Update about Payments in Freelance Settlement

As you may have seen in our blog (and reported in The New York Times), payments due writers in the freelance writers’ class action suit were finally mailed out at the end of last week! We have heard from many of you that you have already received your checks. If you’re expecting a payment and have not received a check by the middle of May you may email the claims administrator at CopyrightSettlement@girardgibbs.com to check on the status of your claim.

If you have moved since filing your claim, there is a link to provide the administrator with your current address.

Out of respect for the privacy interests of the claimants, the claims administrator was unable to provide us with any information about who is receiving how much from whom.

The claims administration site is: http://www.copyrightclassaction.com/index.php3.

PLEASE REVIEW THESE FAQS BEFORE CONTACTING THE CLAIMS ADMINISTRATOR:

1. Tax Treatment: We are not issuing 1099’s and cannot provide tax advice. Class Members should consult their tax advisor.
2. Information About Your Claim: A number of you have asked how the claims administrator arrived at the value of your claim, or which of your works were included, or for other information about your claim. All claim determinations were based on the Plan of Allocation, which is contained in the Notice of Revised Class Action Settlement, at pages 4-5. The claims administrator is not required under the Revised Settlement Agreement, and it would be unduly burdensome for it, to respond to such individual requests for such information.
3. Have All Checks Been Mailed: All checks have been mailed. Please wait at least a week or more to inquire about your check, as the postal service does not deliver all the checks on the same date.
4. Checks Addressed to Family Members Who Have Passed Away: We are sensitive to the potential difficulties heirs may have depositing checks issued to claimants who are now deceased. However, the claims administrator is not in a position to make legal determinations of who the appropriate recipient of the check should be and will only re-issue a check to the decedent’s estate.
5. Is it Too Late to Submit a Claim: Yes it is. Claim forms were due by the end of September 2005.
6. Is there any reason Why I Need My Claim Number: No, there is not.
7. Did I Submit a Claim, or Will I Be Receiving A Check: The claims administrator is not required under the Revised Settlement Agreement, and it would be unduly burdensome for it, to respond on an individual basis to these questions. All those who submitted a timely claim will receive a check unless (1) the claim was deficient in some way and the deficiency was not cured, or (2) if the claim was objected to by the print publication and the publication prevailed in a dispute over the objection. All affected claimants were notified of deficiencies in or objections to their claims. Deficiency notices were sent to claimants shortly after the claims were submitted in late 2005 (and a few in 2015), and it is too late now to cure any deficiencies. Likewise, the period to resolve disputes regarding publication objections is also over. If you do not receive a check then you did not submit a timely, valid claim under the terms of the Revised Settlement Agreement, or the objecting publication prevailed in its challenge to the validity of your claim.

We will update this list of inquiries as more common questions arise.