In re Yahoo! Mail Litigation

Defendants scan and store the contents of all incoming and outgoing emails to and from Yahoo email accounts.  This practice even included emails sent to Yahoo mail users from non-Yahoo accounts.  Plaintiffs allege that, since the sending parties did not consent to have their messages scanned and stored, this practice violates privacy laws.  Plaintiffs also allege that Defendants do not receive actual consent from their customers for these practices.

1. Objector Sweeney was deposed during the discovery process and detailed numerous payments he had received for his objections (discussed below).
2. Final Approval granted.
3. The Court found the Sweeney objection to be both untimely and without merit.
   • The Court noted that Sweeney is a "serial objector." (Final Approval Order at 15:8)
   • The Court also noted that many of Sweeney's objections were not even relevant to the case (Final Approval Order at 15:15-16:10).
4. Objector Sweeney appealed the Final Approval.
5. Class Counsel motioned for sanctions from Objector-Appellant Sweeney, including $75,636.84 and a requirement that Sweeney attach the sanctions order to any future legal matters where he is a party.
6. Class Counsel also motioned for an appeal bond of $2,000.
7. The Sweeney appeal was dismissed for failure to prosecute (failure to pay the filing fee).
8. The sanctions and appeal bond motions were withdrawn as moot.

1. Claims process lacks sufficient oversight.
2. Attorneys' fees are excessive and not supported by the docket record.
3. Attorneys' fee request lacks detailed billing records.

At his deposition, Objector Sweeney disclosed eight objections in the previous year that he had settled for payments totaling $165,000 (see Plaintiffs' Response to Sweeney Objection for a list and corresponding deposition pages).  He also disclosed a payment of $45,000 his wife had received for dropping an objection (see Sweeney Deposition Transcript at 179:20-180:5).  Objector Sweeney also noted that class action objections comprise an increasing portion of his legal practice (see Sweeney Deposition Transcript at 149:2-22).