Owens v. MGM Resorts International

Opinion

UNITEDDI SSTTRAITCETS ODFIS NTERVICATD AC OURT

IN RE MGM INTERNATIONAL RESORTS Case No.: 2:20-cv-00376-GMN DATA BREACH LITIGAITON

This Document Relates To: All actions.

UNITED STATES DI STRICT COURT

TANYA OWENS, et al. Master File No. 2:23-cv-01480-GMN (Consolidated for pretrial proceedings with Plaintiffs, Case Nos. 2:23-cv-1481, 2:23-cv1537, 2:23-cv-1549, 2:23-cv-1550, 2:23-cv1577, v. 2:23-cv-1698, 2:23- cv-1719, 2:23-cv1777, 2:23-cv-1826, 2:23-cv- 1981, 2:23-cv2042, MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL 2:23-cv-2064, 2:24-cv-81, 2:24-cv-00995, 2:24-cv-00999) Defendant.

APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND APPLICATION FOR ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND SERVICE AWARDS AND FINAL JUDGMENT On January 17, 2025, after extensive arms-length negotiations, and private mediation conducted before Bruce Friedman, Esq., with JAMS in Las Vegas, Plaintiffs and Defendant entered into the Settlement Agreement, which is subject to review under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23, for monetary damages as set forth in the Agreement. On January 17, 2025, the Plaintiffs filed the Agreement with the Unopposed Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement and Memorandum of Law. (Case No. 2:20-cv- 00376-GMN, ECF No. 243; Case No. 2:23-cv-01480-GMN, ECF No. 62.) On January 22, 2025, upon consideration of the Agreement, Motion for Preliminary Approval, and the record, the Court entered the Preliminary Approval Order. (Case No. 2:20-cv-00376-GMN, ECF No. 244; Case No. 2:23-cv-01480-GMN, ECF No. 63.) Pursuant to the Preliminary Approval Order, the Court, among other things, (i) provisionally certified the Settlement Class for settlement McNamara, E. Michelle Drake, David Berger, J. Gerard Stranch IV, Lynn Toops, James Pizzirusso, Gary Klinger, and Jeff Ostrow as Class Counsel for the Settlement Class; (iv) approved the form of the Notices and the Notice Program; (v) approved the Claim Form and the Claim process; (vi) appointed Epiq Class Action & Claims Solutions, Inc. as the Settlement Administrator; (vii) established procedures and deadlines for members of the Settlement Class to opt-out of or object to the Settlement; and (viii) scheduled the Final Approval Hearing at which time the Court would consider whether to grant Final Approval of the Settlement and the Application for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs and Service Awards. Id. On April, 1, 2025, the Parties filed their Joint Motion to Approve Amendment to Settlement Agreement and Modify Notice Program (Case No. 2:20-cv-00376-GMN, ECF No. 250; Case No. 2:23-cv-01480-GMN, ECF No. 72), which the Court granted (Case No. 2:20-cv-00376-GMN, ECF No. 251; Case No. 2:23-cv-01480-GMN, ECF No. 73). On May 2, 2025, Plaintiffs filed the Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement and Application for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Service Awards. (Case No. 2:20-cv-00376-GMN, ECF No. 257; Case No. 2:23-cv-01480-GMN, ECF No. 77.) Pursuant to the Motion for Final Approval, the Parties request Final Approval of the proposed class action Settlement, and awards of attorneys’ fees and costs to Class Counsel and Service Awards to the Class Representatives. Id. On June 18, 2025, a Final Approval Hearing was held on the Motion for Final Approval and Application for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Service Awards. Class Counsel appeared for the Plaintiffs and Settlement Class, and Defendant’s Counsel appeared for Defendant. Having received and considered the Settlement, the supporting papers filed by the Parties, and the evidence and argument received by the Court before entering the Preliminary Approval Order and at the Final Approval Hearing, the Court grants Final Approval of the Settlement and the Application for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Service Awards, enters this order, and IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 1. INCORPORATION OF DEFINED TERMS: This order incorporates the definitions of all capitalized terms defined in Section II of the Settlement Agreement, and all capitalized terms used in this order have the same meanings as set forth in that Agreement. 2. JURISDICTION: The Court has subject matter jurisdiction over the Action and personal jurisdiction over the Parties and Settlement Class Members. 