Taylor v. Shutterfly, Inc.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How Do I Know If I Am Affected By The Settlement?

   If you are a United States resident who, any time between June 1, 2015 to April 30, 2018, (i) purchased a Shutterfly General Spend Groupon that was never redeemed; and/or, (ii) redeemed a Shutterfly General Spend Groupon that was purchased during that period.

   This lawsuit is a class action. A class action is a lawsuit in which the claims and rights of many people are decided in a single court proceeding. One or more people—sometimes called “class representatives”—sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. All of the people who have similar claims form a “class” and are “class members.” A settlement in a class action—if approved by the Court as fair, reasonable, and adequate—resolves the claims for all class members, except those who choose to exclude themselves from the class.

2. What Is The Lawsuit About?

   A lawsuit was brought by Plaintiff relating to Defendant’s advertising of deals on Groupon.com. These deals were sold for a price paid (“Paid Value”) which could be redeemed at a greater dollar value (“Promotional Value”) towards a purchase at Shutterfly within a set period of time. For example, the Groupon “$20 for $40 to Spend at Shutterfly” had a Paid Value of $20 and a Promotional Value of $40. The deals are called the “Shutterfly General Spend Groupons.” Plaintiff alleges that Shutterfly failed to disclose to purchasers that they would receive a promotional code that could only be used toward full priced items and could not be combined with any other discounts offered on the Shutterfly website, including product discounts and free shipping. Plaintiff contends that Defendant’s conduct is deceptive and unlawful.

   Defendant denies that there is any factual or legal basis for Plaintiff’s allegations. Defendant denies making any misrepresentations and, therefore denies any liability. In the lawsuit, Defendant has asserted defenses to the claims raised by Plaintiff on behalf of the Class. The Court has not determined whether Plaintiff or Defendant is correct. If the Settlement does not become effective (for example, because it is not finally approved, or the approval is reversed on appeal), then this litigation will continue.

3. Why Is There A Lawsuit?

   Defendant denies that there is any legal entitlement to a refund or any other monetary relief. Plaintiff contends that the Defendant engaged in a scheme to mislead consumers about the Shutterfly General Spend Groupons and how they could be redeemed on the Shutterfly website. Among other things, the lawsuit seeks to recover, on behalf of all Class Members, money damages as a result of the alleged misrepresentations.

4. Why Is This Case Being Settled?

   The Court has not decided in favor of either side in the lawsuit. Neither Plaintiff nor Defendant has won or lost.

   Instead, Class Counsel have investigated the facts and applicable law concerning the Plaintiff’s and Class’s claims and Defendant’s defenses and determined that the proposed settlement is in the best interests of the Class. Plaintiff filed her original lawsuit on December 12, 2017 in Santa Clara County Superior Court on behalf of herself and a proposed class of other persons who, between December 8, 2013 and the present, purchased in the United States a Shutterfly General Spend Groupon. Defendant removed the lawsuit to the United States District Court of the Northern District of California on January 11, 2018. Defendant asked the Court to compel the Plaintiff to arbitrate her claims individually, rather than proceeding in Court on behalf of a Class. Plaintiff opposed the motion by arguing that the arbitration provision was unenforceable. The Court granted Defendant’s motion to compel arbitration, ruling that the issue of enforceability was for the arbitrator to decide, and stayed the Litigation pending that decision. Plaintiff initiated arbitration. Plaintiff then successfully argued that the arbitrator should refuse to hear the arbitration because the agreement was unenforceable. The Court confirmed the arbitrator’s decision and allowed the lawsuit to proceed. Defendant then moved to strike Plaintiff’s class allegations or deny certification of the Class. The Court denied that motion.

   Class Counsel has conducted a thorough examination and investigation into the facts and law at issue. The parties participated in a mediation session with the Honorable Richard Kramer, retired San Francisco Superior Court judge.

   Counsel for both Plaintiffs and Defendant have determined that there is significant risk to both sides in continuing the litigation. For example, Class Counsel has concluded that there may be substantial difficulties establishing that statements or alleged omissions in Defendant’s materials were likely to deceive reasonable consumers and the amount of damages or restitution due to the Class or to any Class Member. And both sides want to avoid the uncertainty, delay, and expense of continuing to litigate.

