Email Notice to Consumers Who Made Payments Through the Google Play Store

The following is a legitimate email sent out to eligible class action lawsuit members regarding the $630 million Google Play settlement. 

Google Play $630 Million Class Action Settlement

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
State of Utah, et al. v. Google LLC, et al., Case No. 3:21-cv-05227-JD

NOTICE OF STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL SETTLEMENT

Notice ID: 332212040

ATTENTION: CONSUMERS WHO MADE PAYMENTS THROUGH THE GOOGLE PLAY STORE

THIS IS A COURT-APPROVED NOTICE AND NOT A SOLICITATION FROM A LAWYER

Please read this Notice carefully. You are receiving this Notice because you may have paid for an app through the Google Play Store or paid for in-app content (including purchases in gaming apps, subscriptions, and ad-free versions of apps) through Google Play Billing between August 16, 2016, and September 30, 2023 (a "Qualifying Purchase"). For example, if you paid to download a game or made a purchase in an app downloaded from the Google Play Store, you may have important rights concerning the State Attorneys General lawsuit described below.

A proposed settlement has been reached in a consumer protection and antitrust lawsuit brought by the Attorneys General of all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands ("State Attorneys General") against Google (the "Action").

The State Attorneys General claim that consumers paid too much to Google for apps and for purchases made in apps downloaded from the Google Play Store because Google monopolized app distribution on certain Android devices and in-app billing services. The State Attorneys General also claim that by monopolizing app distribution, Google reduced consumers' choices in apps. The State Attorneys General also claim that Google made misrepresentations to the public concerning the risks of getting apps from sources other than the Google Play Store and Google's billing policies for apps. Google denies any wrongdoing and denies the allegations in the Complaint.

The State Attorneys General brought this lawsuit in their parens patriae* capacity, on behalf of consumers who made Qualifying Purchases through Google Play Billing between August 16, 2016, and September 30, 2023, while living in any State, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands.

As part of the settlement, a $630 million Settlement Fund will be established. The Fund will be used to pay consumers who made at least one Qualifying Purchase, as well as the costs of administering the Fund and attorneys' fees. Your share of the Fund will be at least $2 and may be more based on how much you paid for apps through the Google Play Store or for in-app content through Google Play Billing between August 16, 2016, and September 30, 2023, compared to the amount paid by all other consumers who made Qualifying Purchases.

You are receiving this Notice because Google's internal records show that you may have made a Qualifying Purchase using a Google payments profile with a "Legal Address" located in one of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands.

If the "Legal Address" listed in your Google payments profile at the time you made a Qualifying Purchase is in one of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands, then you are a member of this Action and you are eligible to receive a payment from the Settlement Fund.

If you are covered by this Action, you may not have to do anything to receive a payment from the Settlement Fund. The Settlement Fund will make the majority of payments automatically, and no claim form is necessary in most cases. Once the Settlement has been approved by the Court, you will receive an email from PayPal or a text from Venmo notifying you of your incoming payment at the email address or mobile phone number associated with your Google Play account. If that email address or phone number is also associated with a PayPal or Venmo account, then the payment will be made directly to that account. If that email address or phone number does not match an email address or phone number associated with a PayPal or Venmo account, then you have the option to create a new account or redirect the payment to a PayPal or Venmo account at another email address or phone number.

If you (a) do not have an existing PayPal or Venmo account and do not want to sign up for PayPal or Venmo, (b) no longer have access to the email address or mobile phone number associated with your Google Play account, or (c) were expecting to receive a payment but did not, there will be a supplemental claims process after the automatic payments process is complete.

If you would like to be notified by email when the supplemental claims process starts, you may submit your name, email address, and mobile phone number at www.GooglePlayStateAGAntitrustLitigation.com.

By receiving money, you will give up any rights to sue, or continue to sue, Google separately over the claims at issue in this Action.

Objections to the $630 Class Action Google Play Lawsuit

If you want to object to the Settlement, then you must file a written objection on or before February 19, 2026. To learn more about the process for making objections, go to www.GooglePlayStateAGAntitrustLitigation.com.

