Frequently Asked Questions
- Why was a notice issued?
- What is a class action?
- What is this lawsuit about?
- Why is there a settlement?
- How do I know if I am in the Settlement Class?
- What does the Settlement provide?
- How much will my payment be?
- When will I get my payment?
- How do I get a payment?
- What am I giving up if I stay in the Class?
- What happens if I do nothing at all?
- Do I have a lawyer in the case?
- How will the lawyers be paid?
- How do I get out of the Settlement?
- If I don’t exclude myself, can I sue the Defendant for the same thing later?
- If I exclude myself, can I get anything from this Settlement?
- How do I object to the Settlement?
- What’s the difference between objecting and excluding myself from the Settlement?
- When and where will the Court decide whether to approve the Settlement?
- Do I have to come to the hearing?
- May I speak at the hearing?
- Where do I get more information?
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Why was a notice issued?
A court authorized the 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. The Notice, along with this website, explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, and your legal rights. A copy of the Notice is available on the Documents page.
The Honorable Charles W. Smith of the Circuit Court for the Nineteenth Judicial District, Lake County, Illinois, is overseeing this case. The case is called Gutierrez et al. v. Formula One Digital Media Ltd., Case No. 2025LA00000329. The people who have sued are called the Plaintiffs. The Defendant is Formula One Digital Media Limited.
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What is a class action?
In a class action, one or more people called the class representatives (in this case, Sergio Gutierrez and Esteban Palma) 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.
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What is this lawsuit about?
This lawsuit claims that the Defendant violated the Video Privacy Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2710, et seq. (“VPPA”), by disclosing its subscribers’ personally identifiable information (“PII”) without 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 maintains it obtained consent for the purported disclosure of any video-watching information and denies it 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.
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Why is there a Settlement?
The Court has not decided whether the Plaintiffs or the Defendant should win this case. Instead, both sides agreed to a Settlement.
This way, they avoid the uncertainties and expenses associated with ongoing litigation and related appeals, and Settlement Class Members will get compensation sooner rather than, if at all, after the completion of a trial.
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WHO IS INCLUDED IN THE SETTLEMENT
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How do I know if I am in the Settlement Class?
The Settlement Class is defined as follows:
All persons who had any Formula 1 account and accessed any Formula 1 Digital Properties in the United States and watched a pre-recorded video between May 1, 2022, and June 24, 2025.
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THE SETTLEMENT BENEFITS
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What does this Settlement provide?
Monetary Relief: If the Settlement is approved by the Court, the Defendant will make available up to $5,500,000.00 as a Settlement Benefit Cap to pay all Approved Claims submitted by the Settlement Class, together with notice and administration expenses, attorneys’ fees and costs, and incentive awards to the Class Representatives (see FAQ 13).
Prospective Changes: In addition to this monetary relief, the Defendant will add the word “video” to its website consent management platform disclosure unless and until (1) the VPPA is amended, repealed, or otherwise invalidated by judicial decision as applied to the use of website/app tracking technology, (2) the Defendant obtains consent for the disclosure of the video content viewing information by other means, or (3) the Defendant ceases using website technology that discloses video-viewing information in a manner configured to disclose PII.
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How much will my payment be?
If you are member of the Settlement Class, you may submit a Claim Form to receive a cash payment of up to $17.00.
If the number of Approved Claims submitted exceeds the Settlement Benefit Cap of $5,500,000.00, each Approved Claim will be reduced an equal amount.
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When will I get my payment?
The hearing to consider the fairness of the Settlement is scheduled for October 30, 2025.
If the Court approves the Settlement, eligible Settlement Class Members whose claims were approved by the Settlement Administrator will receive their payment 45 days after the Effective Date of the Settlement.
The payment will be made in the form of a check, unless you elect to receive payment by PayPal or Venmo. All checks will expire and become void 180 days after they are issued.
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HOW TO GET BENEFITS
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How do I get a payment?
