USC Arcadia Hospital Pixel Tracking Class Action Settlement, $200,000 Fund, Who Qualifies and the December 7 Deadline

If you ever filled out a form on the USC Arcadia Hospital website to get email or event updates, this settlement may affect you. The hospital has agreed to pay $200,000 to resolve Merle v. USC Arcadia Hospital, a lawsuit over tracking software on its public website. Eligible people can claim cash and get one year of dark web monitoring.

The deadline to claim, opt out or object is December 7, 2026, about six weeks from today. USC Arcadia Hospital denies doing anything wrong, including violating HIPAA or any other privacy law. The court has not decided who is right.

Quick Facts: USC Arcadia Hospital Pixel Tracking Settlement

Detail	Information
Case	Merle v. USC Arcadia Hospital, No. 23STCV01900
Court	Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
Plaintiff	Michael Merle
Settlement fund	$200,000
Who qualifies	People who completed a form on the USC Arcadia Hospital website to sign up for email or event updates from February 1, 2022 to January 31, 2023
Cash payment	Equal pro rata share of the net settlement fund (claim form required)
Estimated cash payment	About $178 per claimant if all 582 estimated class members file and the proposed deductions are approved; actual payments may differ
Other benefit	One year of CyEx Privacy Shield Pro (no claim form needed)
Preliminary approval	September 8, 2026
Claim, opt-out and objection deadline	December 7, 2026
Final approval hearing	Monday, December 14, 2026, 10:30 a.m., Department 001, Spring Street Courthouse
Settlement administrator	Simpluris, (844) 496-0567, [email protected]
Official website	uscarcadiahospitalsettlement.com
Class counsel	Nicholas A. Coulson and Ellyn Gendler of Coulson P.C.; Mike M. Arias, Arnold C. Wang and M. Anthony Jenkins of Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Team LLP

What Is the USC Arcadia Hospital Pixel Tracking Lawsuit About?

The lawsuit says USC Arcadia Hospital installed the Meta Pixel and other tracking technologies on its public website and that those tools shared visitors’ private information with Meta and other third parties. The plaintiffs say that violated users’ privacy.

A pixel is a small piece of code a website owner can add to its pages. It reports what visitors do, such as which pages they open or which forms they fill out, to an outside company, usually for advertising and analytics. Hospitals have faced a wave of these lawsuits because even a visit to a medical website can say something about a person’s health.

The hospital says it did nothing wrong. Both sides settled to avoid the cost and risk of continuing the case, and the Los Angeles County Superior Court granted preliminary approval on September 8, 2026. The settlement is not final until the court grants final approval.

One point worth keeping in mind: the class is defined by a specific action, completing a signup form, not by being a patient or visiting the site. The public settlement materials do not say that anyone’s medical records, diagnoses or treatment details were sent to Meta.

Who Qualifies for the USC Arcadia Hospital Settlement?

You are in the settlement class if you completed a form on the USC Arcadia Hospital website to sign up for email notifications or event updates at any time from February 1, 2022 to January 31, 2023.

The class does not include:

• the judges on the case and their families
• the hospital, its subsidiaries, parent companies, predecessors and successors, any entity it or its parents control, and its current or former officers and directors
• people who properly opt out
• the successors or assigns of anyone excluded

Do you have to be a USC Arcadia Hospital patient? The published definition does not require it. It turns on the signup form, so someone who was never treated there could still qualify. Someone who only browsed the website, or used a different feature, does not qualify just for that.

Do you have to live in California? The class definition does not mention residency. Eligibility is described by the form and the dates.

If you got a notice by mail or email, hospital records show you are a class member. If you think you signed up during the window but never got one, contact the administrator. Your notice carries your unique LoginID, PIN and CyEx activation code, so keep it.

How Much Is the USC Arcadia Hospital Settlement Worth to You?

The $200,000 is the gross fund, not what lands in anyone’s pocket. Several items come out first:

Fund item	Amount
Gross settlement fund	$200,000.00
Requested attorneys’ fees	$61,335.92
Requested attorneys’ expenses	$15,992.25
Requested service award for Michael Merle	$1,500.00
Estimated notice and administration costs, including CyEx codes	$17,766.00
Estimated remaining cash fund	$103,405.83

The fees, expenses and service award are requests, and the court decides the final amounts. Class members can object to the fee request even if they like the rest of the deal. The administration figure is an estimate and may change.

Divide $103,405.83 by the estimated 582 class members and you get about $177.67 each, but only if every one of them files a valid claim and the court approves every deduction. That is arithmetic, not a promised payment. If fewer people claim, each share goes up. Different court-approved costs could move it either way.

Any money left after claims are paid is to be donated to the Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health.

