Frequently Asked Questions
What is the purpose of the Notice?
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| Consumer Settlement Sub-Class: All persons who currently own or previously owned a Cartier watch and who had their Cartier watch repaired or serviced in the United States at a Defendant-owned Cartier boutique or directly by Defendant at any time between January 1, 2003 and the date of Preliminary Approval of the Settlement. |
What is the Watchmaker Settlement Sub-Class definition?
The Court has conditionally certified the Action as a class action, for settlement purposes only, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, on behalf of the members of two Settlement Sub-Classes and all of their successors in interest and transferees, immediate and remote, but not Defendant and persons or entities related to or affiliated with Defendants (collectively the “Settlement Class”):
| Watchmaker Settlement Sub-Class: All watchmakers or watch repairers in the United States operating as of the date of Preliminary Approval which are not authorized Cartier dealers or authorized Cartier repair shops as of the date of Preliminary Approval. |
Who are the attorneys representing the Class?
The Court has designated as Settlement Class Counsel in the Action:
Pearson, Simon, Soter, Warshaw & Penny, LLP
44 Montgomery Street, Suite 1200
San Francisco, California 94104
(415) 433-9000
and
Meyers Nave Riback Silver & Wilson
575 Market Street, Suite 2600
San Francisco, California 94105
(415) 421-3711
Settlement Class Counsel are available to answer any questions from members of the Settlement Class concerning any matter contained in the Notice. You will not be charged personally for these lawyers, but rather they will ask the Court to approve payment of attorneys’ fees by Defendant to them as part of the Settlement.
Why do the parties want to settle?
All parties recognize the time and expense that would be incurred by further litigation in this matter and the uncertainties inherent in such litigation. The settling Plaintiffs and Defendant have concluded that the interests of the parties would best be served by a settlement of the litigation herein.
Defendant acknowledges that Plaintiffs have alleged that Defendant has engaged in an unlawful tying arrangement under federal antitrust law through its alleged policy of conditioning the purchase of Cartier watch parts on the purchase of Cartier watch repair service, and that Plaintiffs have alleged that the alleged tying arrangement has resulted in harm to both watchmakers and to prior and current owners of Cartier watches. Defendant acknowledges that its decision to confer the benefits on consumers and watchmakers described below was caused by the initiation and prosecution of Plaintiffs’ lawsuit.
There has been no admission or finding of facts or liability by or against any Party and nothing herein should be construed as such. Defendant denies having committed or having attempted to commit any violation of law or breach of duty or otherwise having acted improperly in any respect.
What are the benefits for the Consumer Settlement Sub-Class under the terms of the Proposed Settlement?
Each member of the Consumer Settlement Sub-Class will receive one $100 credit for each Qualifying Paid Repair Service he or she received. These credits may be used only for the purchase of a Cartier product at a Defendant-owned Cartier boutique. These credits shall be fully transferable but are void if not used within two years of Final Court Approval of the Proposed Settlement. The date of expiration will be printed on each credit. These credits cannot be aggregated. Only one credit can be used for any product. Each credit may be used only once. No unused amounts will be refunded or carried forward as a credit.
Each member of the Consumer Settlement Sub-Class shall be automatically entitled to their credit(s) without submitting any claim form. You do not need to do anything to obtain your credit(s). Defendant will mail these credits to the address in Defendant’s records for each member of the Consumer Settlement Sub-Class by First Class United States Mail as soon as reasonably possible after the Court grants final approval of the Settlement. If you are a member of the Consumer Settlement Sub-Class and the Notice was originally mailed to you at an incorrect address, please call, toll-free, 1-800-918-1029, or send an email with your old address and your current address to watchrepairsettlement@gardencitygroup.com.
What does “Qualifying Paid Repair Service” mean?
A “Qualifying Paid Repair Service” means each paid repair of a Cartier watch owned by a member of the Consumer Settlement Sub-Class at a Defendant-owned Cartier boutique or directly by Defendant in the United States between January 1, 2003 and the date of Preliminary Approval. Qualifying Paid Repair Service does not include estimates, gratuitous repairs or other repairs for which the customer was not charged, warranty repairs, or battery replacements and/or bracelet replacement or repairs. Defendant has records of how many Qualifying Paid Repair Services each member of the Consumer Settlement Sub-Class has had.
What are the benefits to the Watchmakers Settlement Sub-Class under the terms of the Proposed Settlement?
Each member of the Watchmaker Settlement Sub-Class will be entitled to apply to Richemont to become an authorized Cartier repair shop. If you are a member of the Watchmaker Settlement Sub-Class and have not done so already, you may request an application by sending an email to watchrepairsettlement@gardencitygroup.com or call, toll free, 1-800-918-1029. Richemont will evaluate applicants based on an agreed upon Evaluation Form, which can also be obtained from this website or requested by sending an email to watchrepairsettlement@gardencitygroup.com or by calling, toll-free, 1-800-918-1029. Richemont retains sole discretion to determine which applications will be accepted. Richemont’s decision on whether to approve an application will be final unless there is evidence that, in applying the criteria set forth in the Evaluation Form, Richemont breached the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, in which case the Court may become involved.
