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Sunday, March 27, 2011

Settlement Delayed, Settlement Denied Part 2: The Truth About the Delay

Image courtesy of Renjith Krishnan/Freedigitalphotos.net


Click here for a newer update of the settlement as of June 20, 2011.


Important things you should know why there was a delay.

I have received some emails recently inquiring about why the distribution of the settlement has been delayed. For those of you who have called Rust Consulting and inquire about the cause(s) of the delay, you may be surprised that you only got little information.

But what really has happened?

Many of you are aware that the Court held a fairness hearing last January 28, 2011 where the Plaintiffs and their counsels have finally accepted the settlement offered by defendant RGIS LLC. Please refer to this previous post for a short summary of the delay. But it did not stop there. There were issues that have been raised including claimants' eligibility, among others. These issues must be addressed first before any distribution of settlement commences.

The truth is, March 25, 2011 was the court-approved date of final hearing. It was moved from January 28 to this date. That short window from January 18 until the March 25 final hearing was a period the court has allowed to settle all objections and issues related to the settlement. It was extended as per plaintiffs request. So the question now will be:

What cause(s) the delay?

First, the case of 538 unidentified opt-in members had to be determined their identities.
There were 538 individuals who submitted written opt-ins consenting to participate in the FLSA claims as party plaintiffs. However, after a thorough manual review of the thousands of opt-ins, RGIS had failed to identify their names in its employment databases and therefore did not receive the Notice of the Settlement. When RGIS had submitted the original claimants lists to Plaintiffs' lawyers and Rust Consulting on October last year, their names where not included in those lists and therefore were classified as unidentified claimants.

The cause could have been that these individuals have submitted the consent forms PRIOR to the Court-supervised notice process and therefore their names were omitted from earlier release of the settlement class members lists. Or that some of them may have obtained copies of the consent form from other legit members and mailed the completed forms thereafter. But RGIS had decided to include them as class members. The Court had granted Plaintiffs request that these opt-in members shall be given Notice of the Settlement.

Second, the case of 369 plaintiffs with "No Activity during the FLSA limitations period."
When RGIS provided plaintiffs' and Rust Consulting copies of the settlement class members list, the lists contain entries of 369 opt-ins which the defendant identifies as employees who had "no activity within the limitation period." Meaning, these 369 employees did not work or were not given work during and within the maximum FLSA cut-off dates and time payroll data had not been previously produced for these individuals. Therefore, they did not receive the Notice of the Settlement.

RGIS argues that these individuals are still members of the settlement class, but because they did not work any shifts during the maximum FLSA limitations period, they are not entitled to a monetary reward. However, both parties have agreed that they shall receive notices of the settlement but no longer entitled to a settlement award. Rust Consulting also sent out notices for these individuals and if they receive the notices by February 18, they should have sufficient time to object or request exclusion from it before the scheduled final hearing on March 25.

Third, the case where Plaintiffs' counsel had encountered difficulties in contacting each of the 25 named Plaintiffs and class representatives to obtain their declarations.
This, also caused the delay of the distribution of the settlement reward.

Therefore, the court had to wait for RGIS to finish verifying the identities of these individuals AND wait for the 907 additional opt-in members to receive their copies of the Notice of the Settlement and wait for them to give sufficient time to object or request exclusion from the settlement on or before the scheduled final approval hearing in March 25, and wait for the plaintiffs lawyers to contact the 25 named class representatives to obtain their declarations. The court expected that all these undertakings shall be settled prior to the March 25 deadline.

Now you know why the awarding of the settlement has been delayed. The next logical question will be:
What transpired at the court's final hearing on March 25? The answer is yet to be revealed by the court and the parties involved.

But one thing I am sure: The result of that March 25 final hearing determines whether we get our money on time or not. I am yet to contact Rust Consulting.

Note: The authors disclaim any legal representations of either of the parties involved. This update is for informational purpose only.

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24 comments:

  1. Thanks for the info. Greatly appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree with most of the claimants in this lawsuit: But it is also true that delays in the award of settlement money are typical among class actions lawsuits especially when millions of dollars are involved.

