UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

Transcription

1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS If you had a PIP claim denied under a Massachusetts auto policy with Progressive Direct Insurance Company, a class action settlement may entitle you to a payment and affect your rights. A federal court authorized this notice. This is not a solicitation from a lawyer. A Settlement has been reached with Progressive Direct Insurance Company ( Progressive ) in a class action lawsuit about Personal Injury Protection ( PIP ) benefits for medical bills, lost wages, or expenses. The lawsuit claims that Progressive engaged in an unfair and deceptive business practice by having its Massachusetts direct sales website recommend consumers with health insurance to purchase automobile insurance with an $8,000 deductible. Progressive denies any wrongdoing. The parties agreed to the Settlement to avoid the costs and risks of trial. The Settlement includes anyone who was involved in an automobile accident where a PIP claim was denied by Progressive under an included policy (see Question 6). Included policies are Massachusetts automobile insurance policies originally purchased online from Progressive from May l, 2008 through April 27, 2010 containing an $8,000 PIP deductible (see Question 7). The Settlement provides payments of $1,875 for valid claims. Your legal rights are affected even if you do nothing. Please read this notice carefully. YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THIS SETTLEMENT SUBMIT A CLAIM ASK TO BE EXCLUDED OBJECT GO TO A HEARING DO NOTHING The only way to get a payment. Get no benefits from the Settlement. This is the only option that allows you to participate in any other lawsuit against Progressive about the claims in this case. Write to the Court if you don t like the Settlement. Ask to speak in Court about the fairness of the Settlement. Get no payment. Give up rights. These rights and options and the deadlines to exercise them are explained in this notice. The Court in charge of this case still has to decide whether to approve the Settlement. Payments will only be made if the Court approves the Settlement and after any appeals are resolved. Please be patient. PARA UNA NOTIFICACIÓN IN ESPAÑOL, LLAMAR O VISITAR NUESTRO WEBSITE.

2 What This Notice Contains BASIC INFORMATION Why is there a notice? 2. What is this lawsuit about? 3. What is Personal Injury Protection ( PIP )? 4. Why is this a class action? 5. Why is there a Settlement? WHO IS PART OF THE SETTLEMENT? How do I know if I am part of the Settlement? 7. How do I know if my Progressive automobile insurance policy is included? 8. What if I am not sure whether I am included in the Settlement? THE SETTLEMENT BENEFITS What does the Settlement provide? 10. How much will my payment be? 11. When will I receive my payment? 12. What am I giving up to stay in the Class? HOW TO RECEIVE A PAYMENT How can I receive a payment? 14. What if my claim is denied? EXCLUDING YOURSELF FROM THE SETTLEMENT How do I get out of the Settlement? 16. If I do not exclude myself, can I sue Progressive for the same thing later? 17. If I exclude myself, can I still get a payment? THE LAWYERS REPRESENTING YOU Do I have a lawyer in the case? 19. How will the lawyers be paid? OBJECTING TO THE SETTLEMENT How do I tell the Court if I do not like the Settlement? 21. What is the difference between objecting and asking to be excluded? THE FAIRNESS HEARING When and where will the Court decide whether to approve the Settlement? 23. Do I have to attend the hearing? 24. May I speak at the hearing? GETTING MORE INFORMATION How do I get more information? - 2 -

