Cumor v. European Wax Center

Two individuals filed a class action lawsuit in Florida state court, alleging that European Wax Center, a provider of waxing services, eavesdropped on its online customers in violation of federal and state privacy laws. Shortly after filing their complaint in Florida state court, the plaintiffs moved for approval of a proposed class-action settlement. The court granted preliminary approval of the settlement.

Representing three class members, we filed an objection urging the court to deny final approval of the proposed settlement. The objection explained that the settlement was not fair, adequate, and reasonable for three reasons. First, the settlement would have required class members to provide information that was practically impossible for claim members to obtain—the historical IP address that was used, months or years ago, when a class member booked an appointment on European Wax Center’s website. Second, the settlement would have unfairly allowed unpaid settlement funds to revert to European Wax Center. Third, the settlement included a “clear sailing” provision under which European Wax Center agreed not to object to Class Counsel’s attorney fee request.

After we objected to the proposed settlement, the parties agreed to revise the claim form to remove the historical IP address requirement, redistribute notice to the settlement class, and reopen the claims period to allow class members to submit claims using the revised claim form. The Court approved the revised claim form and process, and we withdrew our objection.