California VW Credit Inc. Class Action Settlement

A settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit that alleges VW Credit Inc. (VCI) violated California law by omitting certain language when sending lessees a “Notice After Repossession or Voluntary Surrender.”

You may be entitled to benefits from the VCI settlement if you leased a motor vehicle from VCI and that vehicle was subsequently repossessed or voluntarily surrendered, and you received a “Notice After Repossession or Voluntary Surrender” that did not include the following language: “to establish the value of the vehicle for the purpose of determining the amount owed on the lease.”

The VCI class action lawsuit was filed in August 2012 by plaintiff Joyce Flannery. According to the VCI class action lawsuit, VCI repossessed Flannery’s leased Volkswagen Jetta and sent her a “Notice After Repossession or Voluntary Surrender” as required by California’s Vehicle Leasing Act.

VCI subsequently sold Flannery’s repossessed vehicle and sent her a bill for a deficiency balance, according to the VCI class action lawsuit. Flannery claims VCI reported her failure to make lease payments and the deficiency balance to credit agencies. She alleges that VCI’s notice failed to comply with the applicable California law because it omitted part of the notice requirements under the Vehicle Leasing Act.

Initially, a lower court ruled in favor of VCI, but Flannery appealed the court’s ruling. The appellate court agreed with Flannery that VCI failed to comply with the notice requirements of the Vehicle Leasing Act.

VCI denies the allegations and maintains that its notice substantially complied with California law. However, it agreed to settle the class action lawsuit to avoid the cost and expense associated with further litigation.

The VCI class action settlement was preliminarily approved on June 8, 2016.

Who’s Eligible

Class Members of the VCI class action settlement include: “All California residents who, from August 23, 2009 to August 29, 2012, leased from VCI a motor vehicle and from whom VCI collected, or attempted to collect, a deficiency balance following the repossession or voluntary surrender and sale of a leased motor vehicle, and who received a ‘Notice After Repossession or Voluntary Surrender’ that omitted the following language: ‘to establish the value for the purpose of determining the amount owed on the lease.’”

Potential Award

VCI has agreed to refrain from collecting any deficiency balances that it claimed were due from Class Members. It has also agreed to issue a full refund of the deficiency balances that were collected.

Under the terms of the proposed class action settlement, VCI will not sell, trade or transfer any deficiency balances that it claimed were due from Class Members. Further, VCI has agreed to request that the major credit reporting agencies delete any tradelines related to lease contracts covered by the class action settlement.

Proof of Purchase

N/A

FAQs

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS »

Claim Form Deadline

N/A – No Claim Form is required. Class Members who do not opt out of the VCI settlement will automatically receive benefits.

Class Members who wish to opt out of or object to the VCI class action settlement must do so no later than Aug. 22, 2016.

Case Name

Joyce Flannery v. VW Credit Inc., Case No. 37-2012-00102894-CU-MC-CTL, in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of San Diego, Central Division

Final Hearing

09/02/2016

Settlement Website

www.VCISettlement.com

Claims Administrator

Flannery v. VW Credit Inc. Administrator
P.O. Box 40007
College Station, TX 77842-4007
1-866-561-6109

Class Counsel

Barry D. Mills
LAW OFFICE OF BARRY D MILLS PC

Michael E. Doukas
LAW OFFICE OF MICHAEL DOUKAS

Defense Counsel

Jesse L. Miller
Matthew T. Peters
REED SMITH LLP