IF YOU WERE SENT A TEXT MESSAGE IN JANUARY OF 2006 ADVERTISING THE STEPHEN KING VIP MOBILE CLUB AND THE BOOK “CELL,” YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO A $175.00 CASH PAYMENT FROM A CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

IMPORTANT. PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY. THIS NOTICE RELATES TO THE PENDENCY OF A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AND, IF YOU ARE A SETTLEMENT CLASS MEMBER, CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR RIGHTS TO MAKE A CLAIM UNDER THE SETTLEMENT OR TO OBJECT TO THE SETTLEMENT.

A federal court authorized this Notice and it is posted on the Web by Court order.

A proposed settlement (the “Settlement Agreement”) has been reached in this case against the Defendants. You may be a Member of the Settlement Class and could get a $175.00 settlement cash payment if you are a person who was sent a text message advertising the Stephen King VIP Mobile Club and the book “Cell.” If you are a Settlement Class Member and the Court gives final approval to the Settlement Agreement:

• You may be entitled to receive a settlement payment of $175 or your lesser pro rata share of the remainder of the Settlement Fund (your “Settlement Payment”) in the form of a check.
• You will be giving up the right to bring certain legal claims in the future, as discussed more fully below.

• These rights and options – and the deadlines to exercise them – are explained below.
• The Court in charge of this case has preliminarily approved the Settlement Agreement and must decide whether to give final approval to the Settlement Agreement. Settlement Payments will be made if the Court gives final approval to the Settlement Agreement, and if there are any appeals, after they are resolved. Please be patient.

1. What is this lawsuit about?

This lawsuit alleges that Defendants, in violation of a federal statute, sent unsolicited text messages to cell phone subscribers advertising the Stephen King VIP Mobile Club and the book "Cell," and seeks to represent a nationwide class of persons who were sent such messages. No court has determined the correctness of the ultimate position of any of the parties in the lawsuit. Rather, the parties have agreed to settle the lawsuit so as to avoid the uncertainties, the expense, and the diversion of resources from further litigation. This Notice is not an admission by either party as to the strength of the other’s position or of any weakness in its own position.

2. Why is this a class action?

In a class action, one or more people called Class Representatives (in this case, Laci Satterfield, Carmella Miller and Charlene Kouf), sue on behalf of a group (or a “class”) of people who have similar claims. After the parties reached an agreement to settle the case, the Court recognized this as a case that should be treated as a class action for settlement purposes.

3. Why is there a settlement?

The Court has not decided that the Plaintiffs or the Defendants should win this case. Instead, both sides agreed to a settlement. That way, they avoid the cost of a trial, and the Settlement Class Members will get compensation now rather than, if at all, years from now.

4. How do I know if I am part of the settlement?

As described above, the Court decided that everyone who fits this description is a Settlement Class Member:

All persons who were sent a text message in January of 2006 advertising the Stephen King VIP Mobile Club and the book “Cell.”

If you believe you are a Settlement Class Member, you may obtain a claim form by clicking here.

5. What can I get from the settlement?

Defendants have created a cash settlement fund of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) (the "Settlement Fund"). If you are a Settlement Class Member, and the Court gives final approval to the Settlement Agreement, you may be entitled to receive $175.00 from the Settlement Fund in the form of a check, unless the number of claims requires that you receive a lesser equal proportionate payment.

6. When will I receive these benefits?

You will receive these benefits within 90 days after the Settlement Agreement has been finally approved and the time to appeal that approval to a higher court has expired and/or any appeals have been resolved in favor of the Settlement Agreement.

7. I want to be part of the settlement and receive these benefits, what do I do?

You must submit a timely, truthful, accurate, and properly completed Claim Form. If you do not do so, you will not receive any Settlement Payment. You may obtain a Claim Form by clicking here. You may either submit the Claim Form online by following the instructions found with the link, or you may print out the Claim Form, fill it out completely and mail it in so that it is received or postmarked no later than September 20, 2010.

