Lugo v. Inova Health Care Services

The Court authorized a notice because you have a right to know about a proposed Settlement of this class action lawsuit and about all your options, before the Court decides whether to give final approval to the Settlement. This Notice explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, and your legal rights.

The Honorable Patricia T. Giles of the United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, is overseeing this case. The case is called Lugo v. Inova Health Care Services, Case No. 1:24-ccv-00700-PTG-WEF. The person who has sued is called the Plaintiff. The Defendant is Inova Health Care Services

In a class action, one or more people called the Class Representative (in this case, Pedro Lugo) sues on behalf of a group or a “class” of people who have similar claims. In a class action, the court resolves the issues for all Settlement Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Settlement Class.

The lawsuit alleges that Defendant, Inova Health Care Services, collected and disclosed its patients’ Personally Identifiable Information (“PII”) and Protected Health Information (“PHI”) (collectively “Private Information”) through its use of third-party tracking technologies known as tracking pixels on its public facing websites, in violation of the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act (the “ECPA”). Defendant maintains that it has not disclosed any of its patients’ Private Information.

The Court has not decided whether the Plaintiff or the Defendant should win this case. Instead, both sides agreed to a settlement. That way, they avoid the uncertainties and expenses associated with ongoing litigation and related appeals, and Settlement Class Members will get compensation sooner rather than, if at all, after the completion of a trial.

The Settlement Class is defined as:

All individuals who may have visited an Inova public facing website at any time from April 29, 2022, through April 29, 2024, and had an Inova MyChart Account and whose Private Information could have been disclosed from the public-facing websites to third parties through the Facebook or Google Pixel and other related tracking technology without their authorization.

Monetary Relief: If the Settlement is approved by the Court, Defendant will make available up to $3,147,390.04 as a Settlement Fund to fully resolve the litigation on a class-wide basis. The Settlement Fund will be non reversionary and will represent Defendant’s only monetary obligations under the Settlement. The Settlement Fund will pay all approved claims submitted by the Settlement Class, together with notice and administration expenses, attorneys’ fees and costs, and a service award to the Class Representative.

Prospective Changes: In addition to this monetary relief, Defendant will implement all remedial measures necessary to ensure its use of Tracking Pixels materially complies with the ECPA and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), provided that nothing shall limit its right to use such technologies consistent with that guidance or when otherwise authorized by patients, pursuant to a valid business associate agreement, ort as otherwise permitted by the ECPA and HIPAA.

If you are member of the Settlement Class, you may submit a Claim Form to receive a cash payment from the Settlement Fund. Each Settlement Class Member who submits an approved claim will receive an equal payment from the Settlement Fund after deductions for notice and administration expenses, Court-approved attorneys’ fees and costs, and a service award. The per-person amount is unknown at this time and will be based primarily on how many approved claims are submitted.

The hearing to consider the fairness of the Settlement is scheduled for April 17, 2026. If the Court approves the Settlement, eligible Settlement Class Members whose claims were approved by the Settlement Administrator will be sent their payment approximately twenty-eight days after the Effective Date of the Settlement. The payment will be made in the form of a check, Venmo or PayPal (as chosen on the Claim Form), and all checks will expire and become void 120 days after they are issued.

If you are a Settlement Class Member and you want to receive a payment, you must complete and submit a Claim Form by April 6, 2026. Claim Forms can be found here or by printing and mailing a paper Claim Form to the Settlement Administrator at the following address:

Lugo v. Inova Health Care Services Settlement Administrator
P.O. Box 5714
Portland, OR 97228-5714

We also encourage you to submit your claim here. Not only is it easier and more secure, but it is completely free and takes only minutes! Claim Forms must be electronically submitted, or postmarked, by April 6, 2026. Submitting a timely, valid Claim Form is the only thing you need to do to receive a monetary benefit from the Settlement.

If the Settlement becomes final, you will give up your right to sue Defendant for the claims this Settlement resolves. The Settlement Agreement describes the specific claims you are giving up against the Defendant. You will be “releasing” the Defendant and certain of its affiliates described in Section IX of the Settlement Agreement. Unless you exclude yourself (FAQ 14), you are “releasing” the claims, regardless of whether you submit a claim or not. The Settlement Agreement is available through the court documents.

The Settlement Agreement describes the released claims with specific descriptions, so read it carefully. If you have any questions you can talk to the lawyers listed in FAQ 12 for free or you can talk to your own lawyer if you have questions about what this means.

If you do nothing, you won’t get any benefits from this Settlement. But, unless you exclude yourself, you won’t be able to start a lawsuit or be part of any other lawsuit against the Defendant for the claims being resolved by this Settlement.

The Court has appointed Kyle McNew of Michie Hamlett PLLC, and Eugene Y. Turin, Jordan R. Frysinger, and William Kingston of McGuire Law, P.C. to be the attorneys representing the Settlement Class. They are called “Class Counsel.” They believe, after conducting an extensive investigation, that the Settlement Agreement is fair, reasonable, and in the best interests of the Settlement 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. You may contact Class Counsel using the information listed below:

Jordan R. Frysinger
MCGUIRE LAW, P.C.
55 W. Wacker Dr., 9^th Floor
Chicago, IL 60601
Tel: 312-893-7002
jfrysinger@mcgpc.com

Class Counsel’s attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses will be paid in an amount determined and awarded by the Court. Class Counsel will seek up to 33% of the $3,147,390.04 Settlement Fund, plus their litigation costs and expenses, for their efforts in prosecuting this matter and achieving this settlement, but the Court may award less than this amount.

