Frequently Asked Questions

A Court authorized the Notice because you have a right to know about the proposed Settlement of this class action lawsuit and about all of your options, before the Court decides whether to give final approval to the Settlement. The Notice explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, and your legal rights.

The Honorable Hala Y. Jarbou, of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, is overseeing this case. The case is called Kotila, et al. v. Charter Financial Publishing Network, Inc., Case No. 1:22-cv-00704-HYJ-RSK.  The persons who sued are called the Plaintiffs. The Defendant is Charter Financial Publishing Network, Inc.

In a class action, one or more people called class representatives (in this case, Matthew Kotila and Robert Craun) sue on behalf of a group or a “Class” of people who have similar claims. In a class action, the court resolves the issues for all class members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Settlement Class.

This lawsuit claims that Defendant violated Michigan’s Preservation of Personal Privacy Act, H.B. 5331, 84th Leg. Reg. Sess., P.A. No. 378 §§ 1-4, id. § 5, added by H.B. 4694, 85th Leg. Reg. Sess., P.A. No. 206, § 1 (Mich. 1989) (the “PPPA”), by disclosing information related to its customers’ magazine subscriptions to third parties before July 30, 2016. The Defendant denies it violated any law. The Court has not determined who is right. Rather, the Parties have agreed to settle the lawsuit to avoid the uncertainties and expenses associated with ongoing litigation.

The Court has not decided whether the Plaintiffs or the Defendant should win this case. Instead, both sides agreed to a Settlement. That way, they avoid the uncertainties and expenses associated with ongoing litigation, and Settlement Class Members will get compensation sooner rather than, if at all, after the completion of a trial.

The Court decided that everyone who fits the following description is a Settlement Class Member:

Michigan residents who subscribed to any of Defendant’s publications before July 31, 2016, and whose name, together with the name of the publication(s) to which they subscribed, were disclosed by Defendant (or any employee or agent of Defendant acting on Defendant’s behalf) at any time between April 25, 2016 and July 30, 2016, to any third party without the consent of the subscriber.

Excluded from the Settlement Class are:

1) all Persons whose subscription information was not disclosed to third parties;

2) any Judge or Magistrate presiding over this Action and members of their families;

3) the Defendant, Defendant’s subsidiaries, parent companies, successors, predecessors, and any entity in which the Defendant or its parents have a controlling interest and their current or former officers, directors, agents, attorneys, and employees;

4) Persons who properly execute and file a timely request for exclusion from the class; and

5) the legal representatives, successors or assigns of any such excluded persons.  

Monetary Relief:  A Settlement Fund has been created totaling $1,000,000. Settlement Class Member payments, Settlement Administration Expenses, the cost to inform people about the Settlement, attorneys’ Fee Award (inclusive of litigation costs), and an award to the Class Representatives will also come out of this fund (see Question 12). 

A detailed description of the Settlement benefits can be found in the Settlement Agreement, a copy of which is accessible on the Documents page or by clicking here. 

The amount of this payment will depend on how many requests for exclusion are submitted. Each Settlement Class Member will receive a proportionate share of the Settlement Fund, which Class Counsel anticipates will be approximately $275. You can contact Class Counsel at (646) 837-7150 to inquire as to the number of requests for exclusion that have been received to date.

The hearing to consider the fairness of the Settlement is scheduled for June 26, 2024 at 9:00 AM ET. If the Court approves the Settlement, eligible Settlement Class Members will receive their payment 28 days after the Settlement has been finally approved and/or after any appeals process is complete. The payment will be made in the form of a check, and all checks will expire and become void 180 days after they are issued. Alternatively, you may request that the payment is issued through PayPal or Venmo (see Question 9 below for further details).

If you are a Settlement Class Member who received a Notice via postcard and you want to get a payment, do nothing and you will automatically receive a pro rata share of the Settlement Fund, which Class Counsel anticipates will be approximately $275. Your check for a pro rata share of the Settlement Fund will be sent to the postal address identified in the Notice you received. If you have changed addresses or are planning to change addresses prior to July 24, 2024, please click here to complete and submit a change of address request on the Contact page of this site. If you wish to receive your payment via PayPal or Venmo, you may do so by submitting an election form on the Settlement Website.

If you are a Settlement Class Member who did not receive a Notice via postcard and you want to get a payment, you must complete and submit a Claim Form. You may submit a Claim Form either electronically by clicking here, or by printing and mailing in a paper Claim Form, copies of which are available for download here. Claim Forms must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday, June 12, 2024 or postmarked and mailed by Wednesday, June 12, 2024. Mail your paper Claim Form to,

If the Settlement becomes Final, you will give up your right to sue the Defendant and other Released Parties for the claims being resolved by this Settlement. The specific claims you are giving up against the Defendant are described in the Settlement Agreement. You will be “releasing” the Defendant and certain of its affiliates, employees and representatives as described in Section 1.28 of the Settlement Agreement. Unless you exclude yourself (see Question 13), you are “releasing” the claims. The Settlement Agreement is available for download by clicking here.

The Settlement Agreement describes the Released Claims with specific descriptions, so read it carefully. If you have any questions you can talk to the lawyers listed in Question 11 for free or you can, of course, talk to your own lawyer if you have questions about what this means.