Please mail your Claim Form only to the following address:

Satterfield et al. v. Simon & Schuster, Inc. et al.
PO Box 1387
Blue Bell, PA 19422

Or you may submit your claim online by clicking here. Either format (hard copy or online filing) is acceptable. Online filing is quicker and cheaper.

Please mail your Claim Form only to the address above or submit it by clicking on the link above.

8. What am I giving up to receive these benefits?

Unless you exclude yourself (a process that is explained in answer to Question Number 9 below), you are staying in the class and agreeing to the Settlement Agreement. Generally, that means that you can not sue, continue to sue, or be part of a future suit involving the claims raised in this case. In other words, you are agreeing to “release” those claims. Unless you exclude yourself, you are “releasing” these claims, regardless of whether you submit a claim or not.

The exact release contained in the parties’ Settlement Agreement is much more detailed, and you may want or need to consider it before making your decision about participating in the Settlement Agreement. You can see a complete copy of the Settlement Agreement by clicking here.

Excluding Yourself from the Settlement

If you don’t want to receive the benefits from the Settlement Agreement, but you want to keep any right to sue that you may have or you want to continue to sue Defendants on your own over the claims in this case, then you must take steps to get out. This is called excluding yourself.

9. How do I get out of the settlement?

To exclude yourself from the Settlement Agreement, you must send a letter by mail saying that you want to be excluded from Satterfield et al. v. Simon & Schuster, Inc. et al., Case No. C 06 2893 CW (N.D. Cal.) Be sure to include your name, address, your cellular telephone number, and your signature and the name and number of the case. You must mail your exclusion request no later than June 16, 2010 to:

Satterfield et al. v. Simon & Schuster, Inc. et al.
PO Box 1387
Blue Bell, PA 19422

In order to be valid, any request for exclusion must be received or postmarked no later than June 16, 2010.

10. If I exclude myself, do I still receive benefits from this settlement?

No, you will not receive anything resulting from the settlement of this case. But you will have the right to attempt to sue Defendants over the claims raised in this case, either on your own or as part of a different lawsuit. The amount of time the law gives you to sue over such claims (that is, the “statutes of limitation”) may or may not have been extended because of this case; however, they will not be extended any further for you once you exclude yourself. If you want your own attorney to represent you in an individual case, the terms of such representation are a matter for you and your attorney to negotiate.

The Lawyers Representing You

11. Do I have a lawyer in this case?

The Court has approved John G. Jacobs and Bryan Kolton of The Jacobs Law Firm, Chtd. and Jay Edelson and Ryan Andrews of Edelson McGuire, LLC to be the attorneys representing the class. They are called the “Class Counsel.” They believe, after conducting an extensive investigation, that the Settlement Agreement is fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the class. You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer in this case, you may hire one at your expense.

12. How will the lawyers be paid?

Subject to Court approval, Defendants have agreed to pay Class Counsel the sum of $2,725,000 for attorneys’ fees and expenses in this matter. The Court may award less than this amount. Under the Settlement Agreement, any amount awarded to Class Counsel will be paid out of the Settlement Fund.

Subject to approval by the Court, Defendants have agreed to pay $5,000 each to representative plaintiffs Carmella Miller and Charlene Kouf and $25,000 to representative plaintiff Laci Satterfield for their services in helping to prosecute this case.

Objecting to the Settlement

You can tell the Court that you don’t agree with the Settlement Agreement or some part of it. Only those that remain in the Settlement Class may object to the Settlement Agreement. You cannot object if you have opted out of the Settlement Class.