Related article: Fairmont Federal Credit Union $1.78M Data Breach Settlement, Who Qualifies, How to Claim Up to $7,640 by December 18, 2026

What Is CyEx Privacy Shield Pro?

Every class member who stays in the settlement gets an activation code for one year of CyEx Privacy Shield Pro. The service checks the dark web for your personal information and alerts you if it turns up. If fraud happens, a dedicated case manager helps you sort it out.

You do not need a claim form for this benefit. Your code is printed on your notice, and you must activate it by March 15, 2027. The settlement website expects the service to go live on December 15, 2026, if the settlement becomes final, so those dates could shift. Enrollment instructions are on the official CyEx enrollment page.

This is a monitoring service. It does not mean your information was stolen or misused.

How to File a USC Arcadia Hospital Settlement Claim

You must claim by December 7, 2026 to get cash. The process is free. You have two main routes:

1. Online. Open the official claim page and log in with the LoginID and PIN from your notice.
2. By mail or email. Download the claim form from the settlement website and mail it to Merle v. USC Arcadia Hospital, c/o Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 25226, Santa Ana, CA 92799. Mailed claims must be postmarked by December 7, 2026. The administrator also accepts claim forms by email, under the instructions on its site.

Lost your notice? Email [email protected] or call (844) 496-0567 with your full name and mailing address and ask for your LoginID and PIN. Do this early, not on December 6.

Be wary of anyone who asks you to pay to “unlock” or speed up a settlement payment. Class counsel’s fees come out of the fund, not from you.

Your Four Options in the USC Arcadia Hospital Settlement: Claim, Do Nothing, Opt Out or Object

Option	Cash payment?	CyEx Privacy Shield Pro?	Bound by the settlement?	Can you sue on your own?
Submit a claim	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Do nothing	No	Yes (activate by March 15, 2027)	Yes	No
Opt out	No	No	No	Yes
Object	Only if you also file a valid claim	Yes, if you stay in the class	Yes	No

What Happens If You Do Nothing?

You keep the right to the CyEx service, but you get no cash, and you are still bound by the settlement. If it becomes effective, you give up the right to sue USC Arcadia Hospital over the released claims. Doing nothing is a choice with legal consequences, not a neutral one.

How to Opt Out of the USC Arcadia Hospital Settlement

If you opt out, you receive neither the cash nor the CyEx service, you cannot object, and you keep your right to bring your own lawsuit over the same issues. To opt out, mail a signed letter to the administrator, postmarked by December 7, 2026, that includes:

• the case name and number (Merle v. USC Arcadia Hospital, No. 23STCV01900, Los Angeles County Superior Court)
• your full name, address and telephone number
• a clear statement that you want to be excluded from the settlement class
• your signature

Mail it to: Merle v. USC Arcadia Hospital, c/o Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 25226, Santa Ana, CA 92799.

If you are thinking about suing on your own, talk to a lawyer first. Statutes of limitations and other deadlines still apply.

How to Object to the USC Arcadia Hospital Settlement

If you stay in the class but think the settlement or the attorneys’ fees are unfair, you can tell the court. The judge can approve or reject the deal but cannot rewrite it. You can object in person at the December 14 hearing or by letter postmarked by December 7, 2026. The letter must include:

• the case name and number
• your full name, address and telephone number
• whether the objection applies only to you, to part of the class, or to the whole class
• your reasons
• any documents you want the court to consider
• whether you or a lawyer will appear at the hearing, with the lawyer’s name
• your signature

You can object and still file a claim to be paid. You cannot object if you opt out.

What Does the USC Arcadia Hospital Settlement Release?

If you do not opt out, you give up the right to sue USC Arcadia Hospital over the facts alleged in the complaint, or that could have been alleged based on them. The release specifically names claims under California Civil Code § 56 and California Penal Code §§ 631 and 637, plus similar laws in other states. It covers damages, injunctive relief, statutory damages and other remedies tied to the alleged disclosure of personal, confidential medical or genetic information.

The release does not cover medical malpractice or other bodily injury claims, or claims to enforce the settlement itself. This settlement is about website tracking, not every possible dispute with the hospital.

The full wording is in the Settlement Agreement. Read it, or speak with a lawyer, before giving up any rights you care about.

Which Laws Are Behind the USC Arcadia Hospital Pixel Lawsuit?

California’s Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (Civil Code § 56 et seq.). The CMIA limits how California healthcare providers and certain other entities can use and disclose medical information without proper authorization. In pixel cases, a central question is whether the data sent through a tracker counts as protected medical information.

California Invasion of Privacy Act (Penal Code §§ 631 and 637). CIPA addresses certain wiretapping and interception of communications, and the use or disclosure of information obtained that way. Plaintiffs in digital tracking cases argue that website tools intercepted or shared communications without consent. Whether a given pixel meets the legal elements is a fact-specific question, and having a pixel does not by itself prove a violation.

