Class Action Settlement Effect on SL

[Wallace Wirefly]

So it looks like after a long long time this case has finally been settled. Now one wonders what if any effect will this have on SL , Linden lab and its community. Would have to say from quick reading it looks like someone is making out well. Not sure if plaintiffs or lawyers. SO for anyone interested here is the link to courts opinions and settlement: http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/california/candce/4:2011cv01078/243627/128

One wonders how many are in "class" and what effect will this conversion of $L , which by the way is no small amount $L 43,337,311, will have on lindens. Am sure this is why we see the changes happening in new agreements. As one hears a lot."Read the fine print" :matte-motes-agape:. Good reading

[KarenMichelle Lane]

That makes for an interesting read. The final disposition will be made in February of 2014.

So basically those who leased regions from Linden Lab who were subsequently expelled from SecondLife losing both their investment in land and material goods and creations have won a Class Action settlement against Linden Lab.

Selected details:

Class Definition:

Plaintiffs moved to certify two proposed classes,

“Main Class” and “Subclass A,” and on November 20, 2013, the court granted in part and denied in part Plaintiffs’ motion. [Docket No. 107 (Order on Mot. for Class Cert.).]

The court denied Plaintiffs’ motion to certify the Main Class, consisting of all current and former owners, purchasers, creators or sellers of virtual land or virtual items in Second Life since November 2003.

The court granted the motion to certify the proposed Subclass A to proceed on claims for conversion, intentional interference with contractual relations and prospective economic advantage, and unjust enrichment, certifying a class as follows:

All persons whose assets, including virtual items, virtual land, and/or currency in lindens and/or U.S. dollars, have been deliberately and intentionally converted by Defendant Linden’s suspension or closure of their Second Life accounts. The court also appointed Plaintiff Hemingway as class representative and appointed Jason Archinaco and Robert Bracken of Archinaco/Bracken, LLC and Michael Aschenbrener of Aschenbrener Law, P.C. Class Counsel.

Settlement Amount

The Revised Agreement provides for a single settlement class consisting of all persons whose assets, including virtual items, virtual land, and/or currency in lindens and/or U.S. dollars, have been deliberately and intentionally converted by Defendant Linden’s suspension or closure of their Second Life accounts on or after April 16, 2008.

The settlement provides that Defendant Linden will make payments to class members as follows.

First, Linden will return up to 100% of the U.S. dollar balances in class members’ accounts by transmitting the funds to class members’ PayPal accounts within ten days of Linden verifying the validity of each class member’s claim. As of August 20, 2013, the date of the amended settlement agreement, the total of such funds is approximately $24,236.90.

Next, Linden will return up to 100% of the Linden dollar balances in class members’ accounts. To accomplish this, Linden will list the Linden dollars on the official Second Life currency exchange and transmit the converted U.S. dollars within ten days of the sale, and will waive Second Life’s commission on the conversions. As of the date of the Revised Agreement, the total of such funds was approximately L$43,337,311, with an exchange rate of approximately 252 Linden dollars to one U.S. dollar, for an approximate value of $171,973.46.

With respect to virtual land, Linden will pay two Linden dollars per square meter of virtual land held by class members. As of the date of the Revised Agreement, the total amount of virtual land is 275,872 square meters. Defendants will waive Second Life’s commission on the exchanges and will transmit the value of the Linden dollars, converted to U.S. dollars, within ten days of Linden verifying the validity of each class member’s claim. By the court’s own calculations, the total U.S. dollar value of such virtual land is approximately $2,189 (275,872 x L$2 / 252).

In addition, Linden will refund a $1,000 setup fee to the class member who possessed a virtual island.

Finally, regarding virtual items, Linden will offer class members making valid claims the choice of (a) $15 per class member (not account) whose account(s) contains virtual items, transmitted by Linden to his or her PayPal account within ten days of Linden verifying the validity of the claim; or (b) the class members may attempt to sell their virtual items on the Second Life Marketplace, and Linden will waive Second Life’s commission on the sales. Those class members who elect the second option will be entitled to all proceeds of the sales.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The remainder of the agreement talks about the Class Notification methods and who bears the costs, etc.

So the affected Class of individuals may see postings in various Online forums regarding this settlement [e.g Facebook] so that they may file a claim under this settlement.

My thoughts - The total US Dollar amount exposure to Linden Lab  is quite small from a corporate entity POV. As I calculate it not counting legal fees, LL will be out of  $250,000.00 per this agreement. I think 2 high priced management executives salaries will just about cover that.

Moral: Being bad [Violating Linden Lab's TOS] does not necessarily deny you of your financial investment in SecondLife. I'm not sure of this but I'd bet that Linden Lab may be modifying it's TOS again soon. This settlement suggests that LL may be obligated to cash out and/or refund account holders when they are subsequently found to have violated the Terms of Service thus earning a permanent account suspension.

