Lawsuits

LinkedIn to Pay Users Up to $1,500 Each to Settle Lawsuit

The networking website is paying customers to settle a $13 million lawsuit regarding its "Add Connections" service

The networking site LinkedIn announced Friday it will pay some of its users up to $1,500 each to settle a $13 million lawsuit regarding one of the website's services.

The lawsuit targeted LinkedIn's "Add Connections" service that allows members to import contacts from their email accounts and send invitations to those contacts to use LinkedIn, according an email sent from LinkedIn.

If an invitation was not accepted within a certain amount of time, then one or two more emails were sent to the contact to remind them their invitation is pending, according to the email, which contained court-authorized settlement information from the class action suit. The suit claims LinkedIn members did not consent to the reminder emails when they agreed to send the invitations.

LinkedIn has since revised its disclosures to clarify that up to two reminder emails will be sent following the initial invitation. To settle the lawsuit, however, the company agreed to pay $13 million into a fund that can be used, in part, to make payments to LinkedIn members who file approved claims.

Depending on how many people file claims, members can receive up to $1,500 from the fund.

Members who used the "Add Connections" service between Sept. 17, 2011, and Oct. 31, 2014, are eligible to file a claim. An ID to file the claim was sent in an email informing customers about the lawsuit.

Click here to file a claim before Dec. 14, 2015. The final approval hearing is scheduled for Feb. 11, 2016, at 1:30 p.m.

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