    I guess waiting also plays an important role.

    ReplyDelete
  3. pensacola ladyMarch 28, 2011

    Well said.

    ReplyDelete
  4. WE WORK FOR RGIS We need our money !!!!!!!!!!! best said JD Wentworth says it best.... It's my money and i need it NOW!!!!!!!! GOSTOP WHATS UP SAC

    ReplyDelete
  5. Im playing the don't watch the pot boil game. The more you watch, the longer it takes.
    Sad but true. Will get it soon enough. Joe Shmoe in Sac.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Checks are in the mail!!!!
    April Foll!!!!
    412

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is ridiculous. If those additional opt in members have not submitted their declarations by now, screw them. Why should the rest of us suffer when they were negligent in responding? Issue the damn checks already because some of us need our money.

    Most of us have been screwed time by RGIS for their harsh policies and we want our compensation.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I sympathize with everybody.

    ReplyDelete
  9. any new updates? anybody know how much longer we gota wait?

    ReplyDelete
  10. I tried to call Rust Consulting for several times but the lines are busy. Here's the number:

    Toll Free: 1-800-310-2748

    ReplyDelete
  11. i called rust consulting and was told the judge still hadn't ok'd it and if i hadnt heard anything in 4-6 weeks to call back, and another person i know was told something totally different, but i also checked the court calender which was how i knew it was going back to court on the 25 before all this was posted and its not on the calender or at least it wasn't the last time i checked right after the 25th. But i have a feeling we'll know something when the checks get here

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ha Ha really? You think we'll know something when the checks get here?

    ReplyDelete
  13. i still keep in contact with a friend that still works for the company. she told me that we should most likely get checks around the middle of may.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I contacted Rust Consulting. They couldn't assure us a definite date. They said either end of this month or next month.

    I think we'll just wait until next month.

    ReplyDelete
  15. ok enough already where are the checks

    ReplyDelete
  16. Do we get interest on the extra time we had to wait?

    ReplyDelete
  17. I wish we get interest for our checks while waiting. But I am not privy how settlement funds work while the settlement is still in progress.

    I mean, think about the $11 Million net settlement amount. How much would be the interest rate if it were deposited in a savings account, 5%? It's been almost 3 months delayed now.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Claims ProcessorApril 19, 2011

    Contrary to the title of the post, I do not think that there is a delay. Submissions of Motions and subsequent Court's approvals are integral part of a settlement case especially when we refer to millions and millions of dollars involved. I do not work for RGIS nor involved in anyway for this case, but in my experience, your case may take considerable time. But I do understand how many of you feel about the case.

    ReplyDelete
  19. AnonymousJune 09, 2011

    There absolutely IS a delay! If you're not involved with RGIS, then you don't know that the notice they gave us had a specific timeframe for the distribution of checks. If that date has been pushed back and pushed back, looks like a delay to me.

    ReplyDelete
  20. AnonymousJuly 07, 2011

    I WORK FOR RGIS. ME AND MY WIFE BUST ARE ASS. I USE TO BE FORCE TO DRIVE PEOPLE OR I WAS TOLD I COULDNT WORK. I HAD TO DRIVE PEOPLE THE ONES WHO RODE WITH ME BELIEVE ME REMEMBER. I HAD NO WINDSHIELD WIPERS AND IT WAS FOGGY DRIVING FROM TULARE.I NEVER FORGET THAT DAY I KNOW THE PEOPLE WHO WHERE WITH ME WOULDNT. SHEDRICK AND TARA MAYBERRY PUT IN LONG HOURS FOR RGIS AND WE WERE TREATED LIKE HO'S RGIS WAS ARE PIMP. I BEEN WAITING TO LONG FOR MY CHECK.

    ReplyDelete
  21. AnonymousJuly 18, 2011

    Tired of calling and listening the same bullshit they tell us. Why can't they just be honest and just tell us the actual date. I am getting very impatient.

    ReplyDelete
  22. AnonymousJuly 30, 2011

    i got mine today

    ReplyDelete
  23. How much did you receive?

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete

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