I'm sure more information and commentary from the active readers here in the forum will be forthcoming.

P.S. If I might add - Can we all keep this topic on target without recriminations and/or useless slanders. I think it is important and don't want to see any excuses for the LL moderators to delete this thread.

KarenMichelle pushes her reading glasses aside and returns to more fun activities...

[JoJo Aurelia]

Is it too late to jump on this band wagon? What about lost inventory? Last year I lost 30K of expensive inventory with no compensation for that loss.

[Phil Deakins]

---

KarenMichelle Lane wrote:

That makes for an interesting read. The final disposition will be made in February of 2014.

So basically those who leased regions from Linden Lab who were subsequently expelled from SecondLife losing both their investment in land and material goods and creations have won a Class Action settlement against Linden Lab.

Selected details:

Class Definition:

Plaintiffs moved to certify two proposed classes,

“Main Class” and “Subclass A,” and

on November 20, 2013

, the court granted in part and denied in part Plaintiffs’ motion. [Docket No. 107 (Order on Mot. for Class Cert.).]

---

There is plenty of time to place bets on the outcome of the case

[Ceka Cianci]

---

Faye Feldragonne wrote:

Is it too late to jump on this band wagon? What about lost inventory? Last year I lost 30K of expensive inventory with no compensation for that loss.

---

I think you had to be banned from SL by LL and separated from your investment to fall under that..

 I've only skimmed it so far and have not read on it in awhile myself..

 

 It's nice that people can see now how a TOS is not above the law of the land and that everything written in them is not etched in stone..

Especially when it comes to laws..

 

Who is betting they settle?

[Amethyst Jetaime]

---

Faye Feldragonne wrote:

Is it too late to jump on this band wagon? What about lost inventory? Last year I lost 30K of expensive inventory with no compensation for that loss.

---

This only applies to people who have been permanently banned.  You'd need to file a seperate suit against LL for loss of inventory.

[Solar Legion]

And this crap is why I do not have any faith whatsoever in the court system ....

Unless they could prove they were wrongfully banned, this case should have been thrown out of court. Sorry, you don't get to place cash into ANY MMO or VW and expect the company to reimburse you if you get your happy tush banned.

[KarenMichelle Lane]

---

Phil Deakins wrote:

---

KarenMichelle Lane wrote:

That makes for an interesting read. The final disposition will be made in February of 2014.

So basically those who leased regions from Linden Lab who were subsequently expelled from SecondLife losing both their investment in land and material goods and creations have won a Class Action settlement against Linden Lab.

Selected details:

Class Definition:

Plaintiffs moved to certify two proposed classes,

“Main Class” and “Subclass A,” and

on November 20, 2013

, the court granted in part and denied in part Plaintiffs’ motion. [Docket No. 107 (Order on Mot. for Class Cert.).]

---

There is plenty of time to place bets on the outcome of the case

---

Good catch Phil. Yeah that was in the Case PDF file. Based on the court's Docket Stamp I'm guessing that should have read "August or October 20, 2013,"

[KarenMichelle Lane]

---

Ceka Cianci wrote:

---

Faye Feldragonne wrote:

Is it too late to jump on this band wagon? What about lost inventory? Last year I lost 30K of expensive inventory with no compensation for that loss.

---

I think you had to be banned from SL by LL and separated from your investment to fall under that..

I've

 only skimmed it so far and have not read on it in awhile myself..

 

It's nice that people can see now how a TOS is not above the law of the land and that everything written in them is not etched in stone..

Especially when it comes to laws..

 

Who is betting they settle?

---

This is the Settlement worked out through mediation. The Introductory text is as follows:

Plaintiff Naomi Hemingway moves for preliminary approval of a class action settlement. [Docket No. 113.] Defendants Linden Research, Inc. and Philip Rosedale do not oppose the motion. [Docket No. 116.] The court conducted a hearing on this matter on June 27, 2013 and ordered Plaintiff to submit supplemental information in support of the motion and to amend certain provisions of the settlement agreement, class notice, and claim form. Plaintiff filed the requested information on August 20, 2013. [Docket No. 121.] The court then ordered Plaintiff to file additional information in support of the motion, addressing errors in Plaintiff’s previous submissions. [Docket No. 124.] On October 21, 2013, Plaintiff filed the requested information. [Docket No. 125.] On October 23, 2013, the court ordered Plaintiff to submit a fully-executed revised settlement agreement, which Plaintiff filed on October 24, 2013. [Docket Nos. 126, 127.]

For the following reasons, the court GRANTS Plaintiff’s motion.

 

I think you said it all with your comment...

It's nice that people can see now how a TOS is not above the law of the land and that everything written in them is not etched in stone.. Especially when it comes to laws..