   The Parties have engaged in mediation and several rounds of settlement discussions. After considering the risks and costs of further litigation, the Parties have concluded that it is desirable that the Plaintiff’s claims be settled and dismissed on the terms of the Settlement Agreement.

   Plaintiff and Class Counsel have concluded that the terms and conditions of the Settlement are fair, reasonable, adequate, and equitable, and that the Settlement is in the best interest of the Class Members. The Settlement allows Class Members to obtain a Shipping Code for free shipping on a future order from the Shutterfly Website and a Promotional Code redeemable towards the purchase price on a future order from the Shutterfly Website automatically, without having to submit a claim. Alternatively, Class Members who redeemed Shutterfly General Spend Deals can instead choose to submit a Claim to receive a Cash Refund equal to 10% of the Promotional Value of the Groupon redeemed, plus 50% of the amount the Class Member paid Shutterfly for shipping in connection with the order in which the Groupon was redeemed.

5. What Can I Get In The Settlement?

   If you purchased a Shutterfly General Spend Groupon that was never redeemed, you will automatically receive, without having to submit a Claim, a Shipping Code for free shipping on a future order from the Shutterfly Website and a Promotional Code worth 110% of the Promotional Value of the Groupon purchased. The Promotional Code is redeemable towards the purchase price of a future order from the Shutterfly Website. The 18-digital code associated with the Shutterfly General Spend Groupon you purchased will no longer be valid.

   If you redeemed a Shutterfly General Spend Groupon, you will automatically receive, without having to submit a Claim, a Shipping Code for free shipping on a future order from the Shutterfly Website and a Promotional Code worth 20% of the Promotional Value of the Groupon you redeemed. The Promotional Code is redeemable towards the purchase price of a future order from the Shutterfly Website. If you redeemed a Shutterfly General Spend Groupon, and you do not want a Shipping Code and Promotional Code, you can instead file a claim. If you timely submit a Valid Claim form, you will receive a Cash Refund equal to 10% of the Promotional Value of the Groupon you redeemed, plus 50% of the amount you paid for shipping in connection with the order in which the Groupon was redeemed. Claims will be paid only if deemed valid and only after the Court approves the Settlement.

   The Settlement also requires Defendant to clarify that future purchasers of any Shutterfly General Spend Deals will receive a promotional code that cannot be used with any other Shutterfly promotional code or free shipping code on the same order to obtain additional discounts.

6. How Do I Make A Claim?

   To make a Claim for a Cash Refund, you must fill out the Claim Form, here. You can submit the Claim Form online, or you can print it and mail it to the Shutterfly Claim Administrator at 1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19103. Claim Forms must be submitted online or postmarked on or before 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on November 9, 2021 by the Claim Administrator.

   Please note that a Claim Form that is not properly filled out and signed or that is not submitted or postmarked by the deadline or is determined to be fraudulent will be invalid and disregarded by the Claim Administrator.

7. When Do I Get My Benefits?

   Timely submitting a Claim Form does not provide a guaranteed benefit. A Final Approval Hearing is scheduled for December 2, 2021. If the Court approves the Settlement and there are no appeals, then the Shipping Codes, Promotional Codes, and Cash Refunds will be distributed approximately 35 days after the Settlement is no longer subject to appeal or review, unless otherwise ordered by the Court. If the Court does not approve the Settlement, or if the Settlement is overturned on appeal, no Shipping Code, Promotional Codes, or Cash Refunds will be issued.

8. What Do Plaintiffs And Their Lawyers Get?

   To date, Class Counsel has not been compensated for any of their work on this case. As part of the Settlement, Class Counsel may apply to the Court to award them an amount not to exceed $350,000 from Defendant to pay their Attorneys’ Fees and Expenses. An award to Class Counsel does not reduce the funds available to pay members of the Class.

   In addition, the named Class Representative in this case may apply to the Court for a Class Representative Incentive Award up to $5,000. This payment is designed to compensate the named Class Representative for the time, effort, and risks she undertook in pursuing this litigation to benefit the Class.

   A copy of Class Counsel’s motion for approval of settlement and request for an award for Attorneys’ Fees and Expenses and for a Class Representative Incentive Award is available, here. The Court will determine the amount of Attorneys’ Fees and Expenses as well as the amount of Class Representative Incentive Award.

