Owens v. MGM Resorts International

• Court: District Court, D. Nevada
• Decided: June 18, 2025
• Docket: 2:23-cv-01480
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

2 UNITEDDI SSTTRAITCETS ODFIS NTERVICATD AC OURT

3 IN RE MGM INTERNATIONAL RESORTS Case No.: 2:20-cv-00376-GMN DATA BREACH LITIGAITON 4

This Document Relates To: All actions. 5

6 7 UNITED STATES DI STRICT COURT 8 DISTRICT OF NEVADA

9 TANYA OWENS, et al. Master File No. 2:23-cv-01480-GMN (Consolidated for pretrial proceedings with 10 Plaintiffs, Case Nos. 2:23-cv-1481, 2:23-cv1537, 2:23-cv-1549, 2:23-cv-1550, 2:23-cv1577, 11 v. 2:23-cv-1698, 2:23- cv-1719, 2:23-cv1777, 2:23-cv-1826, 2:23-cv- 1981, 2:23-cv2042, 12 MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL 2:23-cv-2064, 2:24-cv-81, 2:24-cv-00995, 2:24-cv-00999) 13 Defendant. 14

15 ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT AND APPLICATION FOR 16 ATTORNEYS’ FEES, COSTS, AND SERVICE AWARDS AND FINAL JUDGMENT 17 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 18 into the Settlement Agreement, which is subject to review under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23, for monetary 19 damages as set forth in the Agreement. 20 On January 17, 2025, the Plaintiffs filed the Agreement with the Unopposed Motion for 21 Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement and Memorandum of Law. (Case No. 2:20-cv- 22 00376-GMN, ECF No. 243; Case No. 2:23-cv-01480-GMN, ECF No. 62.) 23 On January 22, 2025, upon consideration of the Agreement, Motion for Preliminary Approval, 24 and the record, the Court entered the Preliminary Approval Order. (Case No. 2:20-cv-00376-GMN, 25 ECF No. 244; Case No. 2:23-cv-01480-GMN, ECF No. 63.) Pursuant to the Preliminary Approval 26 Order, the Court, among other things, (i) provisionally certified the Settlement Class for settlement 1 McNamara, E. Michelle Drake, David Berger, J. Gerard Stranch IV, Lynn Toops, James Pizzirusso, 2 Gary Klinger, and Jeff Ostrow as Class Counsel for the Settlement Class; (iv) approved the form of 3 the Notices and the Notice Program; (v) approved the Claim Form and the Claim process; (vi) 4 appointed Epiq Class Action & Claims Solutions, Inc. as the Settlement Administrator; (vii) 5 established procedures and deadlines for members of the Settlement Class to opt-out of or object to 6 the Settlement; and (viii) scheduled the Final Approval Hearing at which time the Court would 7 consider whether to grant Final Approval of the Settlement and the Application for Attorneys’ Fees, 8 Costs and Service Awards. Id. 9 On April, 1, 2025, the Parties filed their Joint Motion to Approve Amendment to Settlement 10 Agreement and Modify Notice Program (Case No. 2:20-cv-00376-GMN, ECF No. 250; Case No. 11 2:23-cv-01480-GMN, ECF No. 72), which the Court granted (Case No. 2:20-cv-00376-GMN, ECF 12 No. 251; Case No. 2:23-cv-01480-GMN, ECF No. 73). 13 On May 2, 2025, Plaintiffs filed the Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement 14 and Application for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Service Awards. (Case No. 2:20-cv-00376-GMN, 15 ECF No. 257; Case No. 2:23-cv-01480-GMN, ECF No. 77.) Pursuant to the Motion for Final 16 Approval, the Parties request Final Approval of the proposed class action Settlement, and awards of 17 attorneys’ fees and costs to Class Counsel and Service Awards to the Class Representatives. Id. 18 On June 18, 2025, a Final Approval Hearing was held on the Motion for Final Approval and 19 Application for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Service Awards. Class Counsel appeared for the Plaintiffs 20 and Settlement Class, and Defendant’s Counsel appeared for Defendant. 