3 BASIC INFORMATION 1. Why is there a notice? A Court authorized this notice because you have a right to know about a proposed Settlement of this class action lawsuit and about all of 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. Judge Saylor of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Boston Division is overseeing this case. This litigation is known as Estrada v. Progressive Direct Insurance Company, No. 12-cv The people who sued are called the Plaintiffs. Progressive is the Defendant. 2. What is this lawsuit about? The lawsuit claims that Progressive engaged in an unfair and deceptive business practice by having its Massachusetts direct sales website recommend consumers with health insurance to purchase automobile insurance with an $8,000 PIP deductible. Progressive denies these claims. 3. What is Personal Injury Protection (PIP)? PIP is a type of car insurance that covers medical bills, lost wages, and funeral and other expenses resulting from a collision. 4. Why is this a class action? In a class action, one or more people called class representatives sue on behalf of themselves and other people with similar claims. All of these people together are the class or class members. In this case, the Class Representatives are Wanda Estrada, Walter Estrada, Jonathan Estrada, and Natalie Estrada. One court resolves the issues for all Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Class. 5. Why is there a Settlement? By agreeing to settle, both sides avoid the cost and risk of a trial, and the people affected will get a chance to receive compensation. The Class Representatives and their attorneys think the Settlement is best for all Class Members. The Settlement does not mean that Progressive did anything wrong. WHO IS PART OF THE SETTLEMENT? If you received a mailed notice of the Settlement, then you are a Class Member. But even if you did not receive a notice, you may be a Class Member, as described below. 6. How do I know if I am part of the Settlement? The Class includes anyone who had a PIP claim wholly denied by Progressive due to an $8,000 deductible under a policy described in Question How do I know if my Progressive automobile insurance policy is included? To be included: The Massachusetts automobile insurance policy must have been initially purchased from Progressive over its website from May 1, 2008 through April 27, 2010; The named insured must have answered yes to the health insurance question during purchase stating that he or she was covered by health insurance; and The automobile insurance policy contained an $8,000 PIP deductible. 8. What if I am not sure whether I am included in the Settlement? If you are not sure whether you are included in the Settlement, you may call or visit com for information, or call Class Counsel listed in Question 20. You may also write with questions to the Settlement Administrator, c/o Rust Consulting, Inc., P.O. Box 2439, Faribault, MN

4 THE SETTLEMENT BENEFITS 9. What does the Settlement provide? Under the Settlement, Progressive will provide payments to eligible Class Members who submit valid claims for denied PIP coverage. The majority of the costs to administer the Settlement as well as attorneys fees, costs, and expenses and the special service payments to the Class Representatives who helped with the lawsuit will be paid separately by Progressive (see Question 19). More details are in a document called the Settlement Agreement, which is available at How much will my payment be? You can get $1,875 if you submit a timely, valid Claim Form (see Question 13). 11. When will I receive my payment? Class Members who are entitled to payments will receive their payments after the Court grants final approval to the Settlement and after any appeals are resolved (see The Fairness Hearing below). If there are appeals, resolving them can take time. Please be patient. 12. What am I giving up to stay in the Class? Unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you will give up your right to sue Progressive for the claims being resolved by this Settlement. The specific claims you are giving up against Progressive are described in Section XV of the Settlement Agreement. You will be releasing Progressive and all related people as described in the Settlement Agreement. The Settlement Agreement is available at www. masspipclaims.com. The Settlement Agreement describes the released claims with specific descriptions, so read it carefully. If you have any questions you can talk to Class Counsel listed in Question 20 for free or you can, of course, talk to your own lawyer if you have questions about what this means. 13. How can I receive a payment? HOW TO RECEIVE A PAYMENT To ask for a payment, simply complete and submit a Claim Form. Claims must be submitted online at com or by mail no later than February 28, 2016 or 30 days after final approval of the settlement, whichever is later. If you did not receive a Claim Form in the mail, Claim Forms are available at the website or by calling Mailed Claim Forms should be sent to: Settlement Administrator c/o Rust Consulting, Inc. PO Box 2439 Faribault, MN If you are not on the list of known Class Members provided by Progressive (the Progressive List ), you may be required to provide additional documentation with your Claim Form. 14. What if my claim is denied? There is a process in the Settlement Agreement to resolve disagreements between you and Progressive over whether you are eligible. You will be informed in writing if your claim is denied. You will have 30 days to challenge that decision by filing a written response with the Court. More details are in the Settlement Agreement available at EXCLUDING YOURSELF FROM THE SETTLEMENT If you don t want a payment from this Settlement, and you want to keep the right to sue Progressive about the issues in this case, then you must take steps to get out of the Settlement. This is called excluding yourself or it is sometimes referred to as opting out of the Class

