Stemple v. QC Holdings, Inc.

Filing 117

ORDER Granting 116 Plaintiff's Ex Parte Application for Approval of Settlement Distribution Plan. Accordingly, the Court amends its previous Final Approval Order 113 . Signed by Judge Cynthia Bashant on 09/05/2017. (ajs)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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PAUL STEMPLE, individually and
on behalf of all others similarly
situated,
Plaintiff,

Case No. 12-cv-01997-BAS(WVG)
ORDER GRANTING
PLAINTIFF’S EX PARTE
APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL
OF SETTLEMENT
DISTRIBUTION PLAN

v.
QC HOLDINGS, INC.,

[ECF No. 116]

Defendant.

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Presently before the Court is Plaintiff Paul Stemple’s unopposed Ex Parte

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Motion for Approval of Settlement Distribution Plan. (ECF No. 116.) Plaintiff

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commenced this class action against Defendant QC Holdings, Inc. seeking relief for

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violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227. (ECF No. 1.)

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After several years of litigation, the Court granted the Motion for Final Approval of

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the Class Action Settlement (“Final Approval Order”) on November 7, 2016. (ECF

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No. 113.) This approval included, among other things, that a claims administrator

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would pay each Settlement Class Members their pro rata share of the Settlement

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Fund, or approximately $1,208. (ECF No. 113 at 2, 7.)

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Plaintiff now requests that the Court modify the distribution plan for the

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settlement proceeds to the Settlement Class Members in the following ways. First,

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Defendant will send one settlement check in the amount of $1,163.24 to the validly

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claiming Settlement Class Members who provided the claim administrator

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(Kurtzman Carson Consultants, or “KCC”) with their valid tax identification

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information. Currently, this includes 457 out of 664 Settlement Class Members.

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Second, Defendant will also mail two settlement checks, one in an amount slightly

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under $600 (approximately $577) in 2017 and the other in the amount of the

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remaining portion in January 2018, to the validly claiming Settlement Class Members

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who did not provide KCC with their valid tax identification information by

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November 27, 2017. These two checks will total approximately $1,155.00 and

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account for the additional costs associated with sending two checks instead of one.

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Currently, this includes 207 out of 664 Settlement Class Members.

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Plaintiff makes this request largely due to the Internal Revenue Service’s

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requirement that any individual recovery exceeding $600 must be accompanied by a

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tax identification number. (Mot. at 2.) The IRS penalizes $250 for each check

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without the required tax identification information. KCC sent out requests for the

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tax identification numbers to every Settlement Class Member, and only received 457

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valid tax identification numbers to date. (Id. at 2). Hence, for the remaining 207

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Settlement Class Members, Plaintiff seeks to send these individuals two checks,

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neither of which will exceed the $600 threshold, to avoid the IRS’s penalty and

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maximize these individuals’ recovery. (Id. at 4.) Plaintiff has also made the final

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calculation of the settlement proceeds, which amounts to $1,173.19 per claim for 664

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valid claims. After dividing the costs of distributing the settlement checks among

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the Settlement Class Member, each member will receive $1,163.24.

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Settlement Class Members who did not provide a valid tax identification number will

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bear the additional cost of distributing two checks instead of one, and their individual

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recovery will be further reduced to approximately $1,155.00. The Final Approval
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Order approximated $1,208 per claim for the individual recovery amount for 645

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valid claims. The Court made previous fairness determinations in its Final Approval

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Order. Likewise, the Court finds that this amendment to the Final Approval Order is

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fair and approval is warranted.

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For the reasons stated both in this Order as well as its Final Approval Order,

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the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s ex parte motion for approval of the settlement

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distribution plan (ECF No. 116). Accordingly, the Court amends its previous Final

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Approval Order (ECF No. 113) in the following ways:

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1) The Court inserts the following item to its Order as item six: “(6) The Claim

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Administrator shall mail—in 2017—one settlement check in the amount of

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$1,163.24 to the validly claiming Settlement Class Members who provided

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the Claim Administrator with their valid tax identification information.

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Currently, this includes 457 Settlement Class Members. The Claim

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Administrator will also mail—in 2017 and in January 2018—two

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settlement checks, one in an amount slightly under $600 (approximately

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$577) and the other in the amount of the remaining portion owed, to the

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validly claiming Settlement Class Members who did not provide the Claim

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Administrator with their valid tax identification information by November

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27, 2017. Both checks will be accompanied by an explanatory letter. These

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two settlement checks should amount to approximately $1,155.00 to

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account for the additional costs associated with sending two checks instead

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of one. Currently, this includes 207 Settlement Class Members.”

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2) Each of the following item numbers will be renumbered accordingly to

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account for this additional item (e.g. item six becomes item seven and so

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on).

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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DATED: September 5, 2017
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