21 Having received and considered the Settlement, the supporting papers filed by the Parties, and 22 the evidence and argument received by the Court before entering the Preliminary Approval Order and 23 at the Final Approval Hearing, the Court grants Final Approval of the Settlement and the Application 24 for Attorneys’ Fees, Costs, and Service Awards, enters this order, and IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 25 1. INCORPORATION OF DEFINED TERMS: This order incorporates the definitions 26 of all capitalized terms defined in Section II of the Settlement Agreement, and all capitalized terms 27 used in this order have the same meanings as set forth in that Agreement. 28 2. JURISDICTION: The Court has subject matter jurisdiction over the Action and 1 personal jurisdiction over the Parties and Settlement Class Members. 2 3. NOTICE PROGRAM AND CLAIMS PROCESS: Pursuant to the Court’s 3 Preliminary Approval Order, the Settlement Administrator has complied with the approved Notice 4 Program as confirmed in its declaration filed with the Court. The form and method for notifying the 5 Settlement Class of the Settlement and its terms and conditions was in conformity with this Court’s 6 Preliminary Approval Order and satisfied the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(c)(2)(B) and due 7 process, and constituted the best notice practicable under the circumstances. The Court finds that the 8 Notice Program was clearly designed to advise the Settlement Class members of their rights. Further, 9 the Court finds that the Claim Process set forth in the Agreement was followed and that the process 10 was the best practicable procedure under the circumstances. 11 4. FINAL CLASS CERTIFICATION: The Court again finds the Actions satisfy the 12 applicable prerequisites for class action treatment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 23, namely: 13 a. The Settlement Class members are so numerous that joinder of all of them in the Lawsuit 14 would be impracticable; 15 b. There are questions of law and fact common to the Settlement Class members, which 16 predominate over any individual questions; 17 c. The claims of Plaintiffs are typical of the claims of the Settlement Class members; 18 d. Plaintiffs and Class Counsel have fairly and adequately represented and protected the 19 interests of all the Settlement Class members; and 20 e. Class treatment of these claims will be efficient and manageable, thereby achieving an 21 appreciable measure of judicial economy, and a class action is superior to other available methods for 22 a fair and efficient adjudication. 23 5. CERTIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT CLASS: The Court finally certifies the 24 following Settlement Class: 25 All persons in the United States whose Private Information was accessed during the 26 Data Incidents. 27 Excluded from the Settlement Class are the judges presiding over the Actions and members of their 28 direct families. 1 6. APPOINTMENTS: Consistent with the Preliminary Approval Order, the Court hereby 2 appoints the following as Class Representatives, Class Counsel, and Settlement Administrator: 3 a. The appointment of Plaintiffs as Class Representatives is affirmed; 4 b. The appointment of Plaintiffs’ counsel, John Yanchunis, Doug McNamara, E. Michelle 5 Drake, David Berger, J. Gerard Stranch IV, Lynn Toops, James Pizzirusso, Gary Klinger, and Jeff 6 Ostrow, as Class Counsel is affirmed; and 7 c. The appointment of Epiq Class Action & Claims Solutions, Inc. as Settlement 8 Administrator is affirmed. 9 7. SETTLEMENT TERMS REASONABLE: The Court finds that the Settlement of the 10 Actions, on the terms and conditions set forth in the Agreement, is in all respects fundamentally fair, 11 reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the Settlement Class, applying the Fed. R. Civ. P. 12 23(e)(2) factors and Ninth Circuit’s traditional Churchill factors. 