NOTICE OF PROPOSED CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

Transcription

1 Patricia Buzenes v. Nuvell Financial Services LLC, et al. Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. BC The Court ordered this Notice This is not a solicitation from a lawyer and You are not being sued NOTICE OF PROPOSED CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT If your vehicle was repossessed or voluntarily surrendered and you received a Notice of Our Plan to Sell Property from Nuvell Financial Services LLC or Nuvell National Auto Finance LLC dba National Auto Finance Company at any time between February 9, 2005 and August 2, 2011, you may receive benefits from this class action settlement. The settlement resolves a lawsuit over whether Nuvell Financial Services LLC and Nuvell National Auto Finance LLC dba Nuvell National Auto Finance Company (collectively, Nuvell ) violated California law relating to post vehicle repossession notices sent to consumers. The settlement will provide relief from $32,085, of outstanding post-repossession deficiency balances and the deletion of credit reporting by Nuvell. Customers who made payments to Nuvell on their deficiency balances will be entitled to seek a refund of 75% of the amount they paid if they timely return a claim form as described below. The total amount of deficiency balances collected by Nuvell is approximately $1,620, The Court ordered that this notice be sent to you, because you have a right to know about a proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit, and about your choices, before the Court decides whether to approve the settlement. If the Court approves the settlement, you will be informed of the progress of the settlement. Your legal rights are affected whether you act or don t act. Read this notice carefully. YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THIS SETTLEMENT: Exclude Yourself Object You get no debt relief, credit repair, or monetary refund. This is the only option that allows you to be part of any other lawsuit against Nuvell Financial Services LLC or Nuvell National Auto Finance LLC about the legal claims in this case. Unless you exclude yourself, you may tell the Court about why you don t like this settlement. However, you will remain in the Class and give up the right to be part of any other lawsuit against Nuvell Financial Services LLC or Nuvell National Auto Finance LLC about the legal claims in this case. 1 To exclude yourself from the Class, you must send a written request to the Class Administrator no later than October 16, To object to the settlement, you must send a written objection to the Class Administrator no later than October 16, 2015.

2 Submit a Claim Do Nothing If you paid any part of a post-repossession deficiency balance, you may submit the attached Claim Form to receive a refund of 75% of the amount you paid. You will get credit repair and you will give up the right to be part of any other lawsuit against Nuvell Financial Services LLC or Nuvell National Auto Finance LLC about the legal claims in this case. If you paid any part of a post-repossession deficiency balance, you will not receive a refund if you do not submit the attached Claim Form. To submit a claim for a refund, you must send the attached Claim Form to the Class Administrator no later than October 16, These rights and options, and the deadlines to exercise them, are more fully explained in this notice. The Court in charge of the case is the California Superior Court County of Los Angeles, and the case is entitled Buzenes v. Nuvell Financial Services LLC, et al, Case No. BC The Court still has to decide whether to approve the settlement. The benefits, including debt relief, credit repair, and monetary refund will occur after the Court approves the settlement and any appeals are resolved. Please be patient. What Is this Lawsuit About? This lawsuit alleges that Nuvell violated California laws regarding the sending of post-vehicle repossession notices to consumers. The person who sued is Patricia Buzenes; she is called the Plaintiff. The companies that Plaintiff sued are Nuvell Financial Services LLC and Nuvell National Auto Finance LLC dba Nuvell National Auto Finance Company; they are called the Defendants. Plaintiff claims that Defendants sent consumers post-vehicle repossession notices that did not disclose all the information required by California law. As a result, Plaintiff claims that Defendants are not entitled to collect any post-repossession deficiency balances from consumers who received the defective notices. Defendants deny they did anything wrong. Who Is A Class Member? In a class action, one or more people (in this case Plaintiff Patricia Buzenes) sue and seek relief on behalf of a larger group of people who may have similar claims. Together, all these people form a Class and are called Class Members, and the Plaintiff acts as a Class Representative. One court will resolve the issues for all Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Class. The parties have agreed to treat the Action as a Class Action for settlement purposes only. 2

