Frequently Asked Questions

The Court directed that a Notice be provided because you have a right to know about a proposed settlement that has been reached in this class action lawsuit and about all of your options before the Court decides whether to grant final approval of the settlement. If the Court approves the settlement, and after objections or appeals, if any, are resolved, the Settlement Administrator appointed by the Court will distribute the payments that the settlement allows. A Notice explains the lawsuit, the settlement, your legal rights, what payments are available, who is eligible for them, and how to get them.

The Court in charge of this case is the General Court of Justice, County of Wake, State of North Carolina. The case is styled as Baldwin v Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC Case No. 23 CV 005042-910 (the “Lawsuit”). The person who filed the Lawsuit is called the Plaintiff, and the company he sued is Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC, who is called the Defendant.

The Lawsuit claims that Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC was responsible for the Data Incident and asserts claims such as: (1) negligence; (2) negligence per se; (3) breach of implied contract; and (4) violations of North Carolina’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, N.C.G.S. 75-1.1, et seq. The Lawsuit seeks, among other things, payment for persons who were injured by the Data Incident. Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC denies each and all of the claims and contentions alleged against it in the Lawsuit. Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC denies all allegations of wrongdoing or liability as alleged, or which could be alleged, in the Lawsuit. Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC denies it beached any contract (express or implied), denies that is has been negligent, and denies that it has violated North Carolina law. 

In a class action, one or more people called Class Representatives (in this case, Roy Baldwin) sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. Together, all these people are called a Class or Class Members. One Court and one judge resolves the issues for all Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Settlement Class.

The Court did not decide in favor of the Plaintiff or Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC. Instead, the Plaintiff negotiated a settlement with Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC that allows both Plaintiff and Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC to avoid the risks and costs of lengthy and uncertain litigation and the uncertainty of a trial and appeals. It also allows Settlement Class Members to obtain payment without further delay. Plaintiff and his attorneys think the settlement is best for all Settlement Class Members. This settlement does not mean that Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC did anything wrong.

The “Settlement Class” is defined as “all persons whose personal information was accessed or acquired in the Data Incident that that Defendant discovered on or about January 10, 2023.”

You are part of the Settlement if you received notice of the Data Incident from Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC.

Yes. Specifically excluded from the Settlement Class are: (1) Defendant, its respective members and managers, and any entity in which Defendant has a controlling interest; (2) all members of the Class who timely and validly request exclusion from the settlement class; (3) members of the Judiciary assigned to evaluate the fairness of the settlement, their families, and members of their staff; (4) the affiliates, legal representatives, attorneys, successors, heirs, and assigns of Defendants; and (5) any other person found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be guilty under criminal law of initiating, causing, aiding or abetting the criminal activity that caused the Data Incident to occur or who pleads nolo contendere to any such charge.

The settlement will provide monetary payments to people who submit valid claims.

There are two types of payments that are available: (1) Ordinary Loss Compensation (Question 8, below); and (2) Alternative Payment (Question 9, below). To claim each type of payment, you must provide the information and documentation called for by the Claim Form.

Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC will also provide each Settlement Class Member who claims identity theft protection services a code to enroll in the two-year services, to be used after the court grants final approval to the settlement. 

Settlement Class Members are eligible to receive compensation of up to $2,500 (in total) for the following categories of ordinary losses resulting from the Data Incident:

(1) Out-of-Pocket Expense Reimbursement. Each Settlement Class Member who submits a Valid Claim using the Claim Form is eligible to receive reimbursement for the following documented, out-of-pocket expenses caused by the Data Incident, not to exceed $2,500 per member of the Settlement Class, including but not limited to: (i) documented professional fees and other costs paid by Settlement Class Member to address identity fraud or theft, including but not limited to falsified tax returns, new account fraud, existing account fraud, account takeover, and medical-identity theft; (ii)  documented unreimbursed losses, fees, or charges as a result of the Data Incident, and which are (at a minimum) temporally and circumstantially traceable to the Data Incident, including (a) unreimbursed bank fees paid by Settlement Class Member, (b) unreimbursed card reissuance fees, (c) unreimbursed overdraft fees paid by Settlement Class Member, (d) unreimbursed charges related to availability of Settlement Class Member’s funds, (e) unreimbursed late fees, (f) unreimbursed over-limit fees paid by -Settlement Class Member’s, (g) unreimbursed charges from banks or credit card companies, paid by Settlement Class Member (h) interest on payday loans paid by Settlement Class Member due to card cancellation or due to over-limit situations, (i) long distance phone charges and cell phone charges (but only if charged by the minute) paid by Settlement Class Member, (j) data charges (but only if charged based on the amount of data used) paid by Settlement Class Member, (k) postage paid by Settlement Class Member, and (l) gasoline for local travel related to investigation and/or remedying impacts of the Data Incident paid by Settlement Class Member. To receive reimbursement for any of the above-referenced out-of-pocket expenses, a Settlement Class Member must submit using the Claim Forum (i) their name and current address; (ii) supporting documentation of each claimed out-of-pocket expense; and (iii) a written description of the loss;

(2)  Unreimbursed fees for credit reports, credit monitoring, or other identity theft insurance products purchased between December 2022 and January 15, 2025; and

(3)  Reimbursement for up to five (4) hours of lost time, calculated at $25/hour, provided that the Settlement Class Member attests that the claimed lost time was spent responding to issues raised by the Data Incident; and 

More details are provided in the Settlement Agreement

Settlement Class Members may elect to receive a one-time payment of $45, instead of the other compensation available and described in Question 8.

Monetary Benefits: To ask for a payment, you must complete and Submit a Claim Form on this Website. Read the instructions carefully, fill out the Claim Form electronically, or mail it postmarked no later than January 15 2025 to:

Baldwin v. Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC

c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC

P.O. Box 225391

New York, NY 10150-5391

Identity Theft Protection: After the Court has granted final approval of the settlement, Settlement Class Members who claim the 2-years of identity theft protection services will have an enrollment code emailed or mailed to them.

The Claims Administrator will initially decide whether the information provided on a Claim Form is complete and valid. The Claims Administrator may require additional information from any claimant. If the required information is not provided timely, the claim will be considered invalid and will not be paid.

If the claim is complete and the Claims Administrator denies the claim entirely or partially, the claimant will be provided an opportunity to have their claim reviewed by an impartial claims referee.

The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing at 10:00 A.M., on January 21, 2025, to decide whether to approve the Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement, there may be appeals. It is always uncertain whether any appeals can be resolved favorably, and resolving them can take time, perhaps more than a year. It also takes time for all the Claim Forms to be processed, depending on the number of claims submitted and whether any appeals are filed. Please be patient.

You do not have to do anything to remain in the settlement, but if you want a payment, you must submit a Claim Form on this Settlement Website or postmarked by January 15, 2025.

If the settlement becomes final, you will give up your right to sue Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC for the claims being resolved by this settlement. The specific claims you are giving up against Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC are described in Section 11 of the Settlement Agreement. You will be “releasing” Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC and all related people or entities as described in Section 11 of the Settlement Agreement. The Settlement Agreement is available Here.

The Settlement Agreement describes the released claims with specific descriptions, so read it carefully. If you have any questions you can talk to the Settlement Class Counsel listed in Question 18 for free or you can, of course, talk to your own lawyer at your own expense if you have questions about what this means.

Excluding Yourself from the Settlement

If you do not want a payment from this Settlement, but you want to keep the right to sue Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC about issues in the Lawsuit, then you must take steps to get out of the Settlement Class. This is called excluding yourself from – or is sometimes referred to as “opting out” of – the Settlement Class.

No. If you exclude yourself from the settlement, you will not be entitled to any benefits of the settlement, but you will not be bound by any judgment in this case.

