If you don’t want to be a part of this lawsuit, or if you want to pursue your own lawsuit against Defendant, you need to ask to be excluded from the Damages Class. If you exclude yourself from the Damages Class—which also means to remove yourself from the Damages Class, and is sometimes called “opting out”—you won’t get any money or benefits from this lawsuit if any are awarded or obtained as a result of the trial, legal motions, or from any settlement (if the case is settled) between Defendant and the Plaintiff. However, you will be able to separately start your own lawsuit against, or continue to separately sue, Defendant for the same conduct at issue in this case. If you exclude yourself, you will not be legally bound by the Court’s judgments in this class action.
If you continue or start your own lawsuit against Defendant after you exclude yourself, you’ll have to hire and pay your own lawyer for that lawsuit, and you’ll have to prove your claims. If you exclude yourself so you can start or continue your own lawsuit against Defendant, you should talk to your own lawyer soon because your claims may be subject to a statute of limitations or other deadlines.