9. What Happens If I Do Not Opt-Out From The Settlement?

   If you are a Class Member and you do not Opt-Out from the Settlement, you will be legally bound by all orders and judgments of the Court, and you will also be legally bound to the Releases of the Claims in the Settlement. This means that in exchange for being a Class Member and being eligible for the Shipping Code, Promotional Code, and Cash Refunds in the Settlement, you will not be able to sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against Shutterfly, Inc., Groupon, Inc. and/or any of the Released Parties that involves the same legal Claims as those resolved through this Settlement.

   You will not be responsible for any out-of-pocket costs or attorneys’ fees concerning this case if you stay in the class.

   Staying in the class means that you agree to the following terms of the Settlement that describe exactly the legal claims that you give up:

   a) If the Court grants final approval of the settlement, Class Members, including any person claiming derivative rights of the Class Class Member as such person’s parent, child, heir, guardian, associate, co-owner, attorney, agent, administrator, executor, devisee, predecessor, successor, assignee, assigns, representative of any kind, shareholder, partner, director, employee or affiliate, shall have unconditionally, completely, and irrevocably released and discharged the Released Parties from the Released Claims. “Released Claims” means all claims that were, or could have been, asserted in the Litigation that arise out of or relate to (i) the allegations that the Shutterfly General Spend Groupon promotions were false, misleading or deceptive, (ii) the allegations that Shutterfly committed breaches of contract or fraud in connection with the Shutterfly General Spend Groupon promotions, (iii) the allegations that Shutterfly is liable for damages or penalties for including and/or trying to enforce an unlawful or unenforceable arbitration agreement in its Terms of Use, or (iv) the allegations that Shutterfly engaged in unfair or unlawful business practices with respect to its General Spend Groupon promotions and/or the arbitration agreement in its Terms of Use. The Released Parties are Defendant, Groupon, Inc., and each of their respective current and former parent companies, subsidiaries, divisions, and current and former affiliated individuals and entities, legal successors, predecessors (including companies they have acquired, purchased, or absorbed), assigns, joint ventures, and each and all of their respective officers, partners, directors, owners, stockholders, servants, agents, shareholders, members, managers, principals, investment advisors, consultants, employees, representatives, attorneys, accountants, lenders, underwriters, benefits administrators, investors, funds, and insurers, past, present and future, and all persons acting under, by, through, or in concert with any of them.
   b) With respect to the Released Claims set forth in the preceding paragraph, each Class Member shall be deemed to have waived and relinquished, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the provisions, rights and benefits conferred by any law of any state of the United States, or principle of common law or otherwise, which is similar, comparable, or equivalent to section 1542 of the California Civil Code, which provides:

   A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS WHICH THE CREDITOR DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE, WHICH IF KNOWN BY HIM OR HER MUST HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR.

   The Class Members understand and acknowledge the significance of these waivers of California Civil Code section 1542 and any other applicable federal or state statute, case law, rule or regulation relating to limitations on releases. In connection with such waivers and relinquishment, the Class Members acknowledge that they are aware that they may hereafter discover facts in addition to, or different from, those facts that they now know or believe to be true with respect to the subject matter of the Settlement, but that it is their intention to release fully, finally, and forever all Released Claims with respect to the Released Parties, and in furtherance of such intention, the release of the Released Claims will be and remain in effect notwithstanding the discovery or existence of any such additional or different facts. c) The Parties shall be deemed to have agreed that the release set forth herein will be and may be raised as a complete defense to and will preclude any action or proceeding based on the Released Claims.

   The full text of the settlement agreement, which includes all of the provisions about settled claims and releases, is available here.

10. How Do I Opt-Out From The Settlement?

    You can Opt-Out from the Class—that is, be excluded from the Class—if you wish to retain the right to sue Defendant separately for the Released Claims. If you Opt-Out, you cannot obtain any benefits from the Settlement, such as a Shipping Code, Promotional Code, or Cash Refund. In addition, if you Opt-Out, you cannot submit an Objection to the Settlement.

    To Opt-Out, you must complete the online form at the Settlement Website or mail an Opt-Out request to the Shutterfly Claim Administrator at 1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19103. If mailed, the Opt-Out request must be signed by the Class member requesting exclusion, contain the Class member’s full name and address; and the following statement: “I request to be excluded from the proposed class settlement in Taylor v. Shutterfly, Inc., Case No. 5:18-cv-00266-BLF (N.D. Cal.).”

