreement.  Unless you exclude yourself (see Question 14), you are “releasing” the claims, regardless of whether you submit a claim or not.  

The Settlement Agreement is available through the “court documents” link on the website.

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, of course, talk to your own lawyer if you have questions about what this means.
 

If you do nothing, you won’t get any benefits from this Settlement. But, unless you exclude yourself, 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.

The Court has appointed Bursor & Fisher, P.A. and Levi & Korsinsky, LLP 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.

Class Counsel’s attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses will be paid from the Settlement Fund in an amount determined and awarded by the Court. Class Counsel is entitled to seek no more than one-third of the $4.5 million Settlement Fund ($1,499,850), but the Court may award less than this amount.

As approved by the Court, the Class Representatives will be paid an Service Award from the Settlement Fund for helping to bring and settle the case. The Class Representatives will seek no more than $2,500 each as an Service Award, but the Court may award less than this amount.
 

To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must mail or otherwise deliver a letter (or request for exclusion) stating that you want to be excluded from the Lucchese-Soto v. The Criterion Collection, LLC, et al. Case No. 1:24-cv-07345-VEC settlement. Your letter or request for exclusion must also include your name, your address, your signature, the name and number of this case, and a statement that you wish to be excluded. You must mail or deliver your exclusion request no later than Tuesday, August 19, 2025 to:  

Criterion Channel Settlement
c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC
P.O. Box 225391
New York, NY 10150-5391
 

No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up any right to sue the Defendant for the claims being resolved by this Settlement. 

No. If you exclude yourself, do not submit a Claim Form to ask for benefits.

If you’re a Class Member, you can object to the Settlement if you don’t like any part of it. You can give reasons why you think the Court should not approve it. The Court will consider your views. To object, you must file with the Court a letter or brief stating that you object to the Settlement in Lucchese-Soto v. The Criterion Collection, LLC, et al. Case No. 1:24-cv-07345-VEC and identify all your reasons for your objections (including citations and supporting evidence) and attach any materials you rely on for your objections. Your letter or brief must also include your name, an explanation of the basis upon which you claim to be a Settlement Class Member, the name and contact information of any and all attorneys representing, advising, or in any way assisting you in connection with your objection, and your signature. If you, or an attorney assisting you with your objection, have ever objected to any class action settlement where you or the objecting attorney has asked for or received payment in exchange for dismissal of the objection (or any related appeal) without modification to the settlement, you must include a statement in your objection identifying each such case by full case caption. You must also mail or deliver a copy of your letter or brief to Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel listed below.

Class Counsel will file with the Court and post on this website its request for attorneys’ fees by Tuesday, August 5, 2025. 
  
If you want to appear and speak at the Final Approval Hearing to object to the Settlement, with or without a lawyer (explained below in answer to Question Number 21), you must say so in your letter or brief.  File the objection with the Court and mail a copy to these different places postmarked no later than Tuesday, August 19, 2025.
 

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

The Court will hold the Final Approval Hearing at 2:30pm ET on October 15, 2025 in Courtroom 20C at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse, 500 Pearl St., New York, NY 10007. The purpose of the hearing will be 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 will be available to hear any objections and arguments concerning the fairness of the Settlement.

The hearing may be postponed to a different date or time without notice, so it is a good idea to check on this website or call (833) 420-3829. If, however, you timely objected to the Settlement and advised the Court that you intend to appear and speak at the Final Approval Hearing, you will receive notice of any change in the date of such Final Approval Hearing.  
 

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. But, you are welcome to come at your own expense. If you send an objection or comment, you don’t have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as you filed and mailed your written objection on time, the Court will consider it. You may also pay another lawyer to attend, but it’s not required.

Yes. You may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Fairness Hearing. To do so, you must include in your letter or brief objecting to the settlement a statement saying that it is your “Notice of Intent to Appear in Lucchese-Soto v. The Criterion Collection, LLC, Case No. 1:24-cv-07345-VEC.” It must include your name, address, telephone number and signature as well as the name and address of your lawyer, if one is appearing for you. Your objection and notice of intent to appear must be filed with the Court and postmarked no later than Tuesday, August 19, 2025, and be sent to the addresses listed in Question 17.  

This Notice summarizes the Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement. You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreement on this website, in the Documents tab. You may also write with questions to Criterion Channel Settlement, c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, P.O. Box 225391 New York, NY 10150-5391. You can call the Settlement Administrator at  (833) 420-3829 or contact Class Counsel at [email protected], 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, including how to update your address.