3. NOTICE PROGRAM AND CLAIMS PROCESS: Pursuant to the Court’s Preliminary Approval Order, the Settlement Administrator has complied with the approved Notice Program as confirmed in its declaration filed with the Court. The form and method for notifying the Settlement Class of the Settlement and its terms and conditions was in conformity with this Court’s Preliminary Approval Order and satisfied the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(c)(2)(B) and due process, and constituted the best notice practicable under the circumstances. The Court finds that the Notice Program was clearly designed to advise the Settlement Class members of their rights. Further, the Court finds that the Claim Process set forth in the Agreement was followed and that the process was the best practicable procedure under the circumstances. 4. FINAL CLASS CERTIFICATION: The Court again finds the Actions satisfy the applicable prerequisites for class action treatment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23, namely: a. The Settlement Class members are so numerous that joinder of all of them in the Lawsuit would be impracticable; b. There are questions of law and fact common to the Settlement Class members, which predominate over any individual questions; c. The claims of Plaintiffs are typical of the claims of the Settlement Class members; d. Plaintiffs and Class Counsel have fairly and adequately represented and protected the interests of all the Settlement Class members; and e. Class treatment of these claims will be efficient and manageable, thereby achieving an appreciable measure of judicial economy, and a class action is superior to other available methods for a fair and efficient adjudication. 5. CERTIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT CLASS: The Court finally certifies the following Settlement Class: All persons in the United States whose Private Information was accessed during the Data Incidents. Excluded from the Settlement Class are the judges presiding over the Actions and members of their direct families. 6. APPOINTMENTS: Consistent with the Preliminary Approval Order, the Court hereby appoints the following as Class Representatives, Class Counsel, and Settlement Administrator: a. The appointment of Plaintiffs as Class Representatives is affirmed; b. The appointment of Plaintiffs’ counsel, John Yanchunis, Doug McNamara, E. Michelle Drake, David Berger, J. Gerard Stranch IV, Lynn Toops, James Pizzirusso, Gary Klinger, and Jeff Ostrow, as Class Counsel is affirmed; and c. The appointment of Epiq Class Action & Claims Solutions, Inc. as Settlement Administrator is affirmed. 7. SETTLEMENT TERMS REASONABLE: The Court finds that the Settlement of the Actions, on the terms and conditions set forth in the Agreement, is in all respects fundamentally fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the Settlement Class, applying the Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(e)(2) factors and Ninth Circuit’s traditional Churchill factors. 8. FINAL APPROVAL: The Agreement, which has been filed with the Court and shall be deemed incorporated herein, and the proposed Settlement is finally approved and shall be consummated in accordance with the terms and provisions thereof, except as amended by any order issued by this Court. 9. OPT-OUTS: A list of the individuals who have opted-out of the Settlement is attached as Exhibit A. Those individuals will not be bound by the Agreement or the Releases contained therein. 10. OBJECTIONS: Settlement Class Members were given an opportunity to object to the Settlement. There is only one objection to the Settlement. (Owens ECF No. 89-1). The objection is from Settlement Class Member Gregory Price. Objector Price did not appear at the Final Approval Hearing. The Court has considered the objection. The Court’s Preliminary Approval Order required that all objections be submitted 30 days before the Final Approval Hearing (i.e., May 19, 2025), and provided that an objection shall be deemed to have been submitted when posted if received with a postmark date indicated on the envelope if mailed first-class postage. See (ECF No. 244 at 10-11. The envelope containing Objector Price’s objection was postmarked with a date of May 20, 2025 (although the actual objection included a date of May 1, 2025). The objection is untimely. On that ground alone, the Court overrules the objection. Regardless, this Court finds the objection is not meritorious and therefore overrules it on the ground as well. The objection’s basis for opposing Final Approval is that: (a) there is inadequate consideration; (b) the release of claims is overbroad; (c) there is a lack of transparency in that the Settlement fails to disclose the tier allocation methodology and claims rate projections; and (d) the requested attorneys’ fees are unreasonable. (Owens ECF No. 89- 1 at 1-3). While the Court recognizes that the Settlement may not be satisfactory for all Settlement Class Members, the Court has determined that the Settlement Class Member Benefits offered here (Documented Loss Cash Payments, Tier Cash Payments, and Financial Account Monitoring) are fair, reasonable, and adequate under the Churchill factors. Further, as per paragraph 12 below, the Court finds the requested attorneys’ fees are reasonable. The legal authority cited in the objection does not persuade the Court that the Settlement or the request for attorneys’ fees should not be approved. 