Applications must be submitted within six months of the date that the Court gives final approval to the Settlement. Each member of the Watchmaker Settlement Sub-Class who applies to Richemont within six months of final approval, and is accepted to become an authorized Cartier repair shop, will be entitled to:
- Receive from Richemont free of charge a set of the Cartier-specific tooling that all authorized Cartier repair shops presently must maintain to perform repairs on Cartier watches. The total initial cost of this tooling would otherwise be approximately $2,000.
- A 50% discount off the list prices for all Cartier parts that are purchased for that repair shop’s own use during the two year period after becoming an authorized Cartier repair shop. The total maximum discount that a newly authorized repair shop shall receive during this two year period is $750.
What do I give up by participating in this Settlement?
In exchange for the benefits of the Proposed Settlement, all class members who choose to participate in the Proposed Settlement by not exercising their right to opt-out of the Proposed Settlement will give up their rights to pursue certain claims against Defendant and its related entities. In particular, all class members who do not opt-out will release all claims, rights, actions, causes of action, suits, debts, dues, sums of money, accounts, reckonings, bonds, bills, specialties, controversies, agreements, contracts, variances, trespasses, damages, judgments, extensions, executions, and demands whatsoever (including, without limitation, any claims, whether direct, derivative, representative, or in any other capacity, arising under federal, state, local, foreign, statutory or common law or any law, rule or regulation, or in equity), whether known or Unknown, from the beginning of the world to the date of this Amended Stipulation of Settlement, against any of the Released Parties (as defined in ¶ 1.17 of the Amended Stipulation of Settlement), belonging to Plaintiffs or any or all members of the Final Settlement Class or their present or past heirs, executors, estates, administrators, predecessors, successors, assigns, parents, subsidiaries, associates, affiliates, employers, employees, agents, consultants, insurers, directors, managing directors, officers, partners, principals, members, attorneys, accountants, financial and other advisors, investment bankers, underwriters, lenders, or any other representatives of any of these persons and entities, whether or not they object to the Settlement or receive any benefit hereunder, that were asserted or could have been asserted in the Second Amended Complaint relating in any way to any conduct of the Released Parties concerning the distribution or sale of Cartier watch parts, Cartier watch repairs or Cartier watch service. Released claims do not include any of the following: (1) breach of contract claims; (2) breach of warranty claims; (3) product defect claims; and (4) claims that arise from the availability of Cartier watch parts, Cartier watch repairs, or Cartier watch service outside of the United States.
How will the attorneys get paid?
Plaintiffs’ Settlement Class Counsel intend to apply to the Court for an award of attorneys' fees and costs in the amount of $2 million, which is based on the percentage method authorized by In re Activision Securities Litigation, 723 F.Supp. 1373 (N.D. Cal. 1989). As of the date of the notice, the attorneys have incurred approximately $921,458.50 in attorneys' fees and approximately $104,367.67 in out-of-pocket expenses. The request for the award of $2 million will be inclusive of all costs and inclusive of $10,000 in special awards ($5,000 each) for the Consumer Settlement Sub-Class Representative and a Watchmaker Settlement Sub-Class Representative. Settlement Class Counsel contend that they have earned such fees due to the benefit that Settlement Class Counsel believe the filing and prosecution of the Action conferred on the members of the Settlement Class. Defendant has agreed that it will not contest the application for fees and costs and that it will cause to be paid such amounts as the Court awards up to $2,000,000. These amounts will not come from monies that would otherwise have been paid to Settlement Class members.
What do I need to do in order to remain in the Class?
If you qualify as a class member and do nothing, you will be included in the Settlement Class and will be bound by the terms and conditions of the Proposed Settlement. If you are a member of the Consumer Settlement Sub-Class and wish to remain in the Settlement, you do not need to do anything. The store credit(s) to which you are entitled will automatically be mailed to you. If you are a member of the Watchmaker Settlement Sub-Class and wish to remain in the Settlement, you are entitled to apply to become an authorized Cartier repair shop pursuant to the procedures set forth in the Notice once the Proposed Settlement is finally approved.
As set forth in the Notice, members of the Settlement Class who did not exclude themselves from the Proposed Settlement by the March 17, 2008 deadline will not be able to pursue any other lawsuit against Richemont concerning the claims covered by the Proposed Settlement.
Can I object or comment on the Proposed Settlement?
The deadline to object or comment on the Proposed Settlement has passed. The deadline was March 17, 2008.
