California Archstone Apartment Cleaning Class Action Settlement

Former tenants of Archstone rental properties in California can now claim benefits from a class action settlement worth up to $5 million.

Plaintiff Jennifer Vagle initiated this Archstone class action lawsuit in March 2012, suing Archstone Community Members LLC and several related defendants. She was joined by co-plaintiff George Ponce in October 2013.

The two plaintiffs claim Archstone made a practice of improperly charging tenants upon their move-out for services like apartment cleaning, painting, carpet cleaning, or carpet replacement, whether or not those services were actually necessary. The overcharges were allegedly assessed in violation of the California Civil Code.

The Archstone class action settlement provides a total of up to $5 million in benefits. These benefits include waiver of about $3 million in set-off claims that Archstone says it holds against several Class Members.

Cash payments are available from the Archstone class action settlement, but only for Class Members who are not subject to a set-off claim. Total cash payments under the settlement agreement may reach as high as $770,000.

The rest of the settlement fund will be used to cover incentive awards for Vagle and Ponce worth up to $10,000 each, class counsel’s attorney fees and court costs, and the costs of settlement administration.

Class Members eligible for cash payments must submit a Claim Form to receive payment. Claim Forms can be submitted via mail or by uploading them to the settlement website.

Class Members who prefer to be excluded from the settlement or want to object to its terms must submit written requests by March 9, 2018.

Who’s Eligible

The settlement Class covers all persons identified as “residents” in the declarations page of a lease for an Archstone-affiliated apartment community in California, and whose household was assessed charges for apartment cleaning, painting, carpet cleaning, or carpet replacement in connection with vacating their apartment from March 14, 2008 to Feb. 27, 2013.

Potential Award

Varies.

Archstone has agreed to waive any set-off claims it holds against Class Members. Set-off claims are for charges related to the tenancy other than charges assessed for apartment cleaning, painting, carpet cleaning, or carpet replacement. Archstone says the total value of these set-off claims is around $3 million.

Class Members who are not subject to a set-off claim can qualify for individual payments. Individual payments will be calculated based on the total number of valid and timely claims received and the number of households represented by participating and eligible Class Members. Settlement documents estimate household payments to be at least $15.47.

Only Class Members who are not subject to a set-off claim can qualify for individual payments.

Proof of Purchase

N/A

Claim Form

CLICK HERE TO FILE A CLAIM »

NOTE: If you do not qualify for this settlement do NOT file a claim.

Remember: you are submitting your claim under penalty of perjury. You are also harming other eligible Class Members by submitting a fraudulent claim. If you’re unsure if you qualify, please read the FAQ section of the Settlement Administrator’s website to ensure you meet all standards (Top Class Actions is not a Settlement Administrator). If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other open class action settlements you may be eligible for.

Claim Form Deadline

4/3/2018

Case Name

Vagle, et al. v. Archstone Communities LLC, et al., Case No. BC480931, in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles

Final Hearing

6/5/2018

Settlement Website

www.ArchstoneClassAction.com

Claims Administrator

Vagle v. Archstone Communities
c/o Dahl Administration
P.O. Box 3614
Minneapolis, MN 55403-0614
(877) 838-8770
info@ArchstoneClassAction.com

Class Counsel

R. Rex Parris
Kitty K. Szeto
John M. Bickford
Ryan A. Crist
PARRIS LAW FIRM

Defense Counsel

Jaikaran Singh
FOLEY & LARDNER