5 15. How do I get out of the Settlement? To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must mail a letter or other written document to the Estrada Settlement Administrator. Your request must include: Your name, address, telephone number, and policy number (if known); A statement that you want to be excluded from the Settlement in Estrada v. Progressive Direct Insurance Company, No. 12-cv-30020; and Your signature. You must mail your exclusion request, postmarked no later than December 30, 2015, to the Settlement Administrator, c/o Rust Consulting, Inc., P.O. Box 2439, Faribault, MN If I do not exclude myself, can I sue Progressive for the same thing later? No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up the right to sue Progressive for the claims that this Settlement resolves. 17. If I exclude myself, can I still get a payment? No. You will not get a payment if you exclude yourself from the Settlement. 18. Do I have a lawyer in the case? THE LAWYERS REPRESENTING YOU Yes. The Court appointed the following law firm as Class Counsel : Connor, Morneau & Olin, LLP and Alekman DiTusa, LLC. You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense. 19. How will the lawyers be paid? Class Counsel will ask the Court for attorneys fees and expenses of up to $2 million. The Court will decide the amount of fees and expenses to award. Class Counsel will also request that special service payments of $2,500 each be paid to the Class Representatives for their service as representatives on behalf of the whole Class. These fees, expenses, and service payments will be paid by Progressive separately and will not reduce Class Members payments. OBJECTING TO THE SETTLEMENT 20. How do I tell the Court if I do not like the Settlement? You can object to the Settlement if you don t like some part of it. The Court will consider your views. To object, you must submit a letter that includes the following: Your name, address, telephone number, and policy number (if known); A statement saying that you object to the Settlement in Estrada v. Progressive Direct Insurance Company, No. 12-cv-30020; The reasons you object to the Settlement, along with any supporting materials; Whether you intend to appear at the Fairness Hearing (see Question 22); Your signature. You must mail your objection to each of the following addresses, and your objection must be postmarked by December 30, 2015: COURT CLASS COUNSEL DEFENSE COUNSEL Clerk of the Court United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts 1 Courthouse Way Boston, MA Jeffrey Morneau Connor, Morneau & Olin, LLP 273 State Street Springfield, MA Ryan Alekman Alekman DiTusa, LLC 1550 Main Street, Suite 401 Springfield, MA A. Hugh Scott Choate, Hall & Stewart Two International Place Boston, MA

6 21. What is the difference between objecting and asking to be excluded? Objecting is simply telling the Court that you don t like something about the Settlement. You can object only if you don t exclude yourself from the Class. Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you don t want to be part of the Class. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object because the case no longer affects you. THE FAIRNESS HEARING The Court will hold a hearing to decide whether to approve the Settlement and any requests for fees and expenses. You may attend and you may ask to speak, but you do not have to. 22. When and where will the Court decide whether to approve the Settlement? The Court will hold a Fairness Hearing at 2:00 p.m. on January 29, 2016, at the Courtroom 2, Third Floor of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, 1 Courthouse Way, Boston, Massachusetts The hearing may be moved to a different date or time without additional notice, so it is a good idea to check or call At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. If there are objections, the Court will consider them and will listen to people who have asked to speak at the hearing. The Court may also decide how much to pay Class Counsel. After the hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the Settlement. We do not know how long these decisions will take. 23. Do I have to attend the hearing? No. Class Counsel will answer questions the Court may have. But, you or your own lawyer is welcome to attend at your expense. If you send an objection, you do not have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as you mailed your written objection on time, the Court will consider it. You may also have your own lawyer attend, but it is not necessary. 24. May I speak at the hearing? You may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Fairness Hearing. To do so, you must include that information in your objection as described in Question How do I get more information? GETTING MORE INFORMATION This notice summarizes the proposed Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement. You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreement at You also may write with questions to the Settlement Administrator, c/o Rust Consulting, Inc., P.O. Box 2439, Faribault, MN , or call the toll-free number at , or call Class Counsel listed in Question 20. You can also get a Claim Form at the website