Taylor v. Merchants Credit Adjustors, Inc. et al

Filing 83

FINAL ORDER APPROVING CLASS SETTLEMENT. This action is hereby dismissed with prejudice in all respects with respect to all defendants. This Court retains jurisdiction until all matters pertaining to the settlement are concluded. A separate Judgment in conformity with this Final Order Approving Class Settlement will issue this date. Ordered by Senior Judge Joseph F. Bataillon. (ADB)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEBRASKA

JANNETTE TAYLOR, on behalf of
herself and all others similarly situated,
Plaintiff,

v.
MERCHANTS CREDIT ADJUSTERS,
INC. and PANSING, HOGAN, ERNST
& BACHMAN, LLP,
Defendants.

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Case No. 8:16-CV-452

FINAL ORDER APPROVING
CLASS SETTLEMENT

Pursuant to the Memorandum and Order entered this date,
1.

Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3),

the above-captioned case is hereby finally certified, for settlement
purposes only, as a class action on behalf of the following class of
plaintiffs (the “Class Members”) with respect to the claims asserted in
this action:
A.

(i) All persons with addresses in Nebraska (ii) against
whom Defendants filed a county court collection complaint
in the form of Exhibit A attached to the plaintiff’s complaint
(Filing No. 1-1 at 1-3) (iii) in an attempt to collect an alleged
debt (iv) which was for personal, family, or household
purposes (v) during the period one year prior to the date of
filing this action.

B.

(i) All persons with addresses in Nebraska (ii) to whom
Defendants sent, or caused to be sent Requests for
Admissions in the form of Exhibit C attached to the
plaintiff’s complaint (Filing No. 1-1 at 5-7) (iii) in an attempt
to collect an alleged debt (iv) which was for personal,
family, or household purposes (v) during the period one

year prior to the date of filing this action.
C.

(i) All persons with addresses in Nebraska (ii) against
whom Defendants filed a county court collection complaint
in the form of Exhibit A (Filing No. 1-1 at 1-3) (iii) in an
attempt to collect an alleged debt (iv) which was for
personal, family, or household purposes (v) during the
period four years prior to the date of filing this action.

D.

(i) All persons with addresses in Nebraska (ii) to whom
Defendants sent, or caused to be sent Requests for
Admissions in the form of Exhibit C (Filing No. 1-1 at 57) (iii) in an attempt to collect an alleged debt (iv) which
was for personal, family, or household purposes (v)
during the period four years prior to the date of filing this
action.

2.

Pursuant to Rule 23, the Court finally certifies Plaintiff

Jannette Taylor as the Class Representative and William L. Reinbrecht
and Pamela A. Car of the law firm Car & Reinbrecht and Tregg R. Lunn of
the Law Office of Tregg R. Lunn, as Class Counsel.
The Class Settlement Agreement (“Agreement”) (Filing No.

3.

67-1) is finally approved and incorporated herein. All capitalized terms
used herein shall have the meanings defined in the Agreement.

The

Agreement shall be consummated in accordance with the terms and
provisions thereof, except as amended by any order issued by this
Court.

The parties are hereby directed to perform the terms of the

Agreement.
4.

This Final Order Approving Class Settlement is binding on all

Class Members, except those individuals identified in the Affidavit of
Kelly Kratz of Dahl Administration, LLC (Filing No. 78-1), who validly and
timely excluded themselves from the class.

5.

The Class Representative, Class Members, and their

successors and assigns are permanently barred and enjoined from
instituting or prosecuting, either individually or as a class, or in any other
capacity, all claims, whether known or unknown, against Defendants
and/or Defendants’ principals, members, subsidiaries, and affiliate entities,
partners, officers, directors, shareholders, managers, employees, heirs,
executors, administrators, agents, representatives, successors, assigns,
insurance carriers, clients and attorneys that arise from or are related to
the allegations made and/or those that could have been made in Plaintiff’s
Complaint, including but not limited to all claims arising from the debt
collection Complaints and discovery used by Defendants from October 3,
2012 through the date of preliminary class certification.

The claims

released by the Settlement Agreement dated October 3, 2017, are
compromised, settled, released, discharged, and dismissed with prejudice
by virtue of these proceedings and this order.

Nothing in this Final

Order Approving Class Settlement or in the Class Settlement Agreement
prevents a Class Member from defending a county court collection action
brought against them by Merchant Credit Adjusters, Inc.
6.

This Final Order Approving Class Settlement is not, and shall

not be construed, as an admission by Merchant Credit Adjusters, Inc. or
Pansing Hogan Ernst & Bachman, LLP of any liability or wrongdoing in this
or in any other proceeding.
7.

The following individual opted out of the class and therefore is not

bound by this order: Mary K. Vannoy.
8.

The claims administrator is hereby authorized to make payment to

all class members of the FDCPA Class No. 1 and FDCPA Class No. 2 in the
amount of each class member’s pro rata share of Settlement Fund No. 1 plus the
funds remaining after payment of claims from Settlement Fund No. 2. The claims
administrator is further authorized to distribute Settlement Fund No. 2 to the
members of NCPA Class No. 1 and NCPA Class No. 2, as set forth in Filing No.
81 (Hearing Exhibit 1) and the Spreadsheet at Filing No. 78-5.
9.

The following seven class members submitted claims after

April 19, 2018, which was agreed as the final cut-off date:
NAME
Patrick W.
Bowen
Terrance J.
Lee
Amy L.
Archibald
April
Cravens
Bankston
Audwin J.
Brown
Tige
Heacock
Cheryl
Torrez

ATTORNEY
FEES PAID
$202.71

INTEREST
PAID
-0-

TOTAL

$238.67

-0-

$238.67

-0-

-0-

-0-

-0-

-0-

-0-

$44.06

-0-

$44.06

$72.25

-0-

$72.25

$379.64

$582.75

$962.39

$202.71

The class members who submitted untimely claims may be paid from cy
pres funds. If there are insufficient funds to be used from the cy pres
award the class members submitting untimely claims will be paid on a pro
rata basis from the available cy pres funds.

10.

This action is hereby dismissed with prejudice in all respects with

respect to all defendants. This Court retains jurisdiction until all matters
pertaining to the settlement are concluded.
11.

A separate Judgment in conformity with this Final Order

Approving Class Settlement will issue this date.
Dated this 23rd day of May, 2018.

BY THE COURT:

__s/ Joseph F. Bataillon__________
Joseph F. Bataillon
Senior United States District Judge