13 8. FINAL APPROVAL: The Agreement, which has been filed with the Court and shall 14 be deemed incorporated herein, and the proposed Settlement is finally approved and shall be 15 consummated in accordance with the terms and provisions thereof, except as amended by any order 16 issued by this Court. 17 9. OPT-OUTS: A list of the individuals who have opted-out of the Settlement is attached 18 as Exhibit A. Those individuals will not be bound by the Agreement or the Releases contained therein. 19 10. OBJECTIONS: Settlement Class Members were given an opportunity to object to the 20 Settlement. There is only one objection to the Settlement. (Owens ECF No. 89-1). The objection is 21 from Settlement Class Member Gregory Price. Objector Price did not appear at the Final Approval 22 Hearing. The Court has considered the objection. The Court’s Preliminary Approval Order required 23 that all objections be submitted 30 days before the Final Approval Hearing (i.e., May 19, 2025), and 24 provided that an objection shall be deemed to have been submitted when posted if received with a 25 postmark date indicated on the envelope if mailed first-class postage. See (ECF No. 244 at 10-11. 26 The envelope containing Objector Price’s objection was postmarked with a date of May 20, 2025 27 (although the actual objection included a date of May 1, 2025). The objection is untimely. On that 28 ground alone, the Court overrules the objection. Regardless, this Court finds the objection is not 1 meritorious and therefore overrules it on the ground as well. The objection’s basis for opposing Final 2 Approval is that: (a) there is inadequate consideration; (b) the release of claims is overbroad; (c) there 3 is a lack of transparency in that the Settlement fails to disclose the tier allocation methodology and 4 claims rate projections; and (d) the requested attorneys’ fees are unreasonable. (Owens ECF No. 89- 5 1 at 1-3). While the Court recognizes that the Settlement may not be satisfactory for all Settlement 6 Class Members, the Court has determined that the Settlement Class Member Benefits offered here 7 (Documented Loss Cash Payments, Tier Cash Payments, and Financial Account Monitoring) are fair, 8 reasonable, and adequate under the Churchill factors. Further, as per paragraph 12 below, the Court 9 finds the requested attorneys’ fees are reasonable. The legal authority cited in the objection does not 10 persuade the Court that the Settlement or the request for attorneys’ fees should not be approved. 11 11. SETTLEMENT BINDING: This order is binding on all Settlement Class Members, 12 except those individuals who validly and timely opted-out from the Settlement Class. 13 12. SERVICE AWARDS; ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND COSTS: 14 a. The Class Representatives are awarded reasonable Service Awards, applying the factors 15 in In re Online DVD-Rental Antitrust Litig., 779 F.3d 934, 946 (9th Cir. 2015). Plaintiffs Ryan 16 Bohlim, Duke Hwynn, Larry Lawter, Kerri Shapiro, Gennady Simkin, Robert Taylor, and Victor 17 Wukovits in the 2019 Action shall receive $10,000 each. Plaintiffs Tonya Owens, Emily Kirwan, 18 David Zussman, David Lackey, Michael Pircio, David Terezo, Ronald G. Rundell, Laura Willis 19 Abrigo, Anita Johnson, Paul Zaro, Michael Manson, Kyle Sloan, Michelle Righetti, Edgar Mejia, and 20 DuJun Johnson in the 2023 Action shall receive $3,500 each. The Service Awards shall be paid out 21 of the Settlement Fund in accordance with the Agreement. 22 b. Class Counsel are awarded $13,500,000 for attorneys’ fees and $801,631.96 for costs. 