HUGH and CHRISTINE KELLY, et al.,
v.
SANTANDER CONSUMER USA INC.
Civil Action No. 2:20-cv-03698-MMB
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
Short Form Notice to Class Members
This “short form” notification concerns a proposed class action settlement affecting individuals who took out car loans with Santander Consumer USA (“Santander” or “Defendant”) and their vehicles were repossessed in Pennsylvania. You are receiving this notification because the records of Santander indicate that you may be a class member entitled to cash and non-cash awards if you satisfy all of the following conditions:
- You entered into a retail installment sales contract for the financing of a purchase of a motor vehicle; and
- Santander Consumer USA repossessed the motor vehicle or ordered it to be repossessed, causing a repossession to occur; and
- Santander sent you a Notice of Repossession to a Pennsylvania address at any time on or within the period commencing June 30, 2014 through July 9, 2020.
This notifies the approximately 49,000 class members that the above captioned litigation has been settled, pending court approval. The settlement consists of $14,000,000.00 to be paid by Santander, to be distributed to the class, after court approved deductions, and will be conservatively invested in United States Government securities to earn interest, pending final determination by the Court concerning the request that this settlement be approved.
The full details of the proposed settlement and the procedures that the Court must follow pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are set forth in the full notice which can be found on the website identified below, or will be mailed to you by first class mail or sent to you by email upon your request to Class Counsel or the Settlement Administrator (contact information below).
This notice is being sent because the Court has given preliminary approval of the settlement, pending receipt of any objections and opt-outs as described below.
If the Court gives a final approval of the settlement, the net cash will be distributed on a per-account basis to all class members who have not opted out, and non-cash awards (summarized below) will be made similarly to all those class members entitled to non-cash awards and who have not opted out.
If the Court gives final approval of the settlement, the final amount to be distributed to the class will be reduced by the cost of administering the settlement, the amount of the incentive awards awarded by the Court to the class representatives, and the amount of attorney’s fees and expenses awarded by the Court to Class Counsel.
The non-cash awards can be summarized as follows:
Elimination of deficiency balances arising from the post-repossession disclosure notices at issue in this case by an accord and satisfaction and any deficiency judgments or arbitration awards against any class member (who has not opted out), cessation of collection activities and return of post-approval payments and requesting third party credit reporting agencies to delete tradelines associated with class members’ accounts.
The settlement will release claims against the Defendant, Santander Consumer USA Inc., with some exceptions as set forth in the Settlement Agreement. If the settlement is approved by the Judge, class members will be entitled to a share of the net monetary fund on a per-account basis and to the non-monetary awards.
A hearing will be held on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at 2:30 p.m. before the Honorable Michael M. Baylson at the United State District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Courtroom 3-A, James A. Byrne Courthouse, 601 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, per details that will be made publicly available on the settlement website: www.noticeclassaction.com. The purpose of the hearing is to determine whether the proposed settlement should be finally approved, and whether the allocation of cash and other settlement terms, including the payment of attorney fees and costs, should be approved by the Court as fair and reasonable.
Please consult the detailed notice included in this communication for additional information.[1] This notice is being sent by first class mail to all individuals who Santander’s records indicate may be members of the class. You have the following options:
- Do nothing, in which event you will be considered as a member of the class entitled to your share of any awards, cash or non-cash, assuming the settlement is finally approved.
- You may submit an objection to the settlement by submitting a written document in the form as detailed in the Class Notice, which must be mailed to the Settlement Administrator by September 22, 2023.
- You may “opt out” of the settlement, in which event you will no longer be a member of the settlement class and will retain your individual right to file a claim against Santander in a court of record, according to law, by submitting a written document in the form as detailed in the Class Notice, which must be mailed to the Settlement Administrator by September 22, 2023.
- If you have any questions about this communication, you may consult your own attorney or communicate with Class Counsel, whose contact information is listed below.
- If you have recently moved, or intend to move before there is a final decision on the settlement, you should send a written notice of your new address/contact information to the Settlement Administrator or Class Counsel, at the email/address below.
[1] To the extent there is any conflict between this summary notice and the detailed notice, the detailed notice controls.
SHENKAN INJURY LAWYERS, LLC
/s/ Richard E. Shenkan
Richard E. Shenkan
Class Counsel Attorney Richard Shenkan Shenkan Injury Lawyers, LLC. P.O. Box 7255 New Castle, PA 16107 Fax No: 1-888-760-1774 Phone No: 1-800-411-1770 |
Settlement Administrator Santander Class Action P.O. Box: 9009 Hicksville, NY 11802-9009
Fax No:1-800-972-1908 Phone No: 1-800-490-9287
|
Please find below documents relating to this case :
You may enter the Settlement Website and access your personalized Long Form Notice by clicking on the “Continue” button below, then entering the Username and Password printed on the Notice you received by mail.