Any person who failed to object in the manner provided in the Notice shall be deemed to have waived the right to object (including any right of appeal) and shall be forever barred from raising such objections in this or any other action or proceeding.
Attendance is not required at the Settlement Hearing, even if you properly mailed a written response. The Court will consider all timely responses at the Settlement Hearing. If you wish to appear and be heard at the Settlement Hearing, you may do so by following the procedures related to Appearance at the Settlement Hearing outlined in the Notice.
May I make an appearance at the Settlement Hearing?
If you are a member of the Settlement Class and chose not to exclude yourself from the Proposed Settlement, but wish to appear at the Settlement Hearing, you may appear at the Settlement Hearing in person or by counsel and be heard in opposition to the fairness, reasonableness and adequacy of the Proposed Settlement, or any aspect thereof. However, no member of the Settlement Class shall be heard in opposition to the Settlement and no paper or brief submitted by any such person shall be received or considered by the Court unless no later than fourteen (14) days before the Settlement Hearing, that person has filed with the Clerk of this Court: (a) written notice of his, her or its intention to appear; (b) proof that he, she or it is a member of the Settlement Class; (c) a written statement of the position he, she or it will assert; (d) the reasons for his, her or its position; and (e) all papers he, she or it intends to present to the Court in support of his, her or its position.
In addition, such person must also file with the Clerk of this Court no later than fourteen (14) days before the Settlement Hearing a proof of service of such notice and papers upon each of the following:
PEARSON, SIMON, SOTER, WARSHAW & PENNY, LLP
Bruce L. Simon
44 Montgomery Street
Suite 1200
San Francisco, CA 94104
(415) 433-9000
MEYERS NAVE RIBACK SILVER & WILSON
Geoffrey Spellberg
575 Market Street
Suite 2600
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 421-3711
LINKLATERS LLP
Amanda J. Gallagher
Thomas A. McGrath III
1345 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10105
(212) 903-9000
DAVIS POLK & WARDWELL
Edward N. Moss
450 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10017
(212) 450-4000
May I exclude myself from the Settlement?
The deadline to exclude yourself from the proposed Settlement Class has passed. The deadline was March 17, 2008.
When is the Settlement Hearing?
The Settlement Hearing will be held on May 7, 2008, at 2:30 p.m. in the courtroom of the Honorable Edward M. Chen, Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, California 94102, Courtroom C, 15th Floor, for the purpose of determining: (i) whether the Proposed Settlement of the Action on the terms and conditions provided for in the Amended Stipulation of Settlement is fair, reasonable, adequate and should be finally approved by the Court; (ii) whether the Settlement Class should be finally certified and whether the Settlement Class Representatives and Settlement Class Counsel have adequately represented the interests of the Settlement Class with respect to the Action and the claims asserted therein; (iii) whether the judgment should be entered pursuant to the Amended Stipulation of Settlement, among other things, dismissing the Action with prejudice; and (iv) other matters relating to the Proposed Settlement. The Court may adjourn the Settlement Hearing or any adjournment thereof without further notice to members of the Settlement Class other than by announcement at the Hearing or any adjournment thereof. The Court reserves the right to approve the Settlement at or after the Settlement Hearing with such modification as may be consented to by the Parties to the Amended Stipulation of Settlement and without further notice to the Settlement Class.
What happens if the Court gives final approval of the Proposed Settlement?
If, after Notice and the Settlement Hearing, the Court approves this Settlement, the Court will enter an Order and Final Judgment which will, among other things:
- find the Proposed Settlement of the Action on the terms and conditions provided for in the Amended Stipulation of Settlement of Settlement to be fair, reasonable, adequate and finally approve it;
- certify the Settlement Class for the purposes of settlement only and find that the Settlement Class Representatives and Settlement Class Counsel have adequately represented the interests of the Settlement Class with respect to the Action and the claims asserted therein;
- enter judgment pursuant to the Amended Stipulation of Settlement, among other things, dismissing the Action with prejudice; and
- bar Plaintiffs and all members of the Final Settlement Class from asserting, commencing, prosecuting or continuing, either directly, indirectly, individually, representatively, or in any other capacity, any claim based, in whole or part, upon any of the Released Claims against any of the Released Parties.
Where can I get more information about the case?
The Notice contains only a summary of the terms of the Proposed Settlement. For a more detailed statement of the matters involved in these proceedings, you may refer to the Amended Stipulation of Settlement and the other papers on file with the Court in the Action.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE MAKE ALL INQUIRIES TO:
Bruce L. Simon, Esq.
Pearson, Simon, Soter, Warshaw & Penny, LLP
44 Montgomery Street
Suite 1200
San Francisco, CA 94104
PLEASE DO NOT WRITE OR CALL THE COURT DIRECTLY.