3 The Class Members are defined as all persons: a) who purchased a motor vehicle in California and, as part of that transaction, entered into an agreement subject to California s Rees- Levering Automobile Sales Finance Act, Civil Code 2981, et seq.; b) whose contract was assigned to Nuvell Financial Services LLC or Nuvell National Auto Finance LLC; c) whose motor vehicle was repossessed or voluntarily surrendered to Nuvell; d) who were issued an NOI by Nuvell Financial Services, LLC or National Auto Finance Company, Inc. at any time from February 9, 2005 through August 2, 2011; and e) from whom Nuvell Financial Services LLC or Nuvell National Auto Finance LLC claim a deficiency balance is owing. Excluded from the Class are (i) persons against whom a judgment for a Deficiency Balance has been obtained and (ii) persons who have filed for bankruptcy. You received this notice because Defendants records show that you are a Class Member. If you have further questions about whether you are included in the Class, you may contact Class Counsel at the address and telephone number stated at the bottom of this notice. Why Is There a Settlement? The Court has not decided who is right or wrong in this lawsuit. There has been no trial. Nevertheless, the parties are willing to enter into a settlement to end the lawsuit. This way, the parties can avoid the cost of a trial, and the Class Members can obtain relief. The settlement is a compromise and is not an admission by Nuvell of any fault, wrongdoing, or liability. The settlement must be approved by the Court in order for Class Members to receive the benefits described below. If the settlement is not approved by the Court, the parties will go back to Court for a trial. What Are the Benefits of the Settlement? Nuvell agrees not to collect anymore money from Class Members on their post-repossession deficiency balances. The outstanding deficiency balances total $32,085, This means that if there was a balance remaining on your contract following the repossession or voluntary surrender, Nuvell will not try to collect this amount. In addition, Nuvell agrees to instruct the credit reporting agencies to delete the tradelines from Class Members credit reports. You do NOT need to do anything to receive these benefits. Nuvell also agrees to refund 75% of the amounts that Class Members paid on their postrepossession deficiency balances. This means that if you paid Nuvell any amount toward satisfying a post-repossession deficiency balance, you are eligible to receive a refund of 75% of this amount. You MUST submit the attached Claim Form, postmarked no later than October 16, 2015 to receive a refund. The maximum recovery would be $1,215,330 if all Class Members, who paid any amount of the deficiency, submit the claim form. 3

4 Nuvell affirms that there are 2,897 Members of the Class. The total outstanding deficiency balances for the Class are approximately $32,085, The total amount of deficiency balances collected from Class Members is approximately $1,620, What are the Tax Consequences of the Settlement? Any benefits you receive may or may not be the subject of state or federal taxation, depending on your circumstances. Counsel for the parties in this lawsuit are not tax attorneys and you are advised to seek separate legal advice on matters of taxation. If you have concerns regarding taxation of the benefits of the case you may want to exclude yourself and receive no benefits. See, How Do I Exclude Myself From the Class below. Will I Give Anything Up to Receive the Settlement Benefits? In exchange for the benefits described above, you must give up the right to sue or be part of any other lawsuit against Nuvell Financial Services LLC and/or Nuvell National Auto Finance LLC dba Nuvell National Auto Finance Company about the claims based on the facts alleged in this lawsuit. In addition, you will be bound by all orders of the Court and any judgment in this case. The settlement agreement includes a Release of Claims, which describes exactly what you will give up to receive the settlement benefits. The exact wording of the release of claims in the settlement agreement and release is as follows. The term NOI, as used in the release below, refers to the post-repossession Notice of Our Plan to Sell Property that Nuvell sent to you: All Settlement Class members who do not request exclusion as set forth herein shall and hereby do release any and all claims, liens, demands, causes of action, obligations, damages, and liabilities, known or unknown, that they have or may have against Nuvell and any of its present and former officers, directors, attorneys, accountants, agents, representatives, employees, heirs, insurance carriers, predecessors, affiliates, agents, and successors in interest arising out of any claims based on the facts asserted on their behalf in their Action; this release includes any claims arising out of Nuvell s sending of postrepossession NOI, the content of that NOI, the assertion of a Deficiency Balance following repossession, the collection or attempted collection of the deficiency, and the reporting to Credit Reporting Agencies of the amounts remaining on the account after repossession. The Settlement Class members expressly understand and acknowledge that it is possible that unknown losses or claims exist or that present losses may have been underestimated in amount of severity. If you wish to keep the right to sue Nuvell Financial Services LLC and Nuvell National Auto Finance LLC dba Nuvell National Auto Finance Company about the legal issues in this case, you must exclude yourself from the Class. How Do I Exclude Myself from the Class? If you are a Class Member, you are included in the settlement, unless you request to be excluded. If you do not want to be a part of this lawsuit, you can exclude yourself from the Class. If you exclude yourself, you will not be entitled to receive any benefits of this settlement. You will not 4

