1. Why was this notice issued?

A Court authorized this notice to inform you about the proposed Settlement and your rights. Before any final judgment is entered, the Court will have a hearing to decide whether to approve the Settlement. This notice is only a summary of the Settlement, the lawsuit, and your legal rights. More details about the proposed Settlement, the date when appeals are no longer allowed and the Settlement is final, deadlines, and your options are available in a longer document called the Settlement Agreement. You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreement by visiting the Important Documents page.

The lawsuit is known as Meeks v. Consumer Adjustment Company, Inc., No. 3:21-cv-3266-VC (N.D. Cal.). Judge Vince Chhabria of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California is overseeing the case. The people who sued are called “Plaintiffs” or “Named Plaintiffs”; the company that they sued is called “CACi” or the “Defendant.”

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2. What is this lawsuit about?

The lawsuit claims that CACi violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and California law when it: (1) reported certain defaulted Great Plains, Plain Green, and MobiLoans debts to the consumer reporting agencies, (2) contacted consumers about these debts and represented that there were outstanding balances on these loans, and (3) collected or attempted to collect money for these loans. CACi denies these claims and that it did anything wrong.

The Court did not decide whether either side was right or wrong. Instead, both sides agreed to the Settlement to resolve the case and provide benefits to consumers.

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3. Why is this a class action?

A class action lawsuit tries to bring similar claims into one case in one court. In a class action, one or more people called “Class Representatives” (in this case, Elettra Meeks, Joseph Delacruz, Stephanie Laguna, and Amber Leonard) bring the case to court. They have their names listed in the title of the case. They sue on behalf of themselves and other people who have similar claims — called the Class or Class Members — which in this case may include you. One court resolves the issues for everyone in the Class. The Class Representatives filed this case as a proposed class action.

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4. Why is there a proposed Settlement?

The Court has not decided which side is right or wrong in this case. Instead, both sides agreed to a settlement to avoid the costs and risks of a lengthy trial and appeals process. Class Members will receive the benefits described in this notice. The parties think the proposed Settlement is best for all Class Members.

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5. What are the different Settlements in this case?

There are two Settlements in this case. The Settlements provide both injunctive relief and money damages to certain consumers. An injunction occurs when a court orders a person or company to do or not to do something.

The parties agreed to provide additional Court-ordered changes to CACi’s business practices (the “Settlement”), as well as the possibility that certain consumers paid money to CACi for the defaulted Plain Green, Great Plains, and MobiLoans debts (the “Money Class”) receive a payment. The Court will hold a final hearing to decide whether to approve the Settlement on November 9, 2023.

If the Court approves the Settlement and you are part of the Money Class, you will receive a notice by mail/email that will inform you about the monetary benefits you will receive from the Settlement.

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6. How do I know if I am part of the Class?

You are included in the Policy Change Settlement Class if, between May 3, 2020 and April 20, 2023, CACi contacted you to collect a debt or communicated credit information about you to Equifax, Experian, or Trans Union about a debt where the original creditor of the loan was either Plain Green, Great Plains, or MobiLoans.

The Court has decided that the following consumers are in the Money Settlement Class:

All persons located in the United States (1) for whom CACi collected payment from a consumer; (2) in connection with an account where the original creditor of the loan was either Plain Green, Great Plains, or MobiLoans; (3) within one year prior to the filing of this action.

The complete criteria for who is included can be found in the Settlement Agreement, available on the Important Documents page.

If you are a member of the Money Settlement Class, you are also a member of the Policy Change Settlement Class, which includes:

All persons located in the United States (1) for whom CACi contacted in an attempt to collect a debt or communicated credit information about to Experian, Equifax, or Trans Union; (2) arising from a debt where the original creditor of the loan was either Plain Green, Great Plains, or MobiLoans; (3) within one year prior to the filing of this action.

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7. What benefits does the Settlement provide?

If the Settlement is approved and becomes final, it will provide injunctive relief benefits to all Class Members. An injunction occurs when a court orders a person or company to do or not to do something. All Class Members will receive the benefit from these changes in business practices

Changes to CACi’s business practices will include:

• CACi will agree to provide Class Counsel with a full class list for all Class Members that contains the following fields: personal identifying information (name, address, social security number, email address), amount paid by consumer to CACi or Midwest, date paid, and balance information. CACi shall provide information sufficient to identify if any of the consumers disputed the debts directly to CACi or through the consumer reporting agencies. This class list shall be accompanied by an authentication affidavit sufficient under the Federal Rules of Evidence to have the information admitted into evidence at trial against other parties, and in the event that the evidence is challenged, CACi shall cooperate in assisting the Plaintiffs in authenticating the data.
• CACi will stop all collection, including credit reporting, for any MobiLoans, Great Plains, or Plain Green loans.
• CACi will screen all of its current debt portfolios to ensure that it does not currently have any other Great Plains, Plain Green, or MobiLoans debts.
• If a consumer notifies CACi that the debt it is seeking to collect from them arises from a Great Plains, Plain Green, or MobiLoans debt, CACi will, after a reasonable investigation and conclusion that the debt is in fact a Great Plains, Plain Green, or MobiLoans debt, cease all collection efforts for that account.

