Luster v. Wells Fargo Dealer Services, Inc., No. 1:15-cv-01058-TWT, Doc. 60 (N.D. Ga. Feb. 23, 2017)
UPDATE: The Court granted final approval to the settlement on Nov. 8, 2017.
ATLANTA, June 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A proposed settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against Wells Fargo Dealer Services, Inc., a division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. ("Wells Fargo"). The lawsuit alleges Wells Fargo violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA") by using an automatic telephone dialing system and/or an artificial or prerecorded voice to initiate calls or text messages to cell phones ("Automatic Calls") in connection with automobile retail installment sale contracts without prior express consent. Wells Fargo denies the allegations, and the Court has not decided who is right. Instead, both sides agreed to a settlement.
You are included in the settlement as a Settlement Class Member if you received an Automatic Call from Wells Fargo in connection with an automobile retail installment sale contract between April 1, 2011 and March 30, 2016.
Wells Fargo has agreed to create a $14,834,058 Settlement Fund. The Fund will be used to make cash payments to Settlement Class Members who submit valid claims and to pay Class Counsel's attorneys' fees and costs (up to $4,450,217.40), a service award to the Class Representative (up to $20,000), and settlement administration costs. Settlement Class Member's payments are estimated to be between $20 and $50, but they will depend on the total number of approved claims that are filed.
To receive payment, you must complete and submit a valid Claim Form by September 20, 2017. If you received a Postcard Notice in the mail you may file a claim using the detachable Claim Form, or online or by phone using the Claim ID provided on the front of the card. If you did not receive a Postcard Notice in the mail, you may print a Claim Form from www.LusterWellsFargoTCPA.com and mail it to the address on the form. Claim Forms are also available by calling 1-844-700-3707.
If you don't want a payment from this Settlement, and you want to keep the right to sue or continue to sue Wells Fargo on your own about the legal issues in this case, then you must request exclusion from the Settlement by sending a letter to the Claims Administrator by August 21, 2017www.LusterWellsFargoTCPA.com. Unless you exclude yourself, you are choosing to stay in the Settlement and you are releasing Wells Fargo from the legal claims resolved by this Settlement. The Released Claims are described in full in the Settlement Agreement.
If you don't exclude yourself, you can object to any part of the Settlement. You must file your objection with the Court and mail it to Class Counsel and Counsel for Wells Fargo by August 21, 2017.
If you are a Settlement Class Member and you choose to do nothing, you will not receive a payment, you will be bound by the Settlement, and you will release Wells Fargo from the legal claims resolved by this settlement.
The Court will hold a hearing on November 2, 2017 to decide whether to approve the Settlement, Class Counsel's request for attorneys' fees and expenses, and the Class Representative's service award. You may attend, but it is not required. If you wish to hire your own attorney, you may do so at your own expense.
For more information, including the full Notice and Settlement Agreement, www.LusterWellsFargoTCPA.com.