If you are a Settlement Class Member and you want to get a payment, you must have completed and submitted a Claim Form by September 22, 2025.
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REMAINING IN THE SETTLEMENT
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What am I giving up if I stay in the Class?
If the Settlement becomes final, you will give up your right to sue the 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 1.28 of the Settlement Agreement. Unless you exclude yourself (see FAQ 14), you are “releasing” the claims, regardless of whether you submit a claim or not. The Settlement Agreement is available on the 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 FAQ 12 for free, or you can, of course, talk to your own lawyer if you have questions about what this means.
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What happens if I do nothing at all?
If you do nothing, you won’t get any benefits from this Settlement.
Unless you exclude yourself, you also 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.
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THE LAWYERS REPRESENTING YOU
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Do I have a lawyer in the case?
The Court has appointed Yitzchak Kopel of Bursor & Fisher, P.A., and Eugene Y. Turin and Jordan R. Frysinger of McGuire Law, PC, 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 own expense. You may contact Class Counsel using the information listed below:
Eugene Y. Turin
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McGuire Law, P.C.
55 W. Wacker Dr., 9th Floor
Chicago, IL 60601
Telephone: 312-893-7002
Email: eturin@mcgpc.com
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How will the lawyers be paid?
Class Counsel’s attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses will be paid in an amount determined and awarded by the Court.
Class Counsel is entitled to seek no more than one-third of the $5,500,000.00 Settlement Benefit Cap for their efforts in prosecuting this matter and achieving this Settlement, but the Court may award less than this amount.
As approved by the Court, the Class Representatives will be paid an incentive award to be paid out of the Settlement Benefit Cap for helping to bring and settle the case. The Class Representatives will seek no more than $2,500.00 each as an incentive award, but the Court may award less than this amount.
Class Counsel will file with the Court and post on this website its request for attorneys’ fees as well as the Class Representatives’ requests for incentive awards by September 7, 2025.
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EXCLUDING YOURSELF FROM THE SETTLEMENT
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How do I get out of the Settlement?
The deadline to exclude yourself from the Settlement was, September 22, 2025,
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If I don’t exclude myself, can I sue the Defendant for the same thing later?
No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up any right to sue the Defendant for the claims being resolved by this Settlement.
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If I exclude myself, can I get anything from this Settlement?
No. If you exclude yourself, do not submit a Claim Form to ask for benefits.
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OBJECTING TO THE SETTLEMENT
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How do I object to the Settlement?
The deadline to object to the Settlement was September 22, 2025.
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What’s the difference between objecting and excluding myself from the Settlement?
Objecting simply 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 Settlement 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.
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THE COURT’S FINAL APPROVAL HEARING
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When and where will the Court decide whether to approve the Settlement?
The Court granted final approval of the Settlement on October 17, 2025 in advance of the Final Approval Hearing. A copy of the Order is on the Documents page.
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Do I have to come to the hearing?
The Court granted final approval of the Settlement on October 17, 2025.
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May I speak at the hearing?
Your objection and notice of intent to appear needed to be filed with the Court and postmarked no later than September 22, 2025. The deadline has passed, and the Court granted final approval of the Settlement on October 17, 2025.
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GETTING MORE INFORMATION
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Where do I get more information?
The Notice summarizes the Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement. You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreement on the Documents page of this website.
You may also contact the Settlement Administrator at info@Formula1USVPPASettlement.com or write with questions to the following address:
Formula 1 VPPA Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 4830
Portland, OR 97208-4830
You can call the Settlement Administrator at 1-888-854-7166 or contact Class Counsel at the information provided above if you have any questions. Before doing so, however, please read the full Notice carefully. You may also find additional information elsewhere on this website.
In addition to the documents available on the case website, all pleadings and documents filed in court may be reviewed or copied in the Office of the Clerk.
Please do not call the Judge or the Clerk of the Court about this case. They will not be able to give you advice on your options.
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