1. Why was a notice issued?
2. What is this litigation about?
3. What is the Biometric Information Privacy Act?
4. Why is this a class action?
5. Why is there a settlement?
6. Who is included in the Settlement?
7. What if I am not sure whether I am included in the Settlement?
8. What does the Settlement Provide?
9. What do I need to do to receive payment under the Settlement?
10. When will I receive my payment?
11. How do I get out of the Settlement?
12. If I do not exclude myself, can I sue Wheel Worx North, LLC for the same thing later?
13. What am I giving up to stay in the Settlement Class?
14. If I exclude myself, can I still get a payment?
15. Do I have a lawyer in the case?
16. How will the lawyers be paid?
17. How do I tell the Court if I do not like the Settlement?
18. What is the difference between objecting and asking to be excluded?
19. When and where will the Court decide whether to approve the Settlement?
20. Do I have to attend the hearing?
21. What happens if I do nothing at all?
22. How do I get more information?
A court authorized a notice because you have a right to know about a proposed Settlement of a class action lawsuit known as Sean Bushong v. Wheel Worx North, LLC, Case No. 2024LA000051 (Circuit Court of Tazewell County, Illinois, County Department, Law Division), and about all of your options before the Court decides whether to give Final Approval to the Settlement. The Notice explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, and your legal rights.
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The lawsuit alleges that Wheel Worx North, LLC violated the Biometric Information Privacy Act, 740 ILCS 14/1, et seq. (“BIPA”) by capturing, collecting, storing, using, transmitting, and/or disseminating Plaintiff’s and the Class’s biometric identifiers and/or biometric information in the State of Illinois without the proper consent and written disclosures required by the statute.
Wheel Worx North, LLC denies each and every allegation of wrongdoing, liability, and damages that were or could have been asserted in the lawsuit, and denies that the claims in the lawsuit would be appropriate for class treatment if the lawsuit were to proceed through trial.
The Plaintiff’s Complaint, Settlement Agreement, and other case-related documents are posted on the Important Documents page. The Settlement resolves the lawsuit. The Court has not decided who is right.
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The Biometric Information Privacy Act is an Illinois law that restricts certain conduct when collecting biometric information.
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In a class action, one person called the “Class Representative” (in this case, Plaintiff Sean Bushong) sues on behalf of himself/herself and other people with similar claims.
All of the people who have claims similar to the Plaintiff are Settlement Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the class.
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The Court has not found in favor of either Plaintiff or Wheel Worx North, LLC. Instead, both sides have agreed to a settlement. By agreeing to the Settlement, the parties avoid the costs and uncertainty of a trial, and if the Settlement is approved by the Court, Settlement Class Members will receive the benefits described in the Notice and Question 8. Wheel Worx North, LLC denies all legal claims in this case. Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s lawyers think the proposed Settlement is best for everyone who is affected.
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The Settlement Class is defined as:
All individuals whose biometrics were captured, collected, stored, used, transmitted, and/or disseminated by or on behalf of Defendant within the State of Illinois at any time between July 18, 2019, through the date of the Preliminary Approval Order.
Persons meeting this definition are referred to collectively as the “Settlement Class” and, individually, as “Settlement Class Members.”
Excluded from the Settlement Class are: (1) the trial judge presiding over this case; (2) Defendant, as well as any parent, subsidiary, affiliate, or control person of Defendant; (3) any of the Released Parties; (4) the immediate family of any such person(s); (5) any Settlement Class Member who has timely opted out of this proceeding; and (6) Plaintiff’s Counsel, their employees, and their immediate family
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If you are not sure whether you are in the Settlement Class or have any other questions about the Settlement, call the toll-free number, (833) 647-8939. You also may send questions to:
Bushong v. Wheel Worx North, LLC
c/o Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 25226
Santa Ana, CA, 92799
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To fully settle and release claims of the Settlement Class Members, Wheel Worx North, LLC has agreed to make payments to the Settlement Class Members and pay for notice and administration costs of the Settlement out of the Settlement Fund. Wheel Worx North, LLC will deposit $339,570.00 (the “Settlement Fund”) with the Settlement Administrator. Each Settlement Class Member who does not opt out of the Settlement shall be sent a Claim Settlement Check by the Settlement Administrator on a pro rata basis not to exceed $990.00 per claimant (prior to the subtraction of a pro rata portion of any and all approved Notice and Administrative Costs, the Service Award, and any Attorneys’ Fees and Expenses, which is estimated to result in a total net amount of $500.00 - 600.00 for each Settlement Class Member). Settlement Class Members who do not opt out of the Settlement will be sent their Claim Settlement Payments within 30 days following the Effective Date.
Uncashed checks will be void 180 days after issuance, and any funds from uncashed checks will be distributed within 30 days to a cy pres organization mutually agreed upon by the Parties and approved by the Court.
