NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT
The purpose of this Notice is to inform you that a settlement ("Settlement") in the above- captioned case ("Lawsuit") has been reached by the parties and has been granted preliminary approval by the Court supervising this Lawsuit. Please see below for a description of the Lawsuit, the terms of the Settlement, and a description of your rights and options in connection with the Settlement. If the Court grants final approval of the Settlement, it will resolve all claims in the Lawsuit as well as claims that could have been brought in the Lawsuit. A hearing on the Settlement will be held, and is currently scheduled for May 23, 2024 at 10:00 a.m., to determine whether the Settlement should be granted Final Approval by the Court. You do not need to attend that hearing to receive money in settlement.
YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS ARE AFFECTED EVEN IF YOU DO NOTHING. PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY.
- A class action lawsuit is pending in the Milwaukee County Wisconsin Circuit Court ("the Court") against Infinity Healthcare, Inc. and Infinity Healthcare Physicians, S.C.. (“INFINITY” or “Defendants”). The lawsuit alleges that Defendants charged Timothy Rave ("Plaintiff”) and other similarly situated individuals were charged basic, retrieval, processing and/or certification fees contrary to Wis. Stat. § 146.83(3f)(b)(4)-(5) and contrary to Wisconsin common law. Defendants deny any wrongdoing.
- Plaintiff and Defendants have reached a Settlement and have proposed a Settlement Class to the Court consisting of the following persons:
All persons in Wisconsin:
- who were a patient of one or both Defendants and requested their own health care records or authorized another person in writing to obtain his or her health care records from one or both Defendants; and
- were charged a base, basic, retrieval, certification and/or other fee by Defendants for certification of copies and/or for a retrieval fee for all copies requested, in excess of $1.00 per copy page;
- during the six (6) year period preceding the commencement of this action on April 18, 2019, through the date of final approval of the Settlement Class.
The Class specifically excludes the following persons or entities: (i) Defendants, any predecessor, subsidiary, sister and/or merged companies, and all of the present or past directors, officers, employees, principals, shareholders and/or agents of the Defendants; (ii) any and all Federal, State, County and/or Local Governments, including, but not limited to their departments, agencies, divisions, bureaus, boards, sections, groups, councils and/or any other subdivision, and any claim that such governmental entities may have, directly or indirectly; (iii) any currently-sitting Wisconsin state court Judge or Justice, or any federal court Judge currently sitting in Wisconsin, and the current spouse and all other persons within the third degree of consanguinity to such judge/justice or (iv) any law firm of record in these proceedings, including any attorney of record in these proceedings; (v) any person or entity who would otherwise belong to the class but who Defendants can identify as being charged a fee, either directly or indirectly through a person authorized in writing, but said fee was not collected or paid to Defendants by anyone.
- The proposed Settlement provides for the following relief to the Settlement Class: A Settlement Class member who submits a timely verified claim shall receive four times the amount of any basic, retrieval, processing and/or certification fees that class member was charged.
- An incentive payment of $7,500 will be paid to Plaintiff for serving as the Class Representative.
- Defendants will make an additional payment of $500,000 to cover Plaintiff/Class Counsel’s fees and costs for representing the Settlement Class.
| YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THIS LAWSUIT | DEADLINE | |
| Do Nothing | If you do nothing, you will not receive payment and your claim will be extinguished by this Settlement. However, other than those consequences, there will be no other adverse consequences for your failure to respond to this Notice. | N/A |
| Submit a Claim | To be eligible to receive a payment as described above, you must complete the Claim Submission online or complete and sign the claim form attached to your Notice and submit it along with proof of payment of the basic, retrieval, processing and/or certification fees in the form of a duplicated payment draft or credit card receipt showing the identity of the payor by April 26, 2024. The Claim Form contains specific instructions on how to submit it. | April 26, 2024 |
| Ask to be Excluded |
Receive no payment. Retain the right to sue separately. By opting out of the Settlement Class, you will be excluded from this settlement. You will not receive any payment, but you will retain the right to bring a separate lawsuit on your own (assuming such a lawsuit is viable to begin with). If you wish to opt out of this Settlement, you must submit a request to that effect in writing which includes (1) your contact information, (2) the information you would submit through the attached Claim Form to show that you belong to the Settlement Class, and (3) a statement that you wish to be excluded from this Settlement. Any such request must be submitted to the attorneys for the Parties and to the administrator of this Settlement—contact information for those individuals can be found FAQ 7 and 8. |
April 26, 2024 |
| Object | If you wish to object to the Settlement, you must submit such an objection in writing to the Court. To be effective, the objection must (1) reference the Lawsuit, (2) provide your contact information, (3) provide the information you would submit in the Claim Form to show that you belong to the Settlement Class, (4) provide a written explanation of the grounds for the objection, (5) indicate whether you intend to appear at the Final Approval hearing and (6) be signed by you, the class member. By objecting, you consent to a deposition by the attorneys for the Parties to determine whether you belong to the Settlement Class and determine the basis for your objection. If you do not object before the deadline, you waive the ability to do so. | April 26, 2024 |
THESE RIGHTS AND OPTIONS
- AND THE DEADLINES TO EXERCISE THEM -
ARE EXPLAINED IN THIS NOTICE
Your legal rights are affected, and you have a choice to make now.
DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT OR COURT CLERK FOR INFORMATION OR ADVICE.