11. SETTLEMENT BINDING: This order is binding on all Settlement Class Members, except those individuals who validly and timely opted-out from the Settlement Class. 12. SERVICE AWARDS; ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS: a. The Class Representatives are awarded reasonable Service Awards, applying the factors in In re Online DVD-Rental Antitrust Litig., 779 F.3d 934, 946 (9th Cir. 2015). Plaintiffs Ryan Bohlim, Duke Hwynn, Larry Lawter, Kerri Shapiro, Gennady Simkin, Robert Taylor, and Victor Wukovits in the 2019 Action shall receive $10,000 each. Plaintiffs Tonya Owens, Emily Kirwan, David Zussman, David Lackey, Michael Pircio, David Terezo, Ronald G. Rundell, Laura Willis Abrigo, Anita Johnson, Paul Zaro, Michael Manson, Kyle Sloan, Michelle Righetti, Edgar Mejia, and DuJun Johnson in the 2023 Action shall receive $3,500 each. The Service Awards shall be paid out of the Settlement Fund in accordance with the Agreement. b. Class Counsel are awarded $13,500,000 for attorneys’ fees and $801,631.96 for costs. These payments shall be made out of the Settlement Fund in accordance with the Agreement. The Court evaluated settlement Class Counsel’s request using a common fund analysis, applying the factors set forth in Vizcaino v. Microsoft Corp., 290 F.3d 1043, 1048 (9th Cir. 2002), and concludes that amount is fair and within the range of reason. 13. VALID CLAIMS: Based on the information presented to the Court, the Claim process has proceeded as ordered and consistent with the Agreement and Preliminary Approval Order. The distribution plan for Settlement Class Member Benefits proposed by the Parties in the Agreement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. All Settlement Class Members who submitted Valid Claims shall receive their Settlement Class Member Benefits pursuant to the Settlement’s terms. All Settlement Class Members who did not submit a Claim, or for whom the Claim is determined to be invalid, shall still be bound by the terms of the Settlement and Releases therein. 14. PAYMENT OF SETTLEMENT ADMINISTRATION COSTS: The Parties are authorized to approve the payment of the Settlement Administration Costs to the Settlement Administrator from the Settlement Fund, in an amount not to exceed $6,997,408. 15. RELEASE OF CLAIMS AND DISMISSAL OF LAWSUIT: As of the Effective Date, Plaintiffs and all Settlement Class Members and Releasing Parties, and persons purporting to act on their behalf, are permanently barred and enjoined from commencing or prosecuting, either individually or as a class, or in any other capacity, any of the Released Claims against any of the Released Parties, as set forth in the Agreement, against any of the Released Parties in any action or proceeding in any court, arbitration forum, or tribunal. The Released Claims are compromised, discharged, and dismissed with prejudice by virtue of these proceedings and this order. 16. RESIDUAL FUNDS: In the event there are funds remaining in the Settlement Fund, including from uncashed checks, within 45 days following the 180-day check negotiation period, the Court approves the distribution of all remaining funds to UNLV Cyber Clinic (https://freecyberclinic.org/about). 17. JURISDICTION RETAINED: The Court hereby retains and reserves jurisdiction over: (1) implementation of this Settlement and any distributions of Settlement Class Member Benefits to the Settlement Class Members; (2) the Action, until the Effective Date, and until each and every act agreed to be performed by the Parties shall have been performed pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, including the exhibits appended thereto; and (3) all Parties, for the purpose of enforcing and administering the Settlement. 18. In the event the Effective Date of the Settlement does not occur, the Settlement shall be rendered null and void to the extent provided by and in accordance with the Agreement, and this order and any other order entered by this Court in accordance with the terms of the Agreement shall be vacated, nunc pro tunc. In such event, all orders entered and releases delivered in connection with the Settlement shall be null and void and have no further force and effect, shall not be used or referred to for any purpose whatsoever, and shall not be admissible or discoverable in any proceeding. The Action shall return to its status immediately prior to execution of the Agreement. 19. ENTRY OF JUDGMENT: There being no just reason for delay, the Clerk of Court is hereby directed to enter final judgment forthwith pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 58. DATED this 18 day of June _, 2025.