HIPAA. The federal health privacy law sets rules for covered entities, and the hospital specifically denies violating it. HIPAA generally does not let individuals sue for damages directly. Enforcement runs mainly through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. See HHS’s page on filing a health information privacy complaint.

None of this means the hospital broke any of these laws. The settlement is a compromise with no finding of liability.

How Does This Settlement Compare With Other Healthcare Pixel Cases?

Healthcare pixel settlements share a theme, but each one has its own class definition, fund size and deadline, so you cannot assume the rules carry over. If you want to compare, the Fairchild Medical Center Pixel Settlement, Check If You Qualify — Delgado v. Fairchild, No. 24CV08548 is a separate California privacy settlement with its own eligibility rules. The LifeStance Pixel Tracking Settlement: Check If You Qualify — Strong v. LifeStance Health Group, Inc., No. 2:23-cv-00682 involves a mental health provider. And the Allina Health $12.5M Pixel Tracking Settlement Gets Final Approval shows what a larger case looks like once the court signs off.

What Happens at the December 14, 2026 Final Approval Hearing?

The judge will decide whether the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate. The court can look at the benefits, the release, the requested fees and service award, and any timely objections.

• Date and time: Monday, December 14, 2026, 10:30 a.m.
• Location: Department 001, Spring Street Courthouse, 312 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012

You do not have to attend, but you may, at your own expense. The hearing date can change without further notice to class members, so check the official website before planning around it. If the court does not approve the deal, or the parties end it, the settlement becomes void and the lawsuit continues.

When will payments arrive? No payment date has been announced. Cash goes out only after final approval and after the settlement becomes effective, which can depend on whether anyone appeals.

Key Dates for the USC Arcadia Hospital Settlement

Date	Event
February 1, 2022 to January 31, 2023	Class period
September 8, 2026	Preliminary approval granted
December 7, 2026	Deadline to claim, opt out or object
December 14, 2026, 10:30 a.m.	Final approval hearing
December 15, 2026 (expected)	CyEx Privacy Shield Pro expected to go live
March 15, 2027	Last day to activate CyEx Privacy Shield Pro

Should You File a USC Arcadia Hospital Settlement Claim?

For most people, filing is an easy call. It takes a few minutes with your notice in hand, costs nothing, and does not affect the free monitoring. The trade-off is that the cash amount is not guaranteed. Opting out makes sense only if you want to keep your right to sue and are prepared to do it on your own.

Frequently Asked Questions About the USC Arcadia Hospital Settlement

Is the USC Arcadia Hospital settlement real?

Yes. The official website is run by the administrator, Simpluris, and identifies the case as Merle v. USC Arcadia Hospital, No. 23STCV01900, in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Preliminary approval was granted on September 8, 2026. Final approval is still pending.

How much will each person get from the USC Arcadia Hospital settlement?

Nobody has been promised a set amount. Using 582 estimated class members and the proposed deductions, the estimate is about $178 per claimant if everyone files. Real payments may be higher or lower.

What is the USC Arcadia Hospital settlement claim deadline?

December 7, 2026, for claims, opt-outs and written objections. Mailed items must be postmarked by that date.

Do I need to file a claim to get CyEx Privacy Shield Pro?

No. You must stay in the class and activate your code by March 15, 2027.

Is USC Arcadia Hospital admitting it violated privacy laws?

No. The hospital denies wrongdoing, including any HIPAA violation, and the settlement is not a finding of liability.

Can I opt out of the USC Arcadia Hospital settlement and sue separately?

Yes, if you send a timely, valid opt-out letter. You would not receive settlement benefits, and you would have to bring the case yourself, subject to the law and deadlines that apply.

Who do I contact for help with the USC Arcadia Hospital settlement?

Simpluris, the settlement administrator: (844) 496-0567 or [email protected]. By mail: Merle v. USC Arcadia Hospital, c/o Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 25226, Santa Ana, CA 92799.

Sources

1. Official USC Arcadia Hospital Settlement Website
2. Official Settlement FAQ
3. Official Claim Form Page
4. Official Important Dates
5. Official CyEx Enrollment Instructions
6. Settlement Agreement
7. HHS: Filing a Health Information Privacy Complaint

Disclaimer: This article is general legal information, not legal advice. AllAboutLawyer.com is not a law firm, and I am not an attorney.

Researched and written by Israr Ahmad, legal content researcher and founder of AllAboutLawyer.com. All facts verified against the official settlement website and FAQ, claim page and settlement documents run by the administrator, Simpluris (uscarcadiahospitalsettlement.com), as of October 24, 2026. Last Updated: October 24, 2026.