Class Members in a class action lawsuit settlement with Rash Curtis and Associates over the company’s alleged violations of the TCPA could take home awards of more than $20,000.

The plaintiff in the class action lawsuit alleged Rash Curtis placed wrong-number calls to consumers’ cellphones using an autodailer or pre-recorded voice between June 17, 2012, and April 2, 2019, without consent.

Rash Curtis is a collections agency that has been in operation since 1977, according to the company’s website. It processes and manages more than $130 million in placements each year.

 In May 2019, a jury determined Rash Curtis was liable for placing 534,698 such calls, and in September 2019, the Court entered a $267,359,000 judgment in favor of the Class and plaintiff. However, Rash Curtis’ appeal of the verdict is pending. 

Then on Oct. 25, 2019, the Court granted a motion from the lead plaintiff to approve the assignment of Rash Curtis’ rights against its insurer, Indian Harbor Insurance Co., in exchange for the plaintiff’s covenant not to execute the judgment against Rash Curtis.

Because of this assignment, the lead plaintiff filed a “bad faith” lawsuit against Indian Harbor.

That “bad faith” lawsuit has now settled for $75.6 million, and Class Counsel is proposing to use those funds to satisfy the TCPA class action lawsuit judgment.

Counsel has proposed these proceeds — minus attorneys’ fees and other costs — be distributed proportionately among Class Members in the Rash Curtis class action lawsuit settlement, based on the number of calls each Class Member received.

The Court has certified the following Classes:

  • Skip-Trace Class 1: Anyone who received a call on their cellphone from June 17, 2012, through April 2, 2019, from Rash Curtis’ DAKCS VIC dialer and/or Global Connect dialer and whose cellphone number was obtained by Rash Curtis through skip tracing.
  • Skip-Trace Class 2: Anyone who received a prerecorded message or robocall on their cellular or landline phones from June 17, 2012, through April 2, 2019, from Rash Curtis and whose number was obtained by Rash Curtis through skip tracing.
  • Non-Debtor Class 1: Anyone who received a call on their cellphone from June 17, 2012, through April 2, 2019, from Rash Curtis’ DAKCS VIC dialer and/or Global Connect dialer, whose number was obtained by Rash Curtis through skip tracing, and for whom Rash Curtis never had a debt-collection account in their name.
  • Non-Debtor Class 2: Anyone who received a prerecorded message or robocall on their cellular or landline phones from June 17, 2012, through April 2, 2019, from Rash Curtis, whose phone number was obtained by Rash Curtis through skip tracing, and for whom Rash Curtis has never had a debt-collection account in their name.

If the Court approves the attorneys’ fees and other expenses, Class Members are expected to receive about $82.09 per call, for an average payout of $711.34, according to court documents.

The largest payout — $39,649.47 — is expected to go to an individual Class Member who received 483 calls.

More than 12,000 Class Members are expected to receive payments of more than $1,000: 728 payments between $5,001 and $10,000; 132 payments between $10,001-$20,000, and 11 payments of more than $20,000. To read more click here.