The notion that you forfeit all investment capital, profits and your Linden balance as a punitive measure when you are permanently banned per the TOS was clearly not held up. The notion that Linden Lab was hired to provide services for payment appears to have been born out.

for Solar Legion,

Of course this settlement agreement only applies to Linden Lab and its customers, being a civil suit. This has no affect on any other MMO entity whatsoever.

[Maelstrom Janus]

So this is why theyve been busily rewriting the tos...wish Id taken action last year when they screwed me out of a months tiers when their technical **bleep** up put me off line.....

[Maelstrom Janus]

wow if I screw two bits of wood together do i  get 'bleeped' ????

[Cully Andel]

They should at least allow you to withdraw any funds you have sitting in your account. It's your money.

[Cully Andel]

I'd be insterested in knowing (though I guess I wont find out) Why Lindens chose not to oppose this.

[Maelstrom Janus]

Quote - 'P.S. If I might add - Can we all keep this topic on target without recriminations and/or useless slanders. I think it is important and don't want to see any excuses for the LL moderators to delete this thread.'

 

Surely Linden lab would never dare flaunt the '1st ammendment'...

 

...NOW...

 

God bless America

[Ceka Cianci]

---

KarenMichelle Lane wrote:

---

Ceka Cianci wrote:

---

Faye Feldragonne wrote:

Is it too late to jump on this band wagon? What about lost inventory? Last year I lost 30K of expensive inventory with no compensation for that loss.

---

I think you had to be banned from SL by LL and separated from your investment to fall under that..

I've

 only skimmed it so far and have not read on it in awhile myself..

 

It's nice that people can see now how a TOS is not above the law of the land and that everything written in them is not etched in stone..

Especially when it comes to laws..

 

Who is betting they settle?

---

This is the Settlement worked out through mediation. The Introductory text is as follows:

Plaintiff Naomi Hemingway moves for preliminary approval of a class action settlement. [Docket No. 113.] Defendants Linden Research, Inc. and Philip Rosedale do not oppose the motion. [Docket No. 116.] The court conducted a hearing on this matter on June 27, 2013 and ordered Plaintiff to submit supplemental information in support of the motion and to amend certain provisions of the settlement agreement, class notice, and claim form. Plaintiff filed the requested information on August 20, 2013. [Docket No. 121.] The court then ordered Plaintiff to file additional information in support of the motion, addressing errors in Plaintiff’s previous submissions. [Docket No. 124.] On October 21, 2013, Plaintiff filed the requested information. [Docket No. 125.] On October 23, 2013, the court ordered Plaintiff to submit a fully-executed revised settlement agreement, which Plaintiff filed on October 24, 2013. [Docket Nos. 126, 127.]

For the following reasons, the court GRANTS Plaintiff’s motion.

 

I think you said it all with your comment...

It's nice that people can see now how a TOS is not above the law of the land and that everything written in them is not etched in stone.. Especially when it comes to laws..

The notion that you forfeit all investment capital, profits and your Linden balance as a punitive measure when you are permanently banned per the TOS was clearly not held up. The notion that Linden Lab was hired to provide services for payment appears to have been born out.

for

Solar Legion

,

Of course this settlement agreement only applies to Linden Lab and its customers, being a civil suit. This has no affect on any other MMO entity whatsoever.

---

LOL that's what i get for making my morning tea time also forum reading time..why i read suit is beyond me..

just waking up and responding is not one of my best qualities hehehe

but for some reason..i do it all the time :matte-motes-nerdy:

[Perrie Juran]

---

Cully Andel wrote:

I'd be insterested in knowing (though I guess I wont find out) Why Lindens chose not to oppose this.

---

Two main reasons you settle:

1)  It's cheaper than fighting.

2)  To avoid setting a legal precedent.  In a settlement there is generally no admission of guilt by the defendent nor a finding of guilt by the Court.  The approval by the Court simply says based on the facts "this looks reasonable." 

For a more detailed (and lengthy) read about this case see HERE (pops).  I'd suggest you have plenty of aspirin on hand before reading. 

[Wallace Wirefly]

Thanks KarenMichelle for a more in depth look and understanding. It is interesting from the stand point of a "Member" created world. It seems that when LL first laid the ground work for SL, I feel, their intentions were good. Being the first , or one of the first, to establish this ground breaking idea one would expect bumps along the way will and would happen. Sadly the "policing" of Terms of Service seems to always be a gray area. As with any Contract "we the party of the first part" agree to these terms by clicking Agree and moving on WITHOUT really reading what it entails. It is today's technology. Now when something happens and ones "Agreement" is canceled only THEN do we go back and parse words. One would hope that this world we call second life will not become like first life where we find fault was not mine. I think no matter which life one "lives" there are these basic principles RAR.