Gloria M. | oa UNITED TES DISTRICT COURT

Opt-Out List

Arnold Abraham Robert Agazaryan Marlin Agoub Rey Amaro Jr Kellie Anderson Lydia Anderson Paul Angel Valentin Angles Patricia Anglin Juanita Arguellez Maria Avalos Zachary Barbour Stephanie Barker Jeremy Barnes David Barnes Ruby Barrios Raymond Baur Israel Beltran-Felix Erica Benavides Tricia Berens Max Blumen Jason Bonnema Michael Boyd Stefania Buraglia Aaron Burnley Joshua Burns Christina Camerlingo Jasmine Carson Roberto Cerda Mireya Chavez Lesa Chhin Natalia Clavijo Connor Clegg Kevin Clines Archie Colburn Jessica Coleman Daniel Confair Evelyn Confair Alfredia Conner Leticia Davila Darin Davis Vincent Delcastillo Jacqueline Delcastillo Barbara Dement Julia Denton Kevin Dierker John Doyle Gary Drago Blasé Drexler Lisa DuBose Robert Dunn Jorge Duran Kimberly Erickson Estate of Wesley Kish Jonah Ezell Adrian Farias Julio Ferrer Jerry Flagg Robert Flowers Trent Folse Lawrence Freiman Felicia Freitas Earl Gandy Anita Garcia Lissa Gates Anne Gault Martha Gil Chip Gilbert Chris Goble Ricardo Gonzalez Robert Gonzalez Sr. Laurie Greenfield Rudolf Grodzen David Guaderrama Alberto Guillermo Angela Hall Susan Harrison Richard Hartley Mary Hartley Marilyn Hawranik Monica Hernandez Randall Hicks Taylor Hill Kenneth Hill Michael Holtgrewe Candy Huang Michael Huang Kyle Hunter Vardan Indzhikushyan Felix Jimenez Katherine Johns Darryl Johns Jennifer Johnson Kevin Jones Craig Kadden David Kamsler Barbara Kanehiro Pauline Kanehiro (deceased) David Kauffman Barbara Kennard Jason Knight Vasily Korovkin Tawn Kreider Paul Kreider (deceased) Mark Kukreja Steven Kulakowski Travis Lamb Carol Larinto Saul Lassoff Shirley Lassoff Samuel Lassoff Steven Lee Diana LeMay Mark L'Esperance Jonathan Levy Joey Liender Robert Lilburne Michael Lin Chris Linder Winston Liu Kenneth Ludwig Peter Lum Jose Madrid Yovinka Mallo Roland Manalo Louis Marshall Daniel Martz Michael Mathison Mitchell Mayhew Ashley Maylevi John McClary II Patsy Melatti Sheree Mendoza Juan Mendoza Irakli Mgalobely Anwar Monroy Kimberly Moon Kerushen Morgan Noah Morningstar Brian Morrison Sharon Moser Tony Moser Alec Mouradkjanyan Jamie Nagy Wayne Nakahara Karen Nelson Hong Nguyen Rikesha Nguyen (Formerly George) Matthew North Amir Nurani Marcelo Pacheco Patrick Paige Moon Ho Park Titapa Payne Richard Pedroza Steven Penn Christina Perez Thurman Pinder Patrice Pinder Gwendolyn Pinder Eddie Pool Kathleen Powell Vanessa Price Warren Prince Shelby Purcell Jane Qi Jayna Querin Travis Radtke Loa Reynolds Monte Reynolds Joseph Ricci Lainie Rideout Cara Ridge Anna Rincon Jason Rist Jose Robles David Rosenstiel Benjamin Roth Octavio Ruiz Edward Ruiz M Ruiz M. Alice Ruiz Al Russ Patrick Russo Charles Rutledge Connie Rutledge Ashu Sackett Mike Safaie Irvin Salgado Joseph Samo Stacey Sanchez David Santiago Audrey Schlorholtz Heath Schweitzer Ryan Sensenig Robert Severino Rose Severino Leah Smith Jennifer Smith Robert Snyder Kunthea Sok Christina Solis Grace Solomon Taivon Sterling Daniel Stevens Chad Sthele Nathan Stoll Karen Suarez Erick Suarez Annette Szawan Richard Szucs Andrew Tedesco Robert Terrell Vanessa Terrell Sally Thielbar Alan Thierfeldt Stacey Thompson Matthew Tollefsrud Pat Tran Jesus Valls Samantha Vannetter Lewis Vigil Ellen Wakefield Andrew Wang Shawn Warnecke Neil Weiser Shane Whitley Dara Wilson Jacqueline Wilson William Wineland, Jr Tyler Winkelmann Teresa Wood (Formerly Prunty) Glenda Woodring Ashlynn Woods Dikan Xing Michelle Yang Kristopher Young Yi Zou Aleksei Zubkov