13. How do I tell the Court that I don’t like the settlement?

If you’re a Settlement Class Member, you can object to the Settlement Agreement if you don’t like any part of it. You can give reasons why you think the Court should not approve it. The Court will consider your views. To object, you must send a letter (or legal “brief”) saying that you object to the Settlement Agreement in Satterfield et al. v. Simon & Schuster, Inc., et al., Case No. C 06 2893 (N.D. Cal.) and clearly identify all your reasons for your objections and attach any materials you rely on for your objections. Be sure to include your name, address, cellular telephone number as well as your current non-cellular telephone number if you have one, your signature, and the reasons you object to the Settlement Agreement. You must also specifically identify whether you received a text message of the kind described in the case and when it was received. If you want to speak at the Final Approval Hearing (explained below in answer to Question Number 14), you must say so in your objections. At the same time, you must also serve complete copies of your objection papers on both counsel for Defendants and Class Counsel. If you fail to object as specified above, you will be deemed to have waived any objections and will be barred from raising any such objections in this case or any other proceeding.

In order to be considered, any objections must be received or postmarked no later than June 16, 2010. Any objections and supporting materials should be sent to:

Clerk of the Court
United States District Court for the Northern District of California
1301 Clay Street
4th Floor
Oakland, California 94612
 
AND TO:
 
John G. Jacobs, Esq.
The Jacobs Law Firm, Chtd.
122 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 1850
Chicago, Illinois 60603
 
AND TO:
 
Richard B. Kendall, Esq.
Kendall Brill & Klieger LLP
10100 Santa Monica Boulevard
Suite 1725
Los Angeles, California 90065
 
AND TO:
 
Peter L. Winik, Esq.
Latham & Watkins LLP
555 Eleventh Street, NW
Suite 1000
Washington, D.C. 20004

YOU MAY NOT DO THIS ONLINE.

The Final Approval Hearing

The Court has preliminarily approved the Settlement Agreement and will hold a hearing to decide whether to give final approval to the Settlement Agreement. You may attend and you may ask to speak, but you don’t have to.

14. When and where is the Final Approval Hearing?

The Court will hold the Final Approval Hearing at 2:00 PM on August 5, 2010 in Courtroom 2 on the 4th Floor of the United States Courthouse at 1301 Clay Street in Oakland, California. The purpose of the hearing will be for the Court to determine whether the Settlement Agreement should be approved as fair, reasonable and adequate and in the best interests of the Class; to consider the parties’ agreement that Class Counsel should be paid $2,725,000 for an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses; and to consider the request for incentive awards to Ms. Miller and Ms. Kouf in the amount of $5,000 each and to Ms. Satterfield in the amount of $25,000. At that hearing, the Court will be available to hear any objections and arguments concerning the fairness of the Settlement Agreement that have properly been requested, as set forth above.

The hearing may be postponed to a different date or time without notice.

You are not required to come to the Final Approval Hearing.

If the Court determines that the Settlement Agreement should be approved as fair, reasonable and adequate and in the best interests of the Class, you and your representatives are barred from filing any lawsuit asserting any claims against Defendants that relate to the claims discussed above.

Getting More Information

15. How do I get more information?

This Notice is necessarily an incomplete summary of the Settlement Agreement and its terms. You are free to inspect the court files from 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on weekdays at the office of the Clerk of the Court, United States District Court for the Northern District of California, 1301 Clay Street, Oakland, California 94612. You may also see a complete copy of the Settlement Agreement by clicking here. You can call Edelson McGuire, LLC, one of the law firms representing the class, toll-free at 866-354-3015 or the Settlement Administrator at 800-222-2760, if you have any questions. Before doing so, please read this full Notice carefully. You may also find additional information elsewhere on this website.

Do not call or direct any inquiries to the Court, to Defendants or to Defendants’ lawyers.

On any communication concerning this case, you should always provide a telephone number where you can be reached with any questions.

Date March 3, 2010

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT OR COUNSEL FOR DEFENDANTS ABOUT THIS NOTICE. YOU MAY CALL CLASS COUNSEL AT 866-354-3015 OR THE SETTLEMENT ADMINISTRATOR AT 800-222-2760.