This class action was brought in 2006 by several Yahoo! pay-per-click search advertising customers. They allege that customers contracted for targeted ad placements through two products, “Sponsored Search” and “Content Match” (and predecessor products provided by Overture Services, Inc. and GoTo.com, Inc.) and that Yahoo! breached its contract with its customers by allowing Yahoo! ads to be displayed in spyware, domain name parking sites (bulk registration sites), pop-ups, pop-unders, and typosquatting sites. Plaintiffs brought claims for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, misrepresentation and civil conspiracy, and unfair business practices.

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The Class consists of all individuals or entities that purchased pay-per-click text advertising (referred to in the Notice as “Yahoo! Ads”) in the U.S. Marketplace, whether directly from Yahoo! or its predecessors Overture Services, Inc. or GoTo.com, Inc., or indirectly from an advertising agent, at any time from May 1, 2000 until September 22, 2009.

Pay-per-click text advertising includes the Yahoo! Search Marketing products currently known as “Sponsored Search” and “Content Match,” as well as predecessor products provided by Overture Services, Inc. and GoTo.com, Inc.

Excluded from the Class are Yahoo!, Overture Services, Inc. or GoTo.com, Inc. customers that did not purchase pay-per-click text advertising in the U.S. Marketplace. (For example, any Yahoo! customer that only purchased banner advertising, but not pay-per-click text advertising, is not part of the Class.) The “U.S. Marketplace” refers to Yahoo!’s ad “marketplace” covering the United States and English-speaking Canada.

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Please refer to the Notice and Settlement Agreement for more detailed information on the benefits available to Settlement Class Members.

A summary of the benefits to the Class is as follows:

As a result of the Action, Yahoo! has agreed to develop and offer a new ad placement option (referred to in the Notice and in the Settlement Agreement as the “Ad Placement Option,” but which may have a different name once launched) that will enable Yahoo! customers to control where their Yahoo! ads appear.

Yahoo! has agreed to make best efforts to launch the Ad Placement Option as early as the first quarter of 2010, but in no event later than September 30, 2010. Before the Ad Placement Option is launched, Yahoo! will post additional information about the Ad Placement Option on the “Traffic Quality” portion of its website (http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/trafficquality/index.php).

Please refer to the Notice and Settlement Agreement for more detailed information on the Ad Placement Option.

“Enhanced Disclosures” - Yahoo! will post enhanced disclosures on the “Traffic Quality” portion of its website about where Yahoo! Ads may appear on the Internet. These disclosures will provide information about the “Ad Placement Option”, including a link to a Yahoo! webpage with instructions for using the “Ad Placement Option”.

“Enhancements to the Click Investigation Request Tool” - Yahoo! will modify its click investigation request tool to allow advertisers to ask questions or request investigations regarding certain Yahoo! advertising partners. Yahoo! will also add language to the Traffic Quality section of Yahoo! website notifying advertisers that they can request investigations of partners.

“Refunds to Class Members who are Out of Business” - Yahoo! will pay a $20 refund to eligible Class Members who are out of business. In order to apply for a refund, eligible Class Members must: complete the Claim Form available on this website, or in paper form if they download the paper version of the Claim Form, or request a paper Claim Form from the Claims Administrator, at the telephone number or address listed below:

In re Yahoo! Settlement Administrator
c/o Rust Consulting, Inc.
P.O. Box 2241
Faribault MN 55021-1641
1-877-434-3068

Please refer to the Notice and Settlement Agreement for more detailed information on the benefits available to Settlement Class Members, including the potential impact of an agreement between Yahoo! and Microsoft as it relates to those benefits.

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Yahoo! will pay the costs of Notice and claims administration. Yahoo! will also pay the Plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees and costs, and service awards to the Class Representatives.

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Any eligible Class Member wishing to apply for the Refund must complete and submit the Claim Form online at this website (or in paper form if the Class Member downloads the paper version of the Claim Form on this website or requests such paper Claim Form from the Claims Administrator) no later than March 22, 2010. If you wish to submit a paper Claim Form, the date of the postmark on the mailing envelope shall be the sole and exclusive method of determining whether the Claim Form was timely submitted.

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If there is a conflict between your information and Yahoo!’s records, then the Claims Administrator will notify you of the basis for the conflict (for example, the Client Identification number does not match Yahoo!’s records), and you will have one opportunity to attempt to resolve the conflict by resubmitting a new, fully completed Claim Form to the Claims Administrator. The Claims Administrator will forward completed Claim Forms to Yahoo! for a determination of eligibility for a Refund.