If you do not want to receive a payment from the Settlement Fund and you want to bring your own case against Google, then you must submit a request to be excluded on or before February 19, 2026. To learn more about or to submit a request for exclusion, go to www.GooglePlayStateAGAntitrustLitigation.com.

An administrator appointed by the Court is sending this Summary Notice. To view the full Notice approved by the Court, and for more information about the Action, including certain important Court filings, go to www.GooglePlayStateAGAntitrustLitigation.com or contact the Notice Administrator at 1-866-905-8127 or by email to info@GooglePlayStateAGAntitrustLitigation.com.

BY ORDER OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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The preceding email refers to a website, but doesn't ask you to take any action to join the class action lawsuit, because they already know who has a Google Play account and who is eligible.

That is a big indicator that this is a real and legitimate email. 

Review: Coup is a Fun Game App in the Google Play Store

Want to know a fun game app in the Google Play store?

Over the holidays, I discovered a game in the Google Play store: the game Coup.

Coup app icon

The app is available in the Google Play store is based on a board game of deception and manipulation. This app game is essentially a card game, and is all about bluffing, and learning how to bluff successfully.

The game is free to download. There are in-game purchases available, but not necessary to play.

The game consists of five character cards:

1. Duke card - the Duke draws a tax of 3 coins, and cannot be blocked or challenged.
2. Captain card - the Captain can steal 2 coins, and can be blocked by the the Captain or Ambassador card.
3. Contessa card - Contessa can block an Assassination
4. Assassin card - in exchange for 3 coins, the Assassin can attempt an assassination. The Assassin can be blocked by only Contessa character card.
5. Ambassador card - the Ambassador can exchange 1 or 2 cards from the player's hand, and allow the player to choose from the next 2 cards drawn

Coup Gameplay

Each player has a total of 15 cards in the deck. Each character appears 3 times in the deck The player is drawn 2 random cards to start with in their hand.

You then can bluff or truthfully choose how you want to play based on the character cards' abilities, or you can draw 1 coin if you choose. There is a motivation to get to 7 coins. Once you reach 7 coins, you can press the "Coup" button, and force the player to reveal 1 card. A Coup cannot be blocked.

If you have an Assassin, you must have 3 coins in order to use the Assassin card.

You have 1:30 to play your turn, unless you are in a challenge period.

If you choose to only tell the truth, then logic could reveal your cards to the other player.

After you successfully accomplish certain tasks, the game awards you with badges that you can display on your Coup profile picture.

Coup Tips

1. Plan on bluffing. The game requires you to bluff to be successful.
2. If you do not have the Duke, but want to collect tax, start bluffing in Round 1 (your first turn)
3. If you have a card, but want the other player to think your bluffing, play it at an odd time
4. If you are in a challenge period of 30 sec., you can hesitate to play, but it will look like you do not have the card if you do this. You can hesitate to make the other player think you don't have the card.
5. You can use chat features to communicate pre-selected phrases and taunts to the other player. Use these strategically while playing.

Screenshot of Coup app

Disclaimer: The author of this blog post was not paid in any way for this blog post, and wrote it out of pure interest.

Infinite Crisis is the DC Comics MOBA Video Game

DC MOBA Infinite Crisis online video game

Infinite Crisis is an awesome DC Comics Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game!

This is a refreshing version of the popular and growing MOBA video game genre. You can play all of your favorite characters: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Catwoman, Joker, Harley Quinn, Flash, and many more characters.

I really like play with Aquaman, Superman, and Robin as my favorite three, but I honestly like playing other characters as well.

Play just for Fun, or Competitive Ranked Play

You can play just for fun and learn how to get better. If you want to play even more competitive matches, then ranked play is available for people that wish to have a ranking. This is completely up to you. The larger size of your group when in the queue could translate to a longer wait time, because it will pit you up against another party of that size, plus the remaining characters needed to get a 5v5 match going.

