Case Results Breakdowns & Disclaimer

• Non-Reversionary Common Fund Settlement Value
  
• Claims-Made Reversionary Fund—Offered Benefits
  • Monetary Fund Aggregate Cap
  • FMV of Privacy Products Offered
    

• Mass Tort—Aggregate Individual Settlements
  

• Single-Event Individual Injury Lump-Sum Settlements

Gross Amounts before Fees: The gross amount represented here for common funds, mass torts settlements, and single events consider an aggregate amount before deducting for attorney fees and administration costs. The claims-made value is separate from attorney fees and other litigation costs.  

Non-Disclosure of Sub-Category Gross Amounts: The Firm considers the breakdown within each category to be confidential to protect confidential settlements, as well as Firm trade secrets. The non-disclosure within each category also protects against setting potentially unrealistic expectations for individual injury clients.  

Given the lack of consensus among the courts and to eliminate any risk of overstating the offered settlement value, a second valuation method is outlined below. This approach uses an average redemption rate of seven percent (7%) as the value of the privacy product.

While our Firm has not submitted this approach with either a fee or final approval motion, the Firm recognizes that the question of value can be difficult and sees this as a balanced approach that could be useful for both settlement purposes and court evaluation. The Firm disagrees with a method that looks solely to the cost paid by the Defendant for offering the privacy product, as this pricing is based on far lower wholesale costs. The cost approach distorts the true value of the benefit since class members do not have access to the same pricing. For further discussion on privacy product valuation or clarification on the terminology and methodology, see the definition and disclaimer sections below.

Applying gross value offered Method #2—a more conservative valuation method—the Firm has also substantially contributed to settlements valued over $800 million when aggregating the following settlement categories:

• Non-Reversionary Common Fund Settlement Value
  
• Claims-Made Reversionary Fund—Offered Benefits
  • Monetary Fund Aggregate Cap
  • Partial FMV Value of Privacy Products (7%) Expected Redemption Rate
    

• Mass Tort Aggregate Individual Settlements
  

• Single-Event Catastrophic Injury—Aggregate Lump-Sum Settlements

Gross Amounts Before Fees: The gross amount represented here for common funds, mass torts settlements, and single events consider an aggregate amount before deducting for attorney fees and administration costs. The claims-made value is separate from attorney fees and other litigation costs.

Non-Disclosure of Sub-Category Gross Amounts: The Firm considers the breakdown within each category to be confidential to protect confidential settlements, as well as Firm trade secrets. The non-disclosure within each segment also protects against setting potentially unrealistic expectations for individual injury clients.  

To add further transparency, the website includes a publication and a calculation for the actual monetary relief secured for comparison to the value of the offered monetary relief. The aggregate recovered valuation is based on the actual settlement or verdict secured from the defendant—i.e., it excludes unclaimed funds offered in claims-made settlements.

The Firm has substantially contributed to recovering settlements in excess of $550,000,000, when combing the following settlement categories:

• Common Fund—Gross Settlements
  
• Claims-Made Fund Settlements—Redeemed Benefits  
  • Cash Payments
  • Retail Value of Privacy Products
  • Attorney Fees Paid for Benefit of Class
    

• MDL Mass Tort—Aggregate of Lump-Sum Settlements
  

• Single-Event Individual Injury—Aggregate of Lump-Sum Settlements

Gross Amounts Before Fees: The gross amount represented here for common funds, mass torts settlements, and single events consider an aggregate amount before deducting for attorney fees and administration costs. The claims-made value is separate from attorney fees and other litigation costs.

Non-Disclosure of Sub-Category Gross Amounts: The Firm considers the breakdown within each category to be confidential to protect confidential settlements, as well as Firm trade secrets. The non-disclosure within each segment also protects against setting potentially unrealistic expectations for individual injury clients.  

Business Practices Changes: Enhanced business practices are a common feature and value of class action settlements in both common fund and claims-made settlements. The changes often include the removal of technology from the defendant’s website, improved consent features, revised language on the website, and enhanced cybersecurity practices and infrastructure. The implementation, maintenance, and added compliance often represent a substantial cost between $1—3 million for larger networks. These business practice changes have an immediate impact on class members and create substantial value for future consumer protection.  Courts routinely place significant value on these aspects of settlements when addressing the full value of settlements for class members and applications have included affidavits in support. The valuation is not provided due to the confidential nature of the changes in many of the settlements.  

Claims-Made Settlements (Offered Value): A claims-made reversionary structure creates a maximum funding amount made available by corporate defendants and requires class members to submit individual claims to redeem cash funds.  All unclaimed funds will remain with or revert back to the Defendant.  Privacy product enrollment codes are typically provided to all class members without a need to file a claim. Attorney fees and administrative costs are paid separately.

