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Pokémon GO Fest Attendees Notified of Settlement

Attendees of Niantic's Pokémon GO Fest received a notification on Friday regarding the settlement of the class-action lawsuit brought against the company seeking monetary damages to recover travel expenses for the event. The notice confirms that Niantic is paying US$1,575,000 into a settlement fund for anyone who had a valid ticket to the event.

Attendees who wish to receive a share of the settlement must submit a claim form on or before July 24. Attendees may also opt-out (if they wish to be part of any other lawsuit against Niantic) or object to the settlement by July 9. The final approval hearing will be held on September 6.

Any remaining money after all claims have been processed will be split evenly as donations to the Illinois Bar foundation and the non-profit organization Chicago Run. If the settlement fund is insufficient to cover the attendee's expenses, then payment amounts to each person "may be adjusted downward on a pro-rata basis depending on the number of Claim Forms received and documentation and substantiation provided."

Niantic had already offered to refund all ticket costs for attendees, and offered attendees US$100 in in-game currency.

Niantic held the event for its Pokémon GO game at Grant Park in Chicago on July 22. The event was hampered by cellular network issues that prevented many attendees from participating in the day's activities. Niantic clarified during the event that the root cause for the issues was related to the game's servers, as well as local cellular networks' inability to handle the number of participants.

Niantic will host a new Pokémon GO Fest event in Chicago this July 14-15.

Source: Email notification