If Yahoo! determines that you are not eligible for a Refund, Yahoo! will send a “Notice of Denied Claim,” and you may seek an independent review of Yahoo!’s determination by a Special Master. Please review the Notice and Paragraph 50(j)-(m) of the Settlement Agreement for further details concerning the Special Master’s independent review.

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Class Members who wish to exclude themselves from the Class must submit a written statement requesting exclusion from the Class on or before December 14, 2009. Any written request must be submitted by completing the online opt-out form available on this website or by sending a written request for exclusion to the Claims Administrator, Class Counsel and Yahoo!’s Counsel by postal mail. If you exclude yourself from the Class, you will not be eligible to receive a Refund and will not be considered to have released any claims against Yahoo! under the Settlement.

In order for the exclusion to be effective, all items on the online opt-out form must be completed. If you send in your request for exclusion by postal mail, you must include the business name, address and Yahoo! Ads Client ID number(s) of the Yahoo! advertiser seeking exclusion, indicate that you wish to be excluded from the Class, sign the request and mail it to the Claims Administrator, Class Counsel and Yahoo!’s Counsel, at the addresses listed in the Notice.

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If you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement, you have the right to object to or comment on the Settlement and the request for attorneys’ fees and costs and service awards to the Class Representatives. Please follow the instructions in the Settlement Notice for objecting to the Settlement.

If you wish to object to the Settlement, you must, on or before December 14, 2009, file your objection with the Court at:

Office of the Clerk
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division
312 N. Spring Street
Los Angeles CA 90012

You must also serve a copy of your objection by email or first class mail on Class Counsel and Yahoo!’s Counsel at the addresses listed in the Notice.

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Exclusion means you will not be bound by the Settlement and shall not have any right to object, appeal or comment on the Settlement. Objection means you did not exclude yourself from the Settlement and will be bound by the Settlement and shall have the right to object, appeal or comment thereon. You cannot both object and opt out. Only Settlement Class members may object to the Settlement, and people who have opted out are no longer Settlement Class members.

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Please review the Settlement Agreement available on this website for a complete definition of “Released Claims”.

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The Court has appointed Michael J. Boni and Michael D. Donovan to represent you and other Settlement Class Members, and their contact information is as follows:

Michael J. Boni
Joshua D. Snyder
Boni & Zack LLC
15 Saint Asaphs Road
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
mboni@bonizack.com
jsnyder@bonizack.com

Michael D. Donovan
Donovan Searles, LLC
1845 Walnut Street, Suite 1100
Philadelphia, PA 19103
mdonovan@donovansearles.com

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Class Counsel will apply for attorneys’ fees of $4,170,000.00, plus reimbursement of expenses of approximately $100,000. Yahoo! has agreed to pay those fees and expenses in addition to providing the other settlement benefits described above. Attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of costs must be approved by the Court.

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Class Counsel will apply for services awards to three Class Representatives of $10,000 each. Yahoo! has agreed to pay those service awards in addition to providing the other settlement benefits described above. Service awards to Class Representatives must be approved by the Court.

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The Court will hold a hearing (a “Fairness Hearing”) on January 11, 2010 at 10:00 a.m., at the United States Courthouse, 312 N. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90012, Courtroom No. 5. At the Fairness Hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, adequate and reasonable and will decide whether to approve the Settlement and the motion for attorneys’ fees and expenses. If comments or objections have been received, the Court will consider them at this time.

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No, attendance is not required, even if you properly mailed an objection. Class Counsel will answer the Court’s questions. If you want to attend the Fairness Hearing, you may do so at your own expense.

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You may appear at the hearing in person or, if you are represented by an attorney, your attorney may appear in person, and state why the Settlement or any part of the Settlement should not be approved. However, you will not be entitled to be heard at the Final Approval Hearing, whether individually or through counsel, unless written notice of your intention to appear at the Final Approval Hearing is timely filed with the Court and served on Class Counsel and Yahoo!’s Counsel at the addresses listed in the Notice.The date of the postmark on the mailing envelope will determine whether a notice of intention to appear is timely.

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The Settlement Agreement, its attachments and the other legal documents that have been filed with the Court in this lawsuit contain more details about the Settlement, and are available on this website. Legal documents are also available during regular office hours at the Office of the Clerk, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Western Division, 312 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. If you have questions about the Settlement, you may write or call the Claims Administrator:

In re Yahoo! Settlement Administrator
c/o Rust Consulting, Inc.
P.O. Box 2241
Faribault MN 55021-1641
1-877-434-3068

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