If you were a member of AutoZone's Rewards Program in California and had a $20 Reward and/or Reward Credit for a purchase of over $20 expire, a class action settlement may affect your rights

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LOS ANGELES, Dec. 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The following notice is being jointly issued by Waskowski Johnson Yohalem LLP and Rosenfeld, Meyer & Susman LLP and has been authorized by the Superior Court of California, Los Angeles County, in Hughes et al. v. AutoZone Parts, Inc. et al., Case No. BC631080.

What is this About?
This lawsuit alleges that AutoZone breached its contractual duties to Class Members who made purchases before the National Plan Conversion and violated California's Unfair Competition Law by causing Reward Credits and $20 Rewards to expire. This lawsuit has sought compensation and injunctive relief. AutoZone denies the allegations and any wrongdoing, and has asserted numerous defenses as to procedure, liability, and damages.

Who is Included?
Individuals who were enrolled in the 5/20/20 version of AutoZone's Rewards Program in California at the time of AutoZone's National Plan Conversion and who lost $20 Reward(s) and/or Reward Credit(s) earned through purchases of over $20 from AutoZone because the Reward and/or Reward Credit was deemed expired. Prior to the National Plan Conversion, Rewards and Reward Credits did not expire for members enrolled in the 5/20/20 version of AutoZone Rewards. After the National Plan Conversion, Rewards expired after 3 months and Credits expired after 12 months. 

To learn more about the settlement, the previously certified Subclasses, or to securely check if you are a Class Member by providing your Rewards Member I.D., visit www.AZRewardsLitigation.com.

How Will the Settlement Affect Me?
AutoZone has agreed to reinstate all of Class Members' expired $20 Rewards and issue $5 Rewards to Members who had 1-2 Reward Credits expire, $10 Rewards to Members who had 3-4 Reward Credits expire, and $15 Rewards to Members who had 5 or more Reward Credits expire.  The total aggregate face value of the Rewards that will be reinstated and/or issued will be over $48 million.

The reinstated or newly issued Rewards will automatically appear in Class Members' AutoZone Rewards accounts within 30 days of final approval of a settlement without Class Members taking any further action. All Rewards issued as part of this settlement will be valid for 12 months after which they will expire and shall be treated as other Rewards in the AutoZone Rewards program in all other respects. In exchange, class members will forgo their rights to pursue the claims the Court previously certified for class treatment.

What are Your Options?
If the Court approves the settlement, Class Members do not need to do anything to receive the Rewards due to them under the settlement. If you are a Class Member, you have the right to object to the settlement. Written objections must be postmarked by January 23, 2020. Details about how to object are available at the settlement website. If you do nothing, and the Court approves the settlement, you will receive the Reward(s) described above but release all rights to pursue the claims that the Court previously certified for class treatment.

Has the Court Approved the Settlement?
No. The Court has set a hearing for February 21, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. to determine whether to approve the settlement and what attorneys' fees, expenses, and incentive payments to award.

AutoZone has agreed to reimburse Class Counsel for their reasonable litigation expenses and attorneys' fees, calculated using the Lodestar methodology as used in class action litigation (i.e. prevailing market rate in Los Angeles for similar services times hours worked, adjusted up or down by a positive or negative multiplier in the Court's discretion). AutoZone has also agreed to pay the named Plaintiffs reasonable incentive awards, and to pay for the costs of notice to the class, which have been estimated to be $192,597, but may differ. None of these items shall be paid out of the benefits to the class or shall otherwise affect the value of the settlement to the class.

The parties have not agreed upon the amounts AutoZone will pay to Class Counsel or the Class Representatives. Class Counsel will seek expenses of no more than $125,000, fees of no more than $6,625,000, and no more than $60,000 for the Class Representatives in total incentive awards from the Court. Any award of attorneys' fees, expenses, or incentive awards must be approved by the Court.

This is only a summary of the key settlement terms. A full copy of the Settlement Agreement is available at www.AZRewardsLitigation.com.

How Do You Get More Information?
This notice is only a summary. To obtain a detailed Notice of Class Action Settlement, including the formal Subclass definitions, and the Settlement Agreement, details on how to file an objection and additional information, visit www.AZRewardsLitigation.com. Para mas información, visita www.AZRewardsLitigation.com/ESP.

DO NOT CALL THE COURT.

SOURCE Waskowski Johnson Yohalem LLP