The Court has appointed Joseph I. Marchese and Philip L. Fraietta of Bursor & Fisher, P.A., Frank S. Hedin and Arun G. Ravindran of Hedin LLP, and E. Powell Miller of The Miller Law Firm, P.C.to represent the Settlement Class. They are called “Class Counsel.” They believe, after conducting an extensive investigation, that the Settlement Agreement is fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the Settlement Class. You will not be charged for these lawyers.  If you want to be represented by your own lawyer in this case, you may hire one at your expense.

The Defendant has agreed that Class Counsel attorneys’ fees and costs may be paid out of the Settlement Fund in an amount to be determined by the Court. The Fee Petition will seek no more than 35% of the Settlement Fund, inclusive of reimbursement of their costs and expenses; the Court may award less than this amount.  Under the Settlement Agreement, any amount awarded to Class Counsel will be paid out of the Settlement Fund. 

Subject to approval by the Court, the Class Representatives Matthew Kotila and Robert Craun may be paid a service award of $1,000 and $500, respectively, from the Settlement Fund for their services in helping to bring and resolve this case.

To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must submit a request for exclusion by May 19, 2024. Requests for exclusion may be submitted by either printing and completing the request for exclusion form found on the Settlement Website (accessible here) or by mailing or otherwise delivering a letter stating that you want to be excluded from the Kotila, et al. v. Charter Financial Publishing Network, Inc., Case No. 1:22-cv-00704-HYJ-RSK Settlement. Your letter or request for exclusion must also include your name, your address, the title of the publication(s) to which you subscribed, your signature, the name and number of this case, and a statement that you wish to be excluded. If you choose to submit a request for exclusion by mail, you must mail or deliver your exclusion request, postmarked no later than May 19, 2024, to the following address:

No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up any right to sue the Defendant for the claims being resolved by this Settlement. 

No. If you exclude yourself, you will not receive a pro rata share of the Settlement Fund.

If you are a Settlement Class Member, you can object to the Settlement if you don’t like any part of it. You can give reasons why you think the Court should not approve it. The Court will consider your views. To object, you must file with the Court a letter or brief stating that you object to the Settlement in Kotila, et al. v. Charter Financial Publishing Network, Inc., Case No. 1:22-cv-00704-HYJ-RSK and identify all your reasons for your objections (including citations and supporting evidence) and attach any materials you rely on for your objections. Your letter or brief must also include your name, your address, the basis upon which you claim to be a Settlement Class Member (including the title of the publication(s) which you purchased or to which you subscribed), the name and contact information of any and all attorneys representing, advising, or in any way assisting you in connection with your objection, and your signature. If you, or an attorney assisting you with your objection, have ever objected to any class action settlement where you or the objecting attorney has asked for or received payment in exchange for dismissal of the objection (or any related appeal) without modification to the settlement, you must include a statement in your objection identifying each such case by full case caption. You must also mail or deliver a copy of your letter or brief to Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel listed below. 

Class Counsel will file with the Court and post on this website its request for attorneys’ fees, their Fee Petition, by May 6, 2024. 

If you want to appear and speak at the Final Approval Hearing to object to the Settlement, with or without a lawyer (explained below in answer to Question Number 20), you must say so in your letter or brief. File the objection with the Court (or mail the objection to the Court) and mail a copy of the objection to Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel, at the addresses below, postmarked no later than May 19, 2024.    

Objecting simply means telling the Court that you don’t like something about the Settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Settlement Class. Excluding yourself from the Settlement Class is telling the Court that you don’t want to be part of the Settlement Class. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object because the case no longer affects you.

The Court will hold the Final Approval Hearing at 9:00 AM ET on June 26, 2024, at 138 Federal Building & US Post Office, 315 W Allegan Street, Lansing, MI 48933. The purpose of the hearing will be for the Court to determine whether to approve the Settlement as fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the Settlement Class; to consider the Class Counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees and expenses; and to consider the request for a service award to the Class Representatives. At that hearing, the Court will be available to hear any objections and arguments concerning the fairness of the Settlement.

The hearing may be postponed to a different date or time without notice, so it is a good idea to check for updates on this website. If, however, you timely objected to the Settlement and advised the Court that you intend to appear and speak at the Final Approval Hearing, you will receive notice of any change in the date of the Final Approval Hearing.  

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. But you are welcome to come at your own expense. If you send an objection or comment, you don’t have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as you filed and mailed your written objection on time, the Court will consider it. You may also pay another lawyer to attend, but it’s not required.

Yes.  You may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Final Approval Hearing. To do so, you must include in your letter or brief objecting to the settlement a statement saying that it is your “Notice of Intent to Appear in Kotila, et al. v. Charter Financial Publishing Network, Inc., Case No. 1:22-cv-00704-HYJ-RSK.” It must include your name, address, telephone number and signature as well as the name and address of your lawyer, if one is appearing for you. Your objection and notice of intent to appear must be filed with the Court and postmarked no later than May 19, 2024. All objections and notices of intent to appear must be sent to the addresses listed in Question 16.  

This Notice summarizes the Settlement.  More details are in the Settlement Agreement. You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreement on the Documents page by clicking here. You may also write with questions to,

You can call Class Counsel at (646) 837-7142, if you have any questions. Before doing so, however, please read this website carefully. You may also find additional information elsewhere on the Settlement Website.