JH Pixel Privacy Settlement

A Court authorized the Notice because you have a right to know about a proposed Settlement of this class action lawsuit and about all 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 case is called Beauford v. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Inc., Case No. C-03-CV-23-000501, pending in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. The Person who sued is called the Plaintiff. The Defendants are The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Inc., The Johns Hopkins Health System Corporation, and The Johns Hopkins University.

In a class action, one or more people called the class representative (in this case, Anita Beauford) 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 class.

This lawsuit claims that Defendants violated the Maryland’s Wiretap Act, Md. Cts. & Jud. Pro. Code § 10-402 et seq. (the “Maryland Wiretap Act”) by disclosing their patients’ personally identifiable information (“PII”) to third parties via the Meta Pixel and other tracking, analytics, and/or advertising technologies without consent. The Defendants deny all of Plaintiff’s claims in the lawsuit and maintain they did nothing wrong.

By agreeing to settle, both sides avoid the cost and risk of a trial, and people who submit valid timely Claims will get compensation. The Plaintiff and her attorneys believe the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate and, thus, best for the Settlement Class and its members. The Settlement does NOT mean Defendants did anything wrong.

The Settlement Class is defined as:

All Maryland residents who accessed the Johns Hopkins MyChart patient portal from February 1, 2020, to and through June 28, 2022.

Excluded from the Settlement Class are (1) the Judge presiding over the lawsuit, any members of the Judges’ respective staffs, and immediate members of the Judge’s family; (2) officers and directors of Defendants, their subsidiaries, parent companies, successors, predecessors, and any entity in which the Defendants or their parents have a controlling interest; (3) Persons who timely and validly request exclusion from and/or opt out of the Settlement Class; and (4) the legal representatives, successors, or assigns of any such excluded Persons.

Monetary Relief: Each Settlement Class Member who files a valid Claim will receive a cash payment of $16.50. In addition, Defendants have agreed to pay Settlement Administration Expenses, approved attorneys’ fees and costs to Class Counsel, and an incentive award to the Class Representative.

Prospective Relief: Additionally, Defendants are not currently using the Meta Pixel on their main website, www.hopkinsmedicine.org (the “Website”), and, pursuant to the Settlement, have created a Web Governance Committee that will assess the implementation and use of analytics and advertising technologies on the Website. Moreover, while continuing to deny liability, Defendants agree that for the next two years Defendants will not use the Meta Pixel on the Website unless the Web Governance Committee determines its use is consistent with applicable law at that time and Defendants make an affirmative disclosure in the Privacy Statement for Websites and Mobile Applications posted on the Website that the Meta Pixel is being used on the Website.

A detailed description of the Settlement benefits can be found in the Settlement Agreement.

You must submit a Claim Form (see FAQ 9) to receive a payment. If you submit a valid Claim Form, you will receive a $16.50 cash payment.

You must provide proof of your Settlement Class membership when filing a Claim by providing the Unique ID on the Notice you received by postcard or email. If for some reason you did not receive this information but believe you are a Settlement Class Member, please call 1-888-654-7958 to verify your identity and receive further information on how to file a Claim.

The hearing to consider the fairness of the Settlement is scheduled for September 4, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. If the Court approves the Settlement, eligible Settlement Class Members whose Claims were approved by the Settlement Administrator will receive their payment 150 days after the Settlement has been finally approved and any appeals process is complete. The payment will be made in the form of a check, unless you elect to receive payment by PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle, and all checks will expire and become void 180 days after they are issued.

You must complete and submit a Claim Form to receive a payment. 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. CT on August 19, 2024, or postmarked and mailed by August 19, 2024.

If the Settlement becomes Final, you will give up your right to sue Defendants for the claims this Settlement resolves. The Settlement Agreement describes the specific claims you are giving up against the Defendants. You will be “releasing” the Defendants and certain of their affiliates described in Section 1.25 of the Settlement Agreement. Unless you exclude yourself (see FAQ 14), you are “releasing” the claims, regardless of whether you submit a claim or not. The Settlement Agreement is available 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 FAQ 12 for free or you can, of course, talk to your own lawyer if you have questions about what this means.

If you do nothing, you won’t get any benefits from this Settlement. Also, unless you exclude yourself, you won’t be able to start a lawsuit or be part of any other lawsuit against the Defendants for the claims being resolved by this Settlement.

The Court has appointed Philip L. Fraietta and Joshua D. Arisohn of Bursor & Fisher, P.A. and Scott R. Drury of Drury Legal, LLC to be the attorneys representing 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.

Class Counsel’s attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses will be paid separately by Defendants and awarded by the Court. Class Counsel is entitled to seek no more than $5,000,000, but the Court may award less than this amount.

As approved by the Court, the Class Representative will separately be paid an incentive award by Defendants for helping to bring and settle the case. Class Representative Anita Beauford may seek up to $5,000 as an incentive award, but the Court may award less than this amount.

To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must mail or otherwise deliver a letter (or request for exclusion) stating that you want to be excluded from the Beauford v. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Inc., Case No. C-03-CV-23-000501 Settlement. Your letter or request for exclusion must also include your name, your address, your signature, the name and number of this case, and a statement that you wish to be excluded. You must mail or deliver your exclusion request no later than August 5, 2024, to:

JH Pixel Privacy Settlement
P.O. Box 2899
Portland, OR 97208-2899

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

No. If you exclude yourself, you will not be entitled to any benefits of the Settlement, and you should not submit a Claim Form to ask for benefits.

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 Beauford v. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Inc., Case No. C-03-CV-23-000501 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, an explanation of the basis upon which you claim to be a Settlement Class Member, 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 Defendants’ Counsel listed below.

Class Counsel will file with the Court and post on this website its request for attorneys’ fees by July 22, 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 FAQ 21), you must say so in your letter or brief. File the objection with the Court and mail a copy to Class Counsel and Defendants’ Counsel postmarked no later than August 5, 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 a.m. on September 4, 2024, at the Baltimore County Circuit Court Building, 401 Bosley Avenue, Towson, Maryland 21204. 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 an incentive award to the Class Representative. 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 this website for updates or call 1-646-837-7150.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. However, 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.

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 Beauford v. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Inc., Case No. C-03-CV-23-000501.” 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 must be filed by August 5, 2024, and notice of intent to appear must be filed with the Court and postmarked no later than August 14, 2024, and be sent to the addresses listed in FAQ 17.

More details are in the Settlement Agreement. You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreement here. You may also write with questions to JH Pixel Privacy Settlement, P.O. Box 2899, Portland, OR 97208-2899. You can call the Settlement Administrator at 1-888-654-7958 or Class Counsel at 1-646-837-7150 if you have any questions. Before doing so, however, please read the full Notice carefully. You may also find additional information elsewhere on this website.