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If you are a Settlement Class Member, you do not need to do anything to receive payment under the Settlement. Unless you opt out of the Settlement, the Administrator will mail you a Settlement check if the Court grants Final Approval to the Settlement.
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Payments to Settlement Class Members will be made only after the Court grants Final Approval to the Settlement and after any appeals are resolved (see “Question 19”). If there are appeals, resolving them can take time. Please be patient.
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To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must send a timely letter by mail to:
Bushong v. Wheel Worx North, LLC
c/o Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 25226
Santa Ana, CA, 92799
Your request to be excluded from the Settlement must be personally signed by you and contain a statement that indicates your desire to be excluded, such as “I hereby request that I be excluded from the proposed Settlement Class.” You must also identify the case name, and provide your name, address, and telephone number so that you can be identified as a Class Member.
Your exclusion request must be postmarked no later than October 12, 2026. You cannot ask to be excluded on the phone, by email, or on this website.
You may opt out of the Settlement Class only for yourself.
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No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up the right to sue for the claims that the Settlement resolves. You must exclude yourself from this Settlement Class in order to pursue your own lawsuit.
If you do exclude yourself, you are not guaranteed any money.
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Unless you opt out of the Settlement, you cannot sue or be part of any other lawsuit related to actual or alleged violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act that may have arisen while you were employed at Wheel Worx North, LLC, including any existing litigation, arbitration, or proceeding. Unless you exclude yourself, all of the decisions and judgments by the Court will bind you.
The Settlement Agreement is available here. The Settlement Agreement provides more detail regarding the Releases and describes the Released Claims with specific descriptions in necessary, accurate legal terminology, so read it carefully. You can talk to the law firms representing the Settlement Class listed in Question 15 for free, or you can, at your own expense, talk to your own lawyer if you have any questions about the Released Claims or what they mean.
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No. You will not get a payment from the Settlement Fund if you exclude yourself from the Settlement.
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The Court has appointed the following lawyers as “Class Counsel” to represent all members of the Settlement Class.
Class Counsel | |
Mark Hammervold | Rachel Dapeer |
You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by another lawyer, you may hire one to appear in Court for you at your own expense
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Class Counsel intends to request up to $135,828.00 (40% of the Settlement Fund) for attorneys’ fees, as well as reimbursement for their actual out-of-pocket expenses incurred in the litigation. The fees and expenses awarded by the Court will be paid from the Settlement Fund. The Court will decide the amount of fees and expenses to award.
Class Counsel will also request that a Service Award of up to $5,000.00 be paid from the Settlement Fund to the Class Representative, Sean Bushong, for Plaintiff’s service as representative on behalf of the whole Settlement Class.
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If you are a Settlement Class Member (and do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class), you can object to any part of the Settlement. To object, you must timely submit a written objection signed under penalties of perjury and which identifies the following:
the name, address and telephone number,
the specific date(s) when the employee worked at Defendant in Illinois,
all attorneys who assisted the employee in the preparation and filing of the employee’s objection,
a list of all other class action cases in which the employee or the employee’s attorneys have submitted an objection to a settlement, and
a statement of the reasons why the employee believes the Court should find that the proposed settlement is not fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the Settlement Class.
If you wish to object, you must file your objection with the Court (using the Court’s electronic filing system or in any manner in which the Court accepts filings), and you must also mail (with the requisite postmark) a copy to Class Counsel and Counsel for Defendant, no later than the Objection Deadline.
Class Counsel | Counsel for Defendant | |
Mark Hammervold | Rachel Dapeer | Wendy N. Enerson |
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Objecting is telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object to the Settlement only if you do not exclude yourself. Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object to the Settlement because it no longer affects you.
The Court will hold a hearing to decide whether to approve the Settlement and any requests for fees and expenses (“Final Approval Hearing”).
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The Court has scheduled a Final Approval Hearing on October 30, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at the Circuit Court of Tazewell County, Illinois. The hearing may occur in person or via zoom and may be moved to a different date or time without additional notice, so it is a good idea to check this website for updates. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Court will also consider the requests by Class Counsel for attorneys’ fees and expenses and for a Service Award to the Class Representative. If there are objections, the Court will consider them at that time. After the hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the Settlement. It is unknown how long these decisions will take.
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No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. But you are welcome to attend the hearing at your own expense. If you send an objection, you do not have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as you submitted your written objection on time to the proper addresses and it complies with all the other requirements set forth above, the Court will consider it. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend the hearing, but it is not necessary.
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If you are a Settlement Class Member and do nothing, you will be subject to the Settlement and receive payment from the Settlement Fund.
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This website and the Notice are a summary of the proposed Settlement. You are urged to review more details in the Settlement Agreement. For a complete, definitive statement of the Settlement terms, refer to the Settlement Agreement here.
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