Responsibility, Accountability , Reward. When one 'Clicks" each should think of what that action entails and IF we follow the first two then I think the last one will be given. Lets hope LL and each one here can keep our second life a real reward for all. :matte-motes-big-grin:

[Solar Legion]

No other service (and that includes online gaming platforms) allows you to do this that I am aware of.

 

For this reason alone, I do not maintain a "hard" cash balance in my own account. Not being able to access it/withdraw it is the risk one takes when signing up for such things and maintaining such a balance.

 

Would it be nice for them to do so? Yes. Would it be ethical for them to do so? Yes.

 

Frankly though, allowing someone who has been banned to pull what they've put in right back out simply tells other users that the consequences of being banned are not nearly as dire for those truly serious about the platform.

[Solar Legion]

Still not over your own data usage muck up?

 

GET over it - YOU used the data.

[Jennifer Boyle]

---

Ceka Cianci wrote:

---

Who is betting they settle?

---

They did settle.  

[Jennifer Boyle]

---

Solar Legion wrote:

And this crap is why I do not have any faith whatsoever in the court system ....

Unless they could prove they were wrongfully banned, this case should have been thrown out of court. Sorry, you don't get to place cash into ANY MMO or VW and expect the company to reimburse you if you get your happy tush banned.

---

LL settled.  They didn't have to, but they chose to.  Nobody had to prove anything because the suit wasn't litigated.  We don't know whyt they were banned; it may or may not have been "wrongful," whatever that means.  Sio, maybe the plaintiffs could prove that they were wrongfully banned but didn't have to because LL, knowing they could, settled.  Anyway, LL could have gone to trial, but they didn't.  

[Jennifer Boyle]

---

Perrie Juran wrote:

Two main reasons you settle:

1)  It's cheaper than fighting.

2)  To avoid setting a legal precedent.  In a settlement there is generally no admission of guilt by the defendent nor a finding of guilt by the Court.  The approval by the Court simply says based on the facts "this looks reasonable." 

For a more detailed (and lengthy) read about this case see

HERE (pops).

  I'd suggest you have plenty of aspirin on hand before reading. 

---

You would only want to avvoid setting a precedent if you thought you would lose.  

 

 

 

[KarenMichelle Lane]

---

Cully Andel wrote:

I'd be interested in knowing (though I guess I wont find out) Why Lindens chose not to oppose this.

---

Nods - Linden Research lawyers were a part of the mediation meetings. Clearly they had the permission to settle this in the best interests for Linden Research.

Reality Check - Please understand that Civil Suits are a very different animal. Many if not most are settled with an eye on the financial consequences for the Defendants as well as the Plaintiffs. The usual goal is to settle when the suit has merit in a manner that satisfies all parties. This includes the "Making Whole" settlement agreement on behalf of the Plaintiffs.

Also remember that the next step is for the court to approve the Class Notification procedures. This is a plan by which those who are considered to be in the Settlement Class are informed of this agreement and the procedure for opting into the remedies therein. This class of individuals may also opt-out of this settlement and bring suit on the merits of their own case.

My take on this is that this settlement is the most cost effective solution given that the court found that Linden Lab's "Conversion" of customer assets and monies was not allowable.

The class includes:

All persons whose assets, including virtual items, virtual land, and/or currency in lindens and/or U.S. dollars, have been deliberately and intentionally converted by Defendant Linden’s suspension or closure of their Second Life accounts

To be sure Linden Lab's lawyers or the lawyers for the Plaintiffs could have chosen to take this case to a jury trial with all the appeal processes being available to each. But instead both agreed to a mediation process which serves both sides very well. I applaud this decision by both sides.

[Solar Legion]

Not really the point I was making.

 

It should never have been entered in any manner, settled out of court or not.

 

Ever hear of an"AR Party"? There's a "wrongful" ban.

[Perrie Juran]

---

KarenMichelle Lane wrote:

---

My take on this is that this settlement is the most cost effective solution given that the court found that Linden Lab's "Conversion" of customer assets and monies was not allowable.

---

Umm, where did the Court find this?  I'm not seeing that in the Court order.

Rather what I find is this:

"To make a fairness determination, the court must balance a number of factors, including the strength of the plaintiff’s case; the risk, expense, complexity, and likely duration of further litigation; the risk of maintaining class action status throughout the trial; the amount offered in settlement; the extent of discovery completed; the stage of the proceedings; and the experience and views of counsel. Staton, 327 F.3d at 959. In making this evaluation, the court is not to “reach any ultimate conclusions on the contested issues of fact and law which underlie the merits of the dispute, [my emphasis] for it is the very uncertainty of outcome in litigation and avoidance of wasteful and expensive litigation that induce consensual settlements.”   page 7.