The Class Representative will also seek a service award of up to $5,000, to be paid by the Settlement Fund, for helping to bring and settle the case.

Class Counsel will file with the Court and post on the Settlement Website its request for attorneys’ fees as well as the Class Representative’s requests for a service award by February 6, 2026.

To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must email or mail a letter (or request for exclusion) by February 27, 2026 stating that you want to be excluded from the Lugo v. Inova Health Care Services, Case No. 1:24-cv-00700-PTG-WEF Settlement. Your letter or request for exclusion must also include: (1) your name, your address, telephone number, and email address; (2) the case name and number of this litigation, (3) a statement that you wish to be excluded from the Settlement Class; and (4) your signature. You must email your exclusion request to info@HealthPixelSettlement.com or mail your exclusion request postmarked, no later than February 27, 2026, to the following address:

Lugo v. Inova Health Care Services Settlement Administrator P.O. Box 5714 Portland, OR 97228-5714

No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up any right to sue the Defendant for the claims being resolved by this Settlement.

No. If you exclude yourself, do not submit a Claim Form to ask for benefits. You cannot submit a Claim Form and cannot obtain any monetary benefits from the Settlement if you exclude yourself from the Settlement. Submitting a timely, valid Claim Form is the only way to receive payment from this Settlement.

If you’re a Settlement Class Member, you can object to the Settlement if you don’t like any part of it. You can give reasons why you think the Court should not approve it. To object, you must file with the Court by February 27, 2026 a letter or brief stating that you object to the Settlement in Lugo v. Inova Health Care Services, Case No. 1:24-cv-00700-PTG-WEF and include (1) your full name, address, email address, and current telephone number; (2) the case name and number of this litigation; (3) all grounds for the objection, with factual and legal support for the stated objection, including any supporting materials; (4) the identification of any other objections you have filed, or have had filed on your behalf, in any other class action cases in the last five years; and (5) your signature. If represented by counsel, the objecting Settlement Class Member must also provide the name and telephone number of his/her counsel. If you intend on appearing at the Final Approval Hearing, either with or without counsel, you must state as such in the written objection, and must also identify any witnesses you may call to testify at the Final Approval Hearing and all exhibits you intend to introduce into evidence at the Final Approval Hearing, which must also be attached to, or included with, the written objection.

If you want to appear and speak at the Final Approval Hearing to object to the Settlement, with or without a lawyer (FAQ 21), you must say so in your letter or brief. File the objection with the Court and mail a copy to the addresses listed below for Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel postmarked no later than February 27, 2026:

Objecting means telling the Court you don’t like something about the Settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Settlement Class. Excluding yourself from the Settlement Class is telling the Court you don’t want to be part of the Settlement Class. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object because the case no longer affects you. You cannot both exclude yourself and object to the Settlement. If you attempt to do both, your objection will be considered invalid, and you will be treated as if you excluded yourself from the Settlement.

The Court will hold the Final Approval Hearing on April 17, 2026 at 10:00 a.m., in Courtroom 801 at the Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse, 401 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA 22314. The purpose of the hearing will be for the Court to determine whether to approve the Settlement as fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the Settlement Class; to consider the Class Counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees and expenses; and to consider the request for a service award to the Class Representative. At that hearing, the Court will be available to hear any objections and arguments concerning the fairness of the Settlement.

The hearing may be postponed to a different date or time without notice, so it is a good idea to check the current status on this Settlement Website. If, however, you timely objected to the Settlement and advised the Court you intend to appear and speak at the Final Approval Hearing, you will receive notice of any change in the date of such Final Approval Hearing.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. But you are welcome to come at your own expense. If you send an objection or comment, you don’t have to come to Court to talk about it. If you filed and mailed your written objection on time and otherwise complied with the requirements set forth in the Settlement Agreement, the Court will consider it. You may also pay another lawyer to attend, but it’s not required.

Yes. You may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Final Approval Hearing. To do so, you must include in your letter or brief objecting to the Settlement a statement saying it is your, “Notice of Intent to Appear in Lugo v. Inova Health Care Services, Case No. 1:24-cv-00700-PTG-WEF.” The letter or brief must include your name, address, telephone number, and signature as well as the name and address of your lawyer, if one is appearing for you. Your objection and notice of intent to appear must be filed with the Court and postmarked no later than February 27, 2026 and sent to the addresses listed in FAQ 17.

The Notice summarizes the Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement. You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreement here. You may also contact the Settlement Administrator at info@HealthPixelSettlement.com or write with questions to Lugo v. Inova Health Care Services Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 5714, Portland, OR 97228-5714. You can call the Settlement Administrator at 1-877-757-7915 or contact Class Counsel at the information provided in FAQ 12 if you have any questions. In addition to the documents available, all pleadings and documents filed in court may be reviewed or copied in the Office of the Clerk. Please do not call the Judge or the Clerk of the Court about this case. They will not be able to give you advice on your options.