Dear {full_name}:
This is an agreement (the “Agreement”) between you and Bryson Harris Suciu & DeMay PLLC (“Bryson” or the “Firm”) for legal representation regarding your or your minor child’s claim(s) arising from video game addiction and related conduct from gaming companies and platforms.
You understand and authorize the Firm to proceed with filing your claim(s) as an individual arbitration. Arbitration is a simplified means of pursuing legal claims, where the claim is decided by an arbitrator rather than a judge or jury. You authorize the Firm to settle your individual claim(s) for a reasonable value and execute a release of your individual claim(s) on your behalf. However, this agreement also authorizes the Firm to settle and release your claim(s) as a part of a class action if the companies we pursue on your behalf choose to do so. In the event that the Firm enters a settlement with your authority and you choose not to participate in the settlement, you may reject the settlement, continue arbitration individually, and the Firm may withdraw its representation of you. You further authorize the Firm to represent additional individuals who have claims that are the same or similar to yours in connection with video game addiction. You expressly understand that you may ask any questions related to a settlement before signing an agreement to receive settlement funds and that you have the right to reject the settlement.
The Firm will handle this matter on a contingency fee basis. The contingent fee shall be calculated as forty percent (40%) of the total value of any settlement or recovery obtained, which You understand may include both monetary and non-monetary consideration, and the value of any non-monetary component shall be included in the amount on which the fee is calculated. You understand that any settlement of your claim may include a non-monetary benefit provided or arranged by the Firm and that such benefit will be valued at its retail or fair market value for purposes of calculating the Firm's fee and that You consent to the fee being calculated on the total settlement value including the stated value of any non-monetary benefits. Alternatively, the Firm may negotiate a separate attorneys’ fee instead of receiving forty percent of any settlement value or recovery. The Firm reserves the right to associate with co-counsel, but the fee will be split between the Firm and any additional firm(s) they associate with.
The Firm will advance all costs incurred by the Firm during this litigation (e.g., filing fees, medical records, travel, etc.). The Firm will be reimbursed for these costs if, and only if, they ultimately obtain a recovery on your behalf. Advanced costs are deducted after the calculation of the contingent fee.
The Firm will keep you informed about the progress of your claim as it moves forward. We will do so via phone calls, emails, and SMS messages. By signing this retainer agreement, you consent to the Firm calling and sending case-related SMS messages to the cell phone number you provided when signing up for representation. If at any time you no longer wish to receive phone calls from the Firm, you can email us at arbitration.clientcare@brysonpllc.com. Similarly, if you no longer wish to receive SMS messages from the Firm, you can reply “STOP” to any SMS message to opt out of receiving additional messages.
You authorize the Firm to withdraw from representation if it determines for sufficient reasons that your claim(s) should not continue. Regardless, the Firm will maintain the file on this matter for at least six years. If requested, these will be returned to you after the conclusion of the representation.
Finally, the Firm does not make any promises or guarantees regarding the outcome of your claim(s). If you have any questions about the foregoing, please advise. We would appreciate your returning a signed copy of this engagement letter to us for our files.
CERTIFICATION
By signing this Agreement, the undersigned Client certifies that they understand that they will not be able to pursue a claim arising from video game addiction unless they have played video games and experienced symptoms or other harms associated with excessive and compulsive gaming, including Internet Gaming Disorder. By signing this Agreement, Client hereby represents that they have played video games and experienced symptoms or other harms associated with excessive and compulsive gaming. If necessary, the Client could testify or produce documents confirming their playing of video games and any symptoms, diagnoses, or other harms associated with excessive and compulsive gaming.
Internet Gaming Disorder symptoms include, but are not limited to: (1) preoccupation with gaming, such as thinking constantly about gaming or making it the main daily activity; (2) withdrawal symptoms, such as feeling irritable, anxious, or sad when unable to play; (3) tolerance, or needing to spend more and more time playing to feel satisfied; (4) loss of control, or failing repeated attempts to cut down or stop playing; (5) neglect of other activities, hobbies, social events, or responsibilities; (6) continued use despite knowing it causes harm or problems; (7) deception, such as hiding or lying to family or therapists about gaming time; (8) escape, or using games to run away from negative moods, stress, or anxiety; and (9) jeopardizing or losing a job, education, or relationship over gaming. Client represents that they have experienced at least five (5) of the foregoing symptoms in connection with their video game use for a period of at least twelve (12) months.
Client further certifies that they have not retained any other law firm to pursue claims arising from the same or similar conduct and will not retain another law firm to pursue such claims. If Client does so, the Firm may terminate its representation.
COMMUNICATIONS CONSENT
By signing this Agreement, the undersigned Client consents to the Firm keeping them informed about the progress of their claim by calling, emailing, and sending case-related SMS messages to the cell phone number that Client provided to the Firm when signing up for representation. Client understands that, if at any time they no longer wish to receive phone calls from the Firm, they can email arbitration.clientcare@brysonpllc.com. Client also understands that, if they no longer wish to receive SMS messages from the Firm, they can reply “STOP” to any SMS message to opt out of receiving additional messages.
Additionally, Client consents to the Firm calling, emailing, and sending them SMS messages concerning other matters, lawsuits, and investigations that may be relevant or of interest to Client.
PRESERVATION OF EVIDENCE AND LITIGATION HOLD
The Firm is required by court rules and caselaw to document that Client has been provided with notice of a party’s continuing obligation to preserve evidence and electronically stored information (“ESI”). This communication, commonly referred to as a “litigation hold,” sets forth certain obligations relating to the preservation and maintenance of documents, ESI, and evidence in the case discussed in this retainer agreement (herein “the lawsuit”). The Firm is required to provide this information and to maintain a copy for its files. Please review this portion of the retainer agreement carefully and advise of any questions with regard to same.
By this communication, the Firm is advising Client (“you”/“your”) not to destroy, conceal or alter any relevant paper or electronic files and other data generated by and/or stored on your computers, mobile devices (such as mobile phones, iPads, etc.) and storage media (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, backup tapes, flash/thumb drives), or any other electronic data, such as email, or data on social networking sites controlled by you. This also includes ESI on any cloud-based or third-party remote storage systems, such as, for example, Google Docs, or any other third-party cloud storage systems.
Unfortunately, your failure to comply with this notice can result in severe sanctions being imposed for spoliation of evidence or potential evidence. All data destruction or deletion policies or settings that can potentially impact ESI or other evidence must be suspended or turned off, immediately.
As you know, the arbitration relates to your use of video games and information regarding same is important in the case. You need to preserve this information, although that does not mean that all of your social media information will be produced in the lawsuit.
Electronic documents and the storage media on which they reside contain relevant, discoverable information beyond that which may be found in printed documents. This data, referred to as metadata, contains information that can be obtained through discovery. Therefore, you may be asked for all documents in their electronic form along with information about those documents contained on the media or storage device. Again, this will be/is an arbitration about your use of video games, so that information is important. Please do not delete any account, emails or information related to your video game accounts or use of video games.
With regard to electronic data created subsequent to the date of delivery of this letter, relevant evidence is not to be destroyed. Please take whatever steps are appropriate to avoid destruction of evidence.
If this correspondence is in any way unclear, please contact the Firm immediately. This litigation hold obligation will continue while the litigation is ongoing. The Firm will inform you when the hold expires. By signing this Agreement, you are confirming your understanding and commitment to abide by this duty to preserve the evidence.