More Players Open Up More Maps in the Queue

In Infinite Crisis, there are several maps available, but due to the low player base (being a relatively new game), only 1 is available in the game queue. The one currently on constant play is Coast City.

The best strategy on Coast City is to constantly be running for the relays, because relays upgrade your robot army to elite fighters to help take down the turrets. The ultimate goal is to destroy the opponents base, and you need to get rid of the turrets on at least 1 side to do this.

Coast City is a fun map, but it would be nice when the player base grows to play the other map, which is Gotham Heights.

Coast City map in Infinite Crisis

There are also special themed events and scenarios that become available for a limited time, such as 2v2 events, and new playable characters are unlocked and become available as the game developers release them.

Level your Hero in Infinite Crisis and Increase the Stats

Like any MOBA video game, your character levels up, and as your character levels, he or she grows in stats, each character with both passive and active abilities. If you die a lot to the other team, this is called "feeding." You don't want to be careless and feed the other team with easy kills. This will give them an unfair advantage early in the game. That is why you want to heal your character by going back to the base as often as needed. You can quickly get back to your base by pressing the "b" key on your keyboard.

For those of you that already play Infinite Crisis, there is a fan page on Facebook that you will want to check out.

If this sounds like a fun video game to play, use my referral link here to join and start playing this free-to-play game.

One great feature about this MOBA game is that the free characters available to play rotate, allowing you to try out other characters before you choose to purchase them with merit you earn by playing the game.

NFL: Did the Green Bay Packers Beat Chicago Bears with a Fluke Play?

Jarrett Boykin during fluke play

Jarrett Boykin runs football into endzone uncontested

NFL referees rule the fluke play a fair touchdown

Jarrett Boykin made an easy play on NFL Sunday for the Green Bay Packers, helping his team advance to win the NFC North division title on December 29, 2013.

What Happened in the Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears NFL game?

On a 1^st and 10 play, Julius Peppers of the Chicago Bears tipped opposing quarterback Aaron Rodgers throw and the ball “flopped” onto the ground. The players on the field essentially stopped playing, assuming that the play was dead. However, the referees did not blow the whistle. The players on the Green Bay bench were shouting at Jarrett Boykin to pick up the ball and run it into the end zone. After seconds of standing around, Jarrett Boykin did just that, and the NFL referees ruled it a fair touchdown. Jarrett Boykin was not even contested on the play, and it may be one of the easiest touchdowns in his career.

Was this a ‘Fluke’ Play or a Bad Call from the NFL Referees?

I would not consider this a fluke play. A fluke play would be something unintentional that happened in a team’s favor. In this particular play, the referees intentionally did not rule the play dead. It certainly was to Green Bay’s advantage that the Chicago Bears stopped playing, but the team with the faster sports IQ collectively realized that the play was still live. I would not call this a fluke play.

Sports analysts agree that the NFL referees made the right call on this play, allowing the ball to stay “live” on a sack fumble play.

Ultimately the game was won for the Green Bay Packers after quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw a touchdown on a 48-yard pass to Randall Cobb. This all happened with about 38 seconds left in the game.

The Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears 33 – 28.

Chicago Bears player Julius Peppers not happy with outcome of the play

Quotes from Green Bay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers said this about the game: “We’re in it, that’s the most important thing…we’re just going to enjoy this week. This is a special moment. Nothing like a road victory, and especially on this stage right here.”

He also said: “There were a lot of opportunities for us to give up, and we kept believing in each other…I’m proud of these guys and thankful for the opportunity.”

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers on His Sexuality

Rumors have been swirling in the media about Aaron Rodgers sexuality:

Is Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers gay?

On the Jason Wilde radio show "Tuesdays With Aaron," Aaron wanted to squash any rumors that have been swirling about his sexuality. He said, "I'm just going to say I'm not gay...I really, really like women. That's all I can say about that."

Next game: The Green Bay Packers will play the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the playoffs as a No. 4 seed. This will be televised at 4:40 ET Sunday on Fox.