Judge Chhabria will supervise and enforce these changes. The specific terms of these changes are included in the Settlement Agreement, a copy of which is available on the Important Documents page.

CACi has agreed to pay $436,041 (the “Settlement Class Fund”) for the benefit of the Money Settlement Class. Payments will be made by check to each Money Settlement Class Member who is eligible for a payment. The payments will be the amount that each Money Settlement Class Member paid to CACi. If the Settlement Fund is not enough to refund the full amount of the Money Settlement Class Member’s payments, then it will be reduced by a pro rata amount based on the amount paid by each Class Member. We estimate that Money Class Members will receive 95% of the money they paid to CACi for these loans.

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8. Can I get any money from the Settlement?

Policy Change Class Members in this Settlement will not receive a payment.

Money Settlement Class Members will only qualify to get a payment if they remain in the Class. Payments will be made to Money Settlement Class Members after the Court grants “final approval” to the Settlement and all appeals are resolved.

All Class Members will benefit from CACi’s additional changes to its’ business practices.

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9. When will the proposed Settlement go into effect?

The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on November 9, 2023, to decide whether to approve the Settlement. Even if the Court approves or updates the proposed Settlement, there could be appeals of the Court’s decision. The time for an appeal varies and could take more than a year.

The date when all appeals are completed, and the proposed Settlement becomes final, is called the Effective Date. You should visit this website regularly to check on the progress of the Court-approval process.

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10. How does the Settlement affect my rights?

If the Court approves the Settlement, you will give up the right to sue CACi in a representative or class action for any claims arising from the identical facts in this lawsuit, including claims relating to CACi’s collection attempts regarding the defaulted Great Plains, Plain Green, and MobiLoans debts, including the reporting of those debts to consumer reporting agencies. This is called “releasing” your claims. This release is in addition to the release already approved by the Court.

Policy Change Class Members will keep their right to file an individual lawsuit for any damages that they may have incurred. CACi will have the right to deny it is responsible for damages.

Money Settlement Class Members who do not exclude themselves will not be able to sue CACi for attempting to collect the Plain Green, Great Plains, or MobiLoans debts, if that collection attempt occurred before the Effective Date of the Settlement. They will agree to a “Release of Claims,” stated below, which describes exactly the legal claims that you will give up.

“Released Claims” means claims of each member of the Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class that were actually asserted in the operative complaint and/or the Covered Conduct in this Litigation against CACi. Rule 23(b)(3) Settlement Class Released Claims do not include claims separate and unrelated to the Covered Conduct, claims alleged against other entities other than CACi, or claims brought under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b) or for collection conduct for accounts other than Great Plains, Plain Green, or MobiLoans accounts. Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, this release does not include any claims that the Rule 23(b)(3) Class Members have against any consumer reporting agency, Midwest Recovery Systems, LLC, Reel Time Capital, LLC, Global Trust Management, LLC or any future owner of the Great Plains, Plain Green, or MobiLoans debts.

More details are explained in the Settlement Agreement, available on the Important Documents page.

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11. Can I choose to get out of the Settlement?

Policy Change Class Members - No. This Settlement requires CACi to change its business practices and implement procedures to benefit all Class Members equally. As explained in Question 7, this type of benefit is injunctive. Therefore, under this type of class action, you cannot exclude yourself from the Class or this proposed Settlement.

However, as explained in Question 10, you still have the right to file an individual lawsuit against CACi for your damages and have your case and CACi’s defenses heard in court.

Money Settlement Class Members - Yes, you may exclude yourself from the Money Settlement Class. If you do not want to remain a member of the Money Settlement Class and want to keep your right to sue or continue to sue CACi for actual damages on your own, you must take steps to exclude yourself. This is sometimes referred to as “opting out” of the Settlement Class. Opting out gives you the right to bring your own lawsuit but does not guarantee that your own lawsuit will be successful.

To exclude yourself from the Money Settlement Class, please refer to Question #11 in the Money Settlement Class Notice.

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12. Do I have a lawyer in this case?

Yes. The Court approved the following lawyers as “Class Counsel” to represent you and other Class Members:

• Craig Marchiando, of Consumer Litigation Associates, P.C., in San Francisco, California;
• Kristi Kelly, of Kelly Guzzo PLC, in Fairfax, Virginia; and
• Matthew Wessler, of Gupta Wessler, PLLC, in Washington, D.C.

You will not be charged for these lawyers. You may hire your own lawyer to represent you, if you so choose, but you will be responsible for paying your attorney’s fees and expenses.

You may contact the attorneys representing you for further information or assistance at: (757) 930-3660 or write to: Consumer Litigation Associates, P.C., 763 J. Clyde Morris Blvd., Suite 1-A, Newport News, VA 23601.

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13. How will the lawyers be paid? What will the Class Representatives receive?

You will not be charged for these lawyers, and you will not have to pay any of their fees and expenses. Class Counsel will ask the Court to approve attorneys’ fees and expenses in an amount up to 25% of the Settlement Class Fund and a $5,000 service payment to each of the Class Representatives from the Money Class Settlement Fund. If the Court approves these amounts, they will be paid out of the Settlement Class Fund.