No. Unless you exclude yourself from the settlement, you give up any right to sue Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC for all claims related to the Data Incident. Those claims are resolved by this settlement. You must exclude yourself from the Settlement Class to start your own lawsuit or to be part of any different lawsuit relating to the claims in this case. If you exclude yourself, do not submit a Claim Form to ask for a payment.

To exclude yourself from the settlement, you must send a letter by mail stating that you want to be excluded from the Settlement in Baldwin v. Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC,; Case No. 23 CV 005042-910. Your letter must also include your full name, address, telephone number, and personal and original signature (or the personal and original signature of a Person previously authorized by law to act on your behalf with respect to the claims asserted in this Lawsuit). Your letter must clearly manifest your intent to get out of the Settlement.

You must mail your exclusion request postmarked no later than December 16, 2024, to:

Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC Settlement Exclusions 
c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC

P.O. Box 225391

New York, NY 10150-5391

Yes. The Court appointed counsel from the law firm of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, PLLC, 900 W. Morgan Street, Raleigh, NC 27603 to represent you and other Settlement Class Members. These lawyers are called Settlement Class Counsel. You will not be charged for these lawyers and can reach them by calling (866) 252-0878 and referencing this case. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

If the settlement is approved and becomes final, Settlement Class Counsel will ask the Court to award attorneys’ fees and costs in an amount not to exceed $150,000 Settlement Class Counsel will also request approval of a service award of not more than $2,500 for the Class Representative.  If approved, these amounts, as well as the costs of notice and settlement administration, will be paid separately by Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC

If you are a Settlement Class Member, you can object to the settlement if you do not like it or a portion of it. You can give reasons why you think the Court should not approve the settlement. The Court will consider your views before deciding. To object, you must file with the Court and mail copies to Settlement Class Counsel and Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC’s Counsel a written notice stating that you object to the settlement in Baldwin v. Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC,; Case No. 23 CV 005042-910 Your objection must include:

1) the title of the case;

2) your name, address, and telephone number;

3) all legal and factual bases for any objection; and

4) copies of any documents that the objector wants the Court to consider.

Should you wish to appear at the Final Approval Hearing, you must also so state, and must identify any documents or witnesses you intend to call on your behalf. 

Your objection must be filed with the Wake County Clerk of the Superior Court, no later than December 16, 2024. You must also mail copies of your objection to Settlement Class Counsel and Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC’s Counsel postmarked no later than December 16, 2024, at the addresses below.

Objecting is telling the Court that you do not like something about the settlement. Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement Class in this Settlement. If you exclude yourself from the settlement, you have no basis to object or submit a Claim Form because the settlement no longer affects you.

The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing at 10:00 A.M. on January 21, 2025, in Courtroom 10C in the Wake County courthouse address is 316 Fayetteville St, Raleigh, NC 27601. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Court will take into consideration any properly filed written objections and may also listen to people who have asked to speak at the hearing (see Question 20). The Court will also decide whether to approve fees and expenses requested by Settlement Class Counsel, and the Service Award requested for the Class Representatives.

No. Settlement Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have on behalf of the Settlement Class. However, you are welcome to attend at your own expense. If you file an objection, you do not have to come to Court to talk about it. You may also hire your own lawyer to attend, at your own expense, but you are not required to do so.

Yes, you may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Final Approval Hearing. To do so, you must follow the instructions provided in Question 20 above. You cannot speak at the hearing if you exclude yourself from the Settlement.

If you do nothing, you will not receive any benefits from this Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement, you will be bound by the Settlement Agreement and the Release. This means you will not be able to start a lawsuit, continue with a lawsuit, or be part of any other lawsuit against Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC or related parties about the issues involved in the Lawsuit, resolved by this Settlement, and released by the Settlement Agreement.

Yes. This Notice summarizes the proposed Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement.

• It is your responsibility to inform the Claims Administrator of your updated information. You may do so at the address below:

Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC Settlement Exclusions 
c/o Kroll Settlement Administration LLC

P.O. Box 225391

New York, NY 10150-5391