23 These payments shall be made out of the Settlement Fund in accordance with the Agreement. The 24 Court evaluated settlement Class Counsel’s request using a common fund analysis, applying the 25 factors set forth in Vizcaino v. Microsoft Corp., 290 F.3d 1043, 1048 (9th Cir. 2002), and concludes 26 that amount is fair and within the range of reason. 27 13. VALID CLAIMS: Based on the information presented to the Court, the Claim process 28 has proceeded as ordered and consistent with the Agreement and Preliminary Approval Order. The 1 distribution plan for Settlement Class Member Benefits proposed by the Parties in the Agreement is 2 fair, reasonable, and adequate. All Settlement Class Members who submitted Valid Claims shall 3 receive their Settlement Class Member Benefits pursuant to the Settlement’s terms. All Settlement 4 Class Members who did not submit a Claim, or for whom the Claim is determined to be invalid, shall 5 still be bound by the terms of the Settlement and Releases therein. 6 14. PAYMENT OF SETTLEMENT ADMINISTRATION COSTS: The Parties are 7 authorized to approve the payment of the Settlement Administration Costs to the Settlement 8 Administrator from the Settlement Fund, in an amount not to exceed $6,997,408. 9 15. RELEASE OF CLAIMS AND DISMISSAL OF LAWSUIT: As of the Effective 10 Date, Plaintiffs and all Settlement Class Members and Releasing Parties, and persons purporting to 11 act on their behalf, are permanently barred and enjoined from commencing or prosecuting, either 12 individually or as a class, or in any other capacity, any of the Released Claims against any of the 13 Released Parties, as set forth in the Agreement, against any of the Released Parties in any action or 14 proceeding in any court, arbitration forum, or tribunal. The Released Claims are compromised, 15 discharged, and dismissed with prejudice by virtue of these proceedings and this order. 16 16. RESIDUAL FUNDS: In the event there are funds remaining in the Settlement Fund, 17 including from uncashed checks, within 45 days following the 180-day check negotiation period, the 18 Court approves the distribution of all remaining funds to UNLV Cyber Clinic 19 (https://freecyberclinic.org/about). 20 17. JURISDICTION RETAINED: The Court hereby retains and reserves jurisdiction 21 over: (1) implementation of this Settlement and any distributions of Settlement Class Member 22 Benefits to the Settlement Class Members; (2) the Action, until the Effective Date, and until each and 23 every act agreed to be performed by the Parties shall have been performed pursuant to the terms of 24 the Agreement, including the exhibits appended thereto; and (3) all Parties, for the purpose of 25 enforcing and administering the Settlement. 26 18. In the event the Effective Date of the Settlement does not occur, the Settlement shall be 27 rendered null and void to the extent provided by and in accordance with the Agreement, and this order 28 and any other order entered by this Court in accordance with the terms of the Agreement shall be 1 || vacated, nunc pro tunc. In such event, all orders entered and releases delivered in connection with the 2 || Settlement shall be null and void and have no further force and effect, shall not be used or referred to 3 || for any purpose whatsoever, and shall not be admissible or discoverable in any proceeding. The 4 || Action shall return to its status immediately prior to execution of the Agreement. 5 19. ENTRY OF JUDGMENT: There being no just reason for delay, the Clerk of Court is 6 || hereby directed to enter final judgment forthwith pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 58. 7 DATED this 18 day of June _, 2025.