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14. How do I tell the Court that I do not like the Settlement?

If you are a Class Member, you can object to this Settlement if you do not like any part of it. You can give reasons why you think the Court should not approve it. The Court will consider your views before deciding whether to approve this Settlement.

You can ask the Court to deny approval by filing an objection. You can’t ask the Court to order a different settlement; the Court can only approve or reject the Settlement. If the Court denies approval, no injunctive relief changes will be implemented, and the lawsuit will continue. If that is what you want to happen, you should object.

Any objection to the proposed Settlement must be in writing, but the Court may excuse this requirement if you show good cause for not submitting a written objection. If you file a timely written objection, you may, but are not required to, appear at the Final Approval Hearing, either in person or through your own attorney. If you appear through your own attorney, you are responsible for hiring and paying that attorney. All written objections and supporting papers must (a) clearly identify the case name and number (Meeks v. Consumer Adjustment Company, Inc., No. 3:21-cv-3266-VC (N.D. Cal.)), (b) be submitted to the Court either by filing them electronically or in person at any location of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California or by mailing them to the Class Action Clerk, United States District Court for the Northern District of California, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102, and (c) be filed or postmarked on or before October 10, 2023.

Your objection letter must include:

• Your name, address, email address, and telephone number;
• The name of the case and the case number: Meeks v. Consumer Adjustment Company, Inc., No. 3:21-cv-3266-VC (N.D. Cal.); and
• A written statement about why you object to the Settlement.

If you are submitting an objection through an attorney, in addition to the above information, your objection letter must include:

• Your attorney’s name, mailing address, email address, and phone number,
• A written statement saying whether you or your attorney intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing, and
• A written statement about why you object to the Settlement, including any legal and factual support you want to bring to the Court’s attention and any evidence to support your objection.

You may also appear at the Final Approval Hearing, either in person or through your own lawyer. If you intend to have a lawyer present, your lawyer must enter a written Notice of Appearance of Counsel with the Court no later than October 10, 2023. If you appear through your own lawyer, you are responsible for paying that lawyer.

For more information about the Final Approval Hearing, see Questions 16-18 below.

The Court requires substantial compliance with the process outlined above, meaning if you do not substantially comply you may not be allowed to object, appear at the Final Approval Hearing, or appeal the final approval of the proposed Settlement or the dismissal of the case.

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15. What is the difference between objecting and opting out?

Objecting is simply telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. Opting out, or excluding yourself, means that you will not be included in the Settlement.

Money Settlement Class Members can object or opt-out of the Money Settlement Class but they cannot do both. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object to the Settlement because it will no longer affect you. However, even if you exclude yourself from the Money Settlement Class, you can still object to the Settlement as a Policy Change Class Member.

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16. When and where will the Court decide whether to finally approve the proposed Settlement?

The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing to decide whether to approve the Settlement. You may attend and you may ask to speak, but you do not have to.

The hearing will be on November 9, 2023, at 1:00 p.m., before Judge Chhabria, remotely using Zoom. The Court’s Zoom courtroom can be found at: https://cand-uscourts.zoomgov.com/j/1612857657?pwd=WE5Gcm1zS293WU84V0tyd0c2Ulp1UT09 . Additional information for attendance by Zoom is: webinar ID: 161 285 7657, and password: 547298.

At this hearing, the Court will consider whether this Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Court will consider all timely and proper objections. The Court will listen to people who have asked for permission to speak at the hearing (as explained in Question 18).

After the hearing, the Court will decide whether to finally approve the Settlement. There may be appeals after that. We do not know how long these decisions will take.

The Court may change the date or time of the Final Approval Hearing without further notice to the Class. Please check this website, www.CACIsettlement.com, for updates on the hearing date, the Court-approval process, and the Effective Date.

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17. Do I have to come to the hearing?

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. However, you are welcome to come at your own expense. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend, but it is not necessary.

If you send an objection, you do not have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as you filed your written objection on time and it includes the required information, the Court will consider it.

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18. May I speak at the hearing?

You or your lawyer may ask the Court for permission to speak at the Final Approval Hearing. To do so, you must tell the Court in your objection letter that you or your lawyer would like to speak at the hearing. You must follow the process described above in Question 14. You cannot speak at the hearing if you do not follow this procedure.

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19. What happens if I do nothing at all?

You are not required to do anything to get benefits from the Settlement.

Money Settlement Class Members who do nothing, will receive a cash payment if they are eligible for one.

If the Court approves this Settlement, then you will be bound by the Court’s final judgment and the released claims explained in the Settlement Agreement.

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20. How do I get more information?

This notice is only a summary of the Settlement. More details about this Settlement, the dates when appeals are no longer allowed and when the Settlement is final, deadlines, and your options are available in a longer document called the Settlement Agreement.

You can get a copy of the entire Settlement Agreement by visiting the Important Documents page.

You also may write with questions to the Settlement Administrator at Meeks v. CACi, c/o Settlement Administrator, P.O. Box 16, West Point, PA 19486, or by emailing, questions@cacisettlement.com, or call the toll-free number, (833) 388-1629.

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