Winston v. Peacock TV LLC

The Court authorized the Notice because you have a right to know about the 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 explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, and your legal rights.

The Honorable Andrew L. Carter, Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, is overseeing this case. The case is called Winston v. Peacock TV LLC, Case No. 1:23-cv-08191-ALC. The person who sued is called the Plaintiff. The Defendant is Peacock TV LLC.

In a class action, one or more people called class representatives (in this case, Holly Winston) 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 Peacock violated California law by automatically renewing its customers’ subscriptions and charging customers’ payment methods without first providing certain disclosures and obtaining the requisite authorizations. Peacock 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 Peacock should win this case. Instead, both sides agreed to a Settlement to avoid the uncertainties and expenses associated with ongoing litigation, and Settlement Class Members will get compensation sooner rather than after the completion of a trial, if at all.

The issuance of the 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 everyone who fits the following description is a member of the Settlement Class:

All Persons who, from September 15, 2019, to and through February 27, 2024, enrolled in an automatically renewing Peacock Subscription using a California billing address with Defendant and whose payment methods were directly billed by Defendant in connection with such Peacock Subscription, and who were charged and paid Renewal Fees in connection with such subscription(s).

Monetary Relief: A Settlement Fund has been created totaling $3,742,637.14. The Settlement 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.

Other Relief: Peacock has agreed to provide automatic renewal terms on its checkout pages in a manner that is consistent with the requirements of California’s Automatic Renewal Law (“ARL”), Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17600, et seq. Specifically, Peacock agrees to present to California subscribers on the checkout page for any Peacock Subscription that will automatically renew the automatic renewal offer terms associated with such subscription (including cancellation policy) in a clear and conspicuous manner before the subscription or purchasing agreement and in visual proximity to the request for consent to the offer. Defendant will obtain affirmative consent to the agreement containing the automatic renewal terms in a manner that complies with the ARL. Peacock further agrees to disclose to subscribers with a California billing address, in a manner that substantially complies with the ARL, how to cancel in an acknowledgment email that is capable of being retained by consumers.

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

If you are a Settlement Class Member and you want to get a payment, you must complete and submit a valid Claim Form by November 13, 2024.

To submit a Claim Form online or to request a paper copy, follow the instructions found on the Submit A Claim page of this website.

The hearing to consider the fairness of the Settlement is scheduled for November 21, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. If the Court approves the Settlement, eligible Settlement Class Members whose claims were approved by the Settlement Administrator will receive their payment after the Settlement has been finally approved and/or after any appeals process is complete. Settlement Class Members who submit valid Claim Forms by the Claims Deadline will receive their payment in the form of a check or an alternative method, such as a digital MasterCard, PayPal, or Venmo, and all checks will expire and become void 180 days after they are issued.

If the Settlement becomes final, you will give up your right to sue Peacock and other Released Parties for the claims being resolved by this Settlement. The specific claims you are giving up against Peacock are described in the Settlement Agreement. You will be “releasing” Peacock and certain of its affiliates, employees and representatives as described in Section 3.2 of the Settlement Agreement. Unless you exclude yourself (see FAQ 13), 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 11 for free, or you can talk to your own lawyer if you have questions about what this means.

If you do nothing, you won’t get any cash payment from this Settlement.

Even if you do 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 exclude yourself.

The Court has appointed Bursor & Fisher, P.A. and Gucovschi Rozenshteyn, PLLC to be the attorneys representing the Settlement Class. They are called “Class Counsel.” They believe, after conducting an extensive investigation, 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.

Any attorneys’ fees and costs awarded by the Court will be paid out of the Settlement Fund in an amount to be determined by the Court. The fee petition will seek no more than one third of the Settlement Fund, but the Court may award less than this amount. Under the Settlement Agreement, any amount awarded to Class Counsel will be paid out of the Settlement Fund.

Subject to approval by the Court, the Class Representative may be paid up to $5,000 from the Settlement Fund.

To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must mail or otherwise deliver a written request for exclusion stating that you want to be excluded from the Winston v. Peacock TV LLC, Case No. 1:23-cv-08191-ALC 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 postmarked no later than November 13, 2024, to the following address:

Winston v. Peacock TV LLC
c/o Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 2956
Portland, OR 97208-2956

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

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

If you are a Settlement Class Member and do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, 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 Winston v. Peacock TV LLC, Case No. 1:23-cv-08191-ALC, 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, your address, 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 Peacock’s Counsel listed below.

Class Counsel will file with the Court and post on the website its request for attorneys' fees on or about September 22, 2024.

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 FAQ 20), you must say so in your letter or brief and file the objection with the Court and mail a copy to Class Counsel and Peacock’s counsel. All of these mailings must be postmarked no later than November 13, 2024.

IF YOU DO NOT TIMELY MAKE YOUR OBJECTION, YOU WILL BE DEEMED TO HAVE WAIVED ALL OBJECTIONS AND WILL NOT BE ENTITLED TO SPEAK AT THE FINAL APPROVAL HEARING.

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 Settlement no longer affects you.

The Court will hold the Final Approval Hearing on November 21, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time in Courtroom 1306 at the Thurgood Marshall Federal Courthouse, 40 Foley Square, 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 Settlement Class; to consider the Class Counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees and expenses; and to consider the request for an Incentive Award to the Class Representative. At that hearing, the Court will be available to hear any timely filed 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 this website regularly or call toll free 1-888-546-2588. 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. So long as you timely filed an objection to the Settlement, you may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Final Approval Hearing, but do not have to. To do so, you must include in your letter or brief objecting to the Settlement a statement saying it is your “Notice of Intent to Appear in Winston v. Peacock TV LLC, Case No. 1:23-cv-08191-ALC.” 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 November 13, 2024, and be sent to the addresses listed in FAQ 16.

The Notice and this website summarize the Settlement.

More details are in the Settlement Agreement. You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreement here. You may also write with questions to Winston v. Peacock TV LLC, c/o Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 2956, Portland, OR 97208-2956. You can call the Settlement Administrator at 1-888-546-2588 if you have any questions. Before doing so, however, please read the 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.