The Bartz v. Anthropic copyright lawsuit has faced more twists and turns than Odysseus.
After Judge Alsup preliminarily approved the historic $1.5 billion class settlement (only after declining to approve it due to concerns the Judge raised at the first hearing), the claims process seemed to be moving along swimmingly.
Bartz Class Counsel’s “Status Report”
On Halloween, the Class Counsel filed a “Status Report” so indicating: 12.2% of the works in the class had already been subject to claims, even before notice was sent directly to potential class members. 12.2% is a decent rate of participation (based on other cases), especially at this early stage.
But the Status Report also indicated (1) some sua sponte changes to the class notice and (2) proposed an alternate to be appointed Special Master (to handle disputes over claims). Instead of Naomi Jane Gray as originally planned and conditionally approved (who apparently had a conflict), the Class Counsel proposed Theodore Cheng with agreement from Anthropic.
Alleged “Bait-and-Switch” Overtures by ClaimsHero, an Arizona company
Meanwhile, the Class Counsel filed an ex parte application for an expedited hearing asking Judge Alsup to limit the overtures to class members by a third-party company based in Arizona named ClaimsHero. According to Bartz Class Counsel, ClaimsHero was making “misleading” overtures to potential Bartz class members with “bait-and-switch” marketing to get class members to opt out of the settlement (while making it seem they were filing a claim for money).
From its website, ClaimsHero looks like it has tried to serve as an aggregator of claims to collect money from class action funds in other lawsuits. Class Counsel alleged that ClaimsHero was denied the ability to file aggregate claims in Lopez v. Apple Inc., No. 4:19‑cv‑04577‑JSW (N.D. Cal.) (Judge Jeffrey S. White): “Just months ago, in Lopez v. Apple Inc., No. 4:19‑cv‑04577‑JSW (N.D. Cal.), Judge Jeffrey S. White denied an administrative motion filed on behalf of a ClaimsHero client to compel the Court‑appointed settlement administrator to accept claim forms submitted in bulk. See Ex. C (Order Denying Administrative Motion, Dkt. 364 (June 13, 2025)).
But Bartz alleges something different here. Instead of trying to file claims for class fund distributions to class memters, ClaimsHero is allegedly proposing to form some kind of relationship with class members who opt out of the settlement, apparently with a hope of getting more money than the $3,100 amount per work.
Judge Alsup almost immediately granted Bartz’s request. The expedited hearing on ClaimsHero is set for Nov. 13, 8 AM sharp in San Francisco.
Two lawyers filed notice of appearances for ClaimsHero. They are:
- Ivy T. Ngo, Counsel, Miami, Freedman Normand Friedland LLP
- Alex Potter, Partner, New York, Freedman Normand Friedland LLP
Judge Alsup’s Order Denying Most of Bartz’s Proposed Changes
Late Friday, Judge Alsup issued another order. This one related to Bartz’s “Status Report.”
Judge Alsup criticized Bartz Class Counsel for making changes to the class notice: “Counsel does not request approval for these changes and instead purports to merely report on Counsel’s activities. This is improper because the content of class notices should be approved by the district judge. And, some changes reported by counsel must now be altered or removed.”
After rejecting most of the changes, Judge Alsup continued his criticism (highlight added by me):
This is not the first time that Judge Alsup was displeased with the way Class Counsel was planning and orchestrating the claims process. At the first hearing on Sept. 8, Judge Alsup aired several criticisms that even led to the postponement of approval of the settlement.
Judge Alsup’s Order Denying Theodore Cheng as Special Master
If that were not bad enough for Bartz, Judge Alsup then denied, without prejudice, the requested appointment of Theodore Cheng to serve as Special Master. Cheng’s $1,000 hourly rate “is too high.” And his “declaration of qualifications is too thin, … making it difficult to assess not only sufficiency of qualifications but also absence of any conflict or appearance of conflict.”
The declaration of Cheng submitted was only 1 page. It did state: “I further certify that I am qualified to serve as Special Master for settlement claims in this matter. I have conducted over 800 arbitrations and mediations involving commercial and business disputes, breach of contract and negligence actions, trade secret theft, employment discrimination claims, wage-and-hour disputes, and intellectual property infringement contentions.”
It did not provide a list of relevant matters or cases. Nor did it mention copyright law or related distputes.
Judge Alsup said Bartz can resubmit Cheng’s declaration with greater details, nominate someone else, or choose Special Master McElhinny, who has been already approved as a special master in this case (at an hourly rate of $500 per hour).
What about the fate of ClaimsHero?
This order didn’t directly address ClaimsHero. (And the Judge’s prior order gives ClaimsHero and Anthropic until Wed., Nov. 12, noon, to file any response to Bartz’s motion to limit ClaimsHero’s overtures to class members).
But Judge Alsup’s order indirectly appears to cast doubt on what ClaimsHero is allegedly doing. Judge Alsup has now ruled out the use of claims aggregators in this case, see below. Although ClaimsHero is apparently trying to aggregate only opt-outs (not claims to receive money from the class fund), that distinction may not matter. A class member still must file something with the class administrator to indicate whether they want (i) to opt out or (ii) to receive money from the class. A vendor aggregating either opt outs or claims probably would not satisfy the personal attestation/signature Judge Alsup has now imposed (see below). That applies to “every opt out, opt back, objection, or claim“: it “must be signed personally by the class member except that where the class member is not an individual but a legal entity then… the class member must have either an officer or managing agent sign such submissions.”
Plus, any third-party messaging may raise confusion with the carefully worded class notice(s) that the Judge himself approved and, at times, wrote.
As apparent from this very order, Judge Alsup has scrutinized every word and letter in the notice(s).
DOWNLOAD JUDGE ALSUP’S ORDER