9 Gloria M. | oa 10 UNITED TES DISTRICT COURT 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

1 EXHIBIT A 2 Opt-Out List

3 Arnold Abraham 4 Robert Agazaryan Marlin Agoub 5 Rey Amaro Jr 6 Kellie Anderson Lydia Anderson 7 Paul Angel 8 Valentin Angles Patricia Anglin 9 Juanita Arguellez 10 Maria Avalos Zachary Barbour 11 Stephanie Barker Jeremy Barnes 12 David Barnes 13 Ruby Barrios Raymond Baur 14 Israel Beltran-Felix 15 Erica Benavides Tricia Berens 16 Max Blumen 17 Jason Bonnema Michael Boyd 18 Stefania Buraglia 19 Aaron Burnley Joshua Burns 20 Christina Camerlingo Jasmine Carson 21 Roberto Cerda 22 Mireya Chavez Lesa Chhin 23 Natalia Clavijo 24 Connor Clegg Kevin Clines 25 Archie Colburn 26 Jessica Coleman Daniel Confair 27 Evelyn Confair 28 Alfredia Conner 1 Leticia Davila Darin Davis 2 Vincent Delcastillo Jacqueline Delcastillo 3 Barbara Dement 4 Julia Denton Kevin Dierker 5 John Doyle 6 Gary Drago Blasé Drexler 7 Lisa DuBose 8 Robert Dunn Jorge Duran 9 Kimberly Erickson 10 Estate of Wesley Kish Jonah Ezell 11 Adrian Farias 12 Julio Ferrer Jerry Flagg 13 Robert Flowers Trent Folse 14 Lawrence Freiman 15 Felicia Freitas Earl Gandy 16 Anita Garcia 17 Lissa Gates Anne Gault 18 Martha Gil 19 Chip Gilbert Chris Goble 20 Ricardo Gonzalez 21 Robert Gonzalez Sr. Laurie Greenfield 22 Rudolf Grodzen David Guaderrama 23 Alberto Guillermo 24 Angela Hall Susan Harrison 25 Richard Hartley 26 Mary Hartley Marilyn Hawranik 27 Monica Hernandez 28 Randall Hicks 1 Taylor Hill Kenneth Hill 2 Michael Holtgrewe Candy Huang 3 Michael Huang 4 Kyle Hunter Vardan Indzhikushyan 5 Felix Jimenez 6 Katherine Johns Darryl Johns 7 Jennifer Johnson 8 Kevin Jones Craig Kadden 9 David Kamsler 10 Barbara Kanehiro Pauline Kanehiro (deceased) 11 David Kauffman 12 Barbara Kennard Jason Knight 13 Vasily Korovkin Tawn Kreider 14 Paul Kreider (deceased) 15 Mark Kukreja Steven Kulakowski 16 Travis Lamb 17 Carol Larinto Saul Lassoff 18 Shirley Lassoff 19 Samuel Lassoff Steven Lee 20 Diana LeMay 21 Mark L'Esperance Jonathan Levy 22 Joey Liender Robert Lilburne 23 Michael Lin 24 Chris Linder Winston Liu 25 Kenneth Ludwig 26 Peter Lum Jose Madrid 27 Yovinka Mallo 28 Roland Manalo 1 Louis Marshall Daniel Martz 2 Michael Mathison Mitchell Mayhew 3 Ashley Maylevi 4 John McClary II Patsy Melatti 5 Sheree Mendoza 6 Juan Mendoza Irakli Mgalobely 7 Anwar Monroy 8 Kimberly Moon Kerushen Morgan 9 Noah Morningstar 10 Brian Morrison Sharon Moser 11 Tony Moser 12 Alec Mouradkjanyan Jamie Nagy 13 Wayne Nakahara Karen Nelson 14 Hong Nguyen 15 Rikesha Nguyen (Formerly George) Matthew North 16 Amir Nurani 17 Marcelo Pacheco Patrick Paige 18 Moon Ho Park 19 Titapa Payne Richard Pedroza 20 Steven Penn 21 Christina Perez Thurman Pinder 22 Patrice Pinder Gwendolyn Pinder 23 Eddie Pool 24 Kathleen Powell Vanessa Price 25 Warren Prince 26 Shelby Purcell Jane Qi 27 Jayna Querin 28 Travis Radtke 1 Loa Reynolds Monte Reynolds 2 Joseph Ricci Lainie Rideout 3 Cara Ridge 4 Anna Rincon Jason Rist 5 Jose Robles 6 David Rosenstiel Benjamin Roth 7 Octavio Ruiz 8 Edward Ruiz M Ruiz 9 M. Alice Ruiz 10 Al Russ Patrick Russo 11 Charles Rutledge 12 Connie Rutledge Ashu Sackett 13 Mike Safaie Irvin Salgado 14 Joseph Samo 15 Stacey Sanchez David Santiago 16 Audrey Schlorholtz 17 Heath Schweitzer Ryan Sensenig 18 Robert Severino 19 Rose Severino Leah Smith 20 Jennifer Smith 21 Robert Snyder Kunthea Sok 22 Christina Solis Grace Solomon 23 Taivon Sterling 24 Daniel Stevens Chad Sthele 25 Nathan Stoll 26 Karen Suarez Erick Suarez 27 Annette Szawan 28 Richard Szucs 1 Andrew Tedesco Robert Terrell 2 Vanessa Terrell Sally Thielbar 3 Alan Thierfeldt 4 Stacey Thompson Matthew Tollefsrud 5 Pat Tran 6 Jesus Valls Samantha Vannetter 7 Lewis Vigil 8 Ellen Wakefield Andrew Wang 9 Shawn Warnecke 10 Neil Weiser Shane Whitley 11 Dara Wilson Jacqueline Wilson 12 William Wineland, Jr 13 Tyler Winkelmann Teresa Wood (Formerly Prunty) 14 Glenda Woodring 15 Ashlynn Woods Dikan Xing 16 Michelle Yang 17 Kristopher Young Yi Zou 18 Aleksei Zubkov

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