DVD “CC” LABELING
CLASS SETTLEMENT
**ATTENTION:**
IF YOU ARE DEAF OR HAVE HEARING LOSS AND HAVE PURCHASED, RENTED, OR
OTHERWISE OBTAINED A DVD OR OTHER HOME VIDEO PRODUCT, OR IF YOU HAVE
OBTAINED SUCH A PRODUCT FOR USE WITH CAPTIONING OR CLOSED CAPTIONING, PLEASE
READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY—YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED BY THIS PROPOSED
CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT. THIS NOTICE IS PROVIDED BY COURT ORDER.
CLASS ACTION
SETTLEMENT. The Los Angeles County Superior Court has preliminarily approved
settlement of Boltz v. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., et al. (Case
No. BC 323842), a pending class action lawsuit which alleged that certain
motion picture producers and distributors misled consumers by inaccurately
describing the nature of the closed captioning and/or subtitling provided on
their DVDs. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that Buena Vista Home
Entertainment, Inc., The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Entertainment
Inc., Warner Home Video Inc., Universal Studios Home Entertainment LLC,
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment
LLC, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Inc., and Tri-Star Pictures, Inc. (the “Settling Companies”) misled
consumers by displaying a captioning symbol or stating “captioning,”
“captioned,” “subtitled” or “subtitling” on certain DVD packaging when the
main feature presentation was captioned, closed captioned, or subtitled but
some or all of the DVD “bonus material” was not. The Settling Companies have
denied liability, but have agreed to settle this action to avoid litigation
by, in the future, providing captioning or closed captioning of bonus
material on major categories of DVDs they distribute over the next five (5)
years, paying $275,000 to certain non-profit organizations dedicated to
advocacy for deaf and hard-of-hearing persons, and paying attorneys’ fees
and costs (including any incentive award to named plaintiff) up to
$1,300,000 in exchange for the release of claims, as more fully specified in
the settlement agreements.
YOU MAY BE A
MEMBER OF THE SETTLEMENT CLASS. The proposed settlement affects and includes
the following U.S. residents: (1) all persons with any hearing loss who,
before April 27, 2006 (the “Class Period”), have purchased, rented or
otherwise obtained a VHS, Laser Disk, DVD, or other home video product
produced and/or distributed by any of the Settling Companies (“Home Video
Product”), or on whose behalf such a Home Video Product was so obtained; and
(2) all other persons who, within the Class Period, purchased, rented or
otherwise obtained such a Home Video Product or on whose behalf such a Home
Video Product was so obtained for use with or with the expectation that it
contained captioning or closed captioning. To receive a more detailed
summary of the terms and conditions of the settlement, visit
www.dvdcclabelingclasssettlement.com.
YOU HAVE A
RIGHT TO EXCLUDE YOURSELF FROM THE SETTLEMENT. Class members who have not
expressly excluded themselves from the class will be bound by the
settlement’s terms. To be excluded, you must submit a written request for
exclusion that includes your name, address, telephone number and your desire
to be excluded from the settlement class to The Garden City Group, Inc. at
P.O. Box 91041, Seattle, WA 98111-9141, referencing “DVD ‘CC’ Labeling Class
Settlement.” Your Exclusion Request must be POSTMARKED no later than
midnight of July 14, 2006, or it will not be accepted. IF YOU DO NOT REQUEST
TO BE EXCLUDED YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY BECOME A MEMBER OF THE SETTLEMENT
CLASS.
YOU HAVE A
RIGHT TO OBJECT TO THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT. If you do not exclude yourself
from the settlement, you may object to the terms of the settlement by
submitting a written objection to the Court, class counsel and the Settling
Companies’ counsel. Your objection must be POSTMARKED no later than midnight
of July 14, 2006, or it will not be considered by the Court. TO DOWNLOAD AN
EXCLUSION REQUEST FORM OR TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW AND WHEN TO LODGE AN
OBJECTION TO THE SETTLEMENT, VISIT www.dvdcclabelingclasssettlement.com.
A hearing to
determine whether the Court should grant final approval of the settlement
and the amount of any award of attorneys' fees and costs (including any
incentive award to named plaintiff) will be held before Judge Anthony J.
Mohr, in Department 309, Central Civil West Courthouse, 600 S. Commonwealth
Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90005, at 10:00 a.m. on August 28, 2006.
PLEASE DO NOT
CALL THE COURT OR THE CLERK’S OFFICE.