Claims-Made Settlements (Secured Value—Redeemed Claims-Made Benefits Metrics): The aggregate for secured value only included the redemption metric to add transparency and allow for redemption value analysis as some courts—particularly in California and the 9^th Circuit—often apply when determining ultimate value to the Class. The redemption value includes redeemed cash and privacy product benefits.  

Common Fund Settlement (Value Offered/Value Secured): This settlement structure involves creating a non-reversionary fund for the benefit of the certified settlement class.  The fund is distributed on a pro-rata basis depending on the participation rate after payments of attorney fees, class representative awards, and claims administration costs. The total value represented in the amount offered and secured is the same as there is no reversion of the benefits. Any remainder would be distributed to a designated cy près recipient (Charitable Candidate). The gross amount represented here is the aggregate common fund value before deducting attorney fees and administration costs.

Gross Settlement Value Calculation: The gross value metric included is consistent with the valuations submitted to courts in support of attorney fee applications and final approval. The aggregate valuation includes cases where preliminary approval and final approval have been granted based in part on the total gross value submissions.

MDL Mass Tort—Aggregate Individual Settlements: The settlement amount listed is the gross aggregate settlement amount recovered for over (1000) one thousand individuals represented in over 40 state and federal court actions. The number includes settlements obtained in global settlements, inventory settlements, opt-out settlements, and bellwether settlements. The settlement amounts include the gross awards before the deduction of attorney fees (including Lyon Firm fees and MDL assessments), case expenses, and liens.

Partial Value of Privacy Products Approach: (7% claims rate—average claims rate across included settlements): Total offered subscription value is calculated by multiplying the aggregate retail value of the privacy products offered in claims-made settlements by the average enrollment rate of 7%. This figure represents the estimated value expected to be redeemed by class members, based on past settlement averages.

Privacy Product Valuation: Privacy Class Actions often include subscriptions for privacy products offered to class members for 1-2 years. The products have different features and benefits and are selected for the settlement based on the types of harm and risk involved in the case. For data breach victims, the relevant product features may include dark web monitoring and insurance for up to $1,000,000 in connected losses that may appear in the future. For privacy cases involving marketing and tracking that can lead to the disclosure, sale, and misuse of personal data by data brokers, the product offered may provide services to help remove personal data from data broker networks, while also offering insurance up to $1,000,000 for any future connected misuse of the data.  Applications for attorney fees and final approval often include the retail value of these privacy products to demonstrate to the court the total gross value offered to the settlement class.  

A couple of objectors, and at least one court, have raised questions and arguments claiming that the actual cost paid by the defendant, which is far lower due to the bulk pricing, should be the primary metric to consider when valuing the benefits of the settlement. This position is an outlier and had not been adopted with any authority to our knowledge. On the other hand, in the cases where Method #1 has been presented to the Court without objection from defendants, the court granted the fee application and final approval. The courts, however, have not come to a consensus on this issue, and it is addressed on a case-by-case basis, but very simply, consumers do not have access to wholesale or bulk pricing, so using that is not an appropriate market-based metric.

As such, the Firm’s position, which is consistent with the positions taken in mediations, applications for preliminary approval, fee approval, and final approval, is that the retail value is the proper metric when determining the value of the settlement—but a second more conservative method of valuation has also been presented to reduce any risk that the value of monitoring playing a disproportionate amount of the value offered or recovered. For more information on the privacy products offered in Lyon Firm settlements, see (Link to CyEx)

Single-Event Settlements: The gross single-event settlement amount included in context covers over (100) one hundred separate injury cases with distinct and unique facts. Structured annuity value was included for three recoveries. The settlement amounts include the gross awards before the deduction of attorney fees, case expenses, and liens.

Active Contributions and Co-Counsel Relationships: The Lyon Firm actively participated and contributed to all of the cases included in the aggregated amounts. The results should not be interpreted as the result of the sole efforts of the Firm. All of the cases involved contributions from other individuals outside the Firm in generating the results and value, including co-counsel, expert witnesses, consultants, whistleblowers, and courageous plaintiffs and class representatives. The complexity of cases and related litigation requires the Firm to work collectively with firms throughout the country to offer the best representation to class members and individual clients. The Firm’s roles and titles vary from sole lead counsel, co-class counsel, executive committee member, steering committee member, discovery committee member, and Plaintiffs’ Counsel.  Representative cases with the specific roles and contributions to each matter are included in the case results descriptions. Cases that were referred without any contributory work were not included in the aggregate analysis.

Prior Results Not Indicative of Future Results: These figures are illustrative of Firm history only. Because every legal matter depends on its unique facts, evidence, and jurisdiction, prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome for your case. Displayed amounts are gross totals before the deduction of contingency attorneys' fees, expert witness fees, medical liens, and court costs. The cumulative total reflects amounts resolved on behalf of individual personal injury plaintiffs. Individual payouts vary significantly based on specific case facts. Average settlement values should not be interpreted as an indication of any expected future recovery. The specific terms remain strictly confidential in compliance with California Rule of Professional Conduct 1.6.