    To be valid, the Opt-Out request must be submitted here or postmarked on or before the Opt-Out Deadline, which is November 9, 2021.

11. How Do I Object To The Settlement?

    You can ask the Court to deny approval of the Settlement by timely filing an Objection with the Court. You can’t ask the Court to require a larger Settlement; the Court can only approve or disallow the Settlement. If the Court denies approval to the Settlement, no Shipping Codes, Promotional Codes, or Cash Refunds will be issued, and the lawsuit will continue.

    You can also ask the Court to disapprove the requested payments to Plaintiff and to Class Counsel. If those payments are disapproved, no additional money will be paid to the Class. Instead, the funds earmarked for Plaintiff and her attorneys will be retained by Defendant.

    You may also appear at the Final Approval Hearing, either in person or through your own attorney. If you appear through your own attorney, you are responsible for paying that attorney. If you want to raise an objection to the Settlement at the Final Approval Hearing, you must submit that objection in writing, by the Objection Deadline, which is November 9, 2021.

    If you want to raise an Objection to the Settlement at the Final Approval Hearing, you must submit that Objection in writing to the Class Action Clerk, United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Courthouse, 280 South 1st Street, San Jose, CA 95113, or file via the Court’s electronic filing system (ECF). Your Objection must be postmarked (if mailed) or submitted via ECF by the Objection Deadline set forth above. Any Objection must include: (a) a reference to this case, Taylor v. Shutterfly, Inc., Case No. 5:18-cv-00266-BLF (N.D. Cal.) and the name of the presiding judge, the Hon. Beth Labson Freeman; (b) the name, address, telephone number, and, if available, the email address of the Person objecting, and if represented by counsel, of his/her counsel; (c) a written statement of all grounds for the Objection, accompanied by any legal support for such Objection; (d) whether he/she intends to appear at the Final Approval Hearing, either with or without counsel; and (e) a statement of his/her membership in the Class, including all information required by the Claim Form. Failure to include this information and documentation may be grounds for overruling and rejecting your Objection.

    If you want to appear, either personally or through counsel, at the Final Approval Hearing in order to present argument regarding your Objection, you also must include in your Objection a Notice of Intention to Appear. The Notice of Intention to Appear must include copies of any papers, exhibits, or other evidence that you or your attorney will present to the court in connection with the Final Approval Hearing. If you fail to submit a proper Notice of Intention to Appear, you (or your attorney) may not be heard during the Final Approval Hearing.

    If you fail to comply with these requirements or fail to submit your Objection and Notice of Intention to Appear by the deadline (which is November 9, 2021), you may be deemed to have waived all objections and may not be entitled to speak at the Final Approval Hearing on December 2, 2021.

    If you file an Objection to the Settlement but still want to submit a Claim in the event the Court approves the Settlement, you must still timely submit a Claim Form according to the instructions described above.

12. When Will The Court Decide If The Settlement Is Approved?

    The Court will hold a hearing on December 2, 2021, to consider whether to approve the Settlement. The hearing will be held in the United States District Court of the Northern District of California, before the Honorable Beth Labson Freeman, in the San Jose Courthouse, 280 South 1st Street, San Jose, CA 95113, or such other judge assigned by the Court. The courtroom will be assigned later and can be obtained from the Settlement Website or the Clerk of the Court. Virtual attendance may be possible; please check the Settlement Website and the Court’s website at cand.uscourts.gov for more information

    The hearing is open to the public. This hearing date may change without further notice to you. Consult the on this site or the Court docket in this case available through Public Access to Court Electronic Records PACER (http://www.pacer.gov), for updated information on the hearing date and time.

13. How Do I Get More Information?

    You can inspect many of the court documents connected with this case here. Other papers filed in this lawsuit are available by accessing the Court docket in this case available through PACER (http://www.pacer.gov).

    You can contact the Shutterfly Claim Administrator at 1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19103 or by telephone at 1-833-411-1404.

    You can also obtain additional information by contacting Class Counsel:

    Marie A. McCrary
    GUTRIDE SAFIER LLP
    100 Pine Street, Suite 1250
    San Francisco, CA 94111
    Email: marie@gutridesafier.com
    Tel: 415-639-9090
    www.gutridesafier.com

    Please do not address any questions about the Settlement or Litigation to the Clerk of the Court or the Judge.