5 be bound by any judgment or release in this lawsuit and you will keep your right to sue Nuvell Financial Services LLC and/or Nuvell National Auto Finance LLC dba Nuvell National Auto Finance Company on your own if you want. If you exclude yourself from the Class, you may not object to the proposed settlement. To exclude yourself from the Class, you must send a written request for exclusion to the Class Administrator, Heffler Claims Group, by First-Class Mail at the following address: P.O. Box 58969, Philadelphia, PA Your request must be postmarked no later than October 16, Be sure to include all of the following information in your request: (1) The name of the lawsuit, Buzenes v. Nuvell Financial Services LLC, et al. Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. BC (2) Your full name, current address, and telephone number (3) A statement of your intent to exclude yourself, (4) Your signature and the date you signed it. If you do not follow these procedures to exclude yourself your rights will be determined in this Action if this settlement receives final judicial approval. Can I Object to the Settlement? If you do not exclude yourself from the Class, you may object to the settlement if you disagree with any part of it. To object to the settlement, you must send a written objection to Heffler Claims Group, by First-Class Mail at the following address: P.O. Box 58969, Philadelphia, PA Your written objection must be postmarked no later than October 16, Be sure to include all of the following information in your written objection: (1) The name of the lawsuit, Buzenes v. Nuvell Financial Services LLC, et al. Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. BC (2) Your full name, current address, telephone number, (3) the reasons you object to the settlement, (4) any supporting evidence and briefing you wish to have considered in support of the objection, (5) your signature and the date of your signature. If you object, you are not required to attend the Final Approval Hearing, but you may do so if you choose. Please state in your written objection if you intend to attend the Final Approval Hearing. What Happens If I Do Nothing? If you do nothing at all and the settlement is approved by the Court, Nuvell will waive further collection on your deficiency balance and ask the credit reporting agencies to delete the Nuvell tradeline on your credit report. You will also be bound by the Release of Claims described above. However, if you do nothing at all, you will not receive a refund of any amount you paid following the repossession or surrender of your vehicle. To receive a refund you must submit the attached Claim Form to the Class Administrator, postmarked no later than October 16, Do I Have a Lawyer in this Lawsuit? The Court has approved of the law firms of Kemnitzer, Barron & Krieg, LLP in San Francisco, CA; Chavez & Gertler, LLP in Mill Valley, CA; and Rosner & Mansfield, LLP in San Diego, CA to represent you and all other Class Members. These lawyers are referred to as Class Counsel. You do not have to pay Class Counsel anything at all. Instead, Defendants have agreed to pay Class Counsel to compensate them for their attorneys fees and expenses in this case. The exact amount that Defendants will pay will be determined by the Court at the Final Approval Hearing described below. Attorneys fees and costs will be paid by Nuvell and will not diminish your benefits under the settlement. If you wish to hire your own separate attorney, you have the right to do so at your own expense. 5

6 When Will the Court Decide Whether to Approve the Settlement? The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing to decide whether to approve of the proposed settlement. The Final Approval Hearing is scheduled on November 16, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. (subject to change by the Court without further notice), in Los Angeles Superior Court, Courtroom 323, 600 S Commonwealth Ave, Los Angeles, CA At this Hearing, the Court will determine whether the proposed settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate. The Court will also decide the amount of attorneys fees to be paid to Class Counsel and the amount of any service award to the Class Representative. Class Counsel will request that the Court award fees and costs in the amount of $500,000. Defendant Nuvell has agreed not to oppose Class Counsel s request for fees and cost in this amount. However, it is subject to Court approval. In addition, Class Counsel will request that the Court award the Class Representative a service award of $1,500 for her service to the Class. Nuvell has agreed not to oppose this request. However, that amount is also subject to Court approval. The Court may award less than these amounts. In addition, Nuvell has agreed to the cost for Class Administration, which will be paid separate and apart from any benefits to the Class. It is estimated the settlement administration will cost approximately $33,000. This settlement will not take effect unless the Court approves it at the Final Approval Hearing. If the Court does not approve the settlement, Class Members will not receive the benefits described in this notice, and the rights of the parties will be determined at trial. It will be as if no settlement had been reached. How Do I Get More Information? This notice is only a summary of the proposed settlement. You may call the Class Administrator directly for updates regarding the Court hearing dates. If you have additional questions concerning this lawsuit or the settlement, you may contact Class Counsel listed below. The Settlement Agreement, along with records and other papers regarding this lawsuit, are on file with the Court and may be accessed online for a small fee on the Court s website, known as LAeCourtONLINE at After arriving at the website, you will be required to register and create an account for the site. You may search by the party names in this case or by the case number. Images of every document filed in this case may be viewed for a small charge through this website. You may also view images of every document filed in the case free of charge by using one of the computer terminal kiosks available at each court location that has a facility for civil filings. Please do not contact the Judge. Class Administrator: Heffler Claims Group P.O. Box Philadelphia, PA Telephone: (855) Class Counsel: KEMNITZER, BARRON & KRIEG LLP Bryan Kemnitzer 445 Bush Street, 6 th Floor San Francisco, CA Telephone: (415)