Comenity Bank TCPA Class Action Settlement

Comenity Bank, which owns a large number of store credit cards including Abercrombie & Fitch, Victoria’s Secret, Crate & Barrel, Ann Taylor, The Limited and dozens of others, has reached a class action settlement over allegations it violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). If you received a call on your cell phone from Comenity Bank, either with an automatic telephone dialing system or by a prerecorded voice message, between Aug. 1, 2010 and May 26, 2014, you may be entitled to a payment from the class action settlement.

The Comenity Bank TCPA class action lawsuit alleges that Comenity Bank violated the TCPA by calling persons on their cell phones with either an automated dialing system or by an artificial or prerecorded voice message without the person’s prior express consent. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act provides that a plaintiff may seek statutory damages of up to $500 for each call placed, or up to $1,500 for each call placed willfully.

Comenity Bank denies that it violated the TCPA, but agreed to settle the class action lawsuit to avoid the risk and expense of ongoing litigation.

Who’s Eligible

Class Members of the Comenity Bank TCPA class action settlement include: “All persons whose cellular telephone number/s were called by Defendant, released parties, or a third party dialing company on behalf of Defendant or the released parties, using an automatic telephone dialing system and/or an artificial or prerecorded voice, without consent, from August 1, 2010 through May 26, 2014, excluding those persons whose telephone number/s were marked with a ‘wrong number’ code in Defendant’s database.”

If your cell phone number is marked as a “wrong number” in Comenity Bank’s records, you are not eligible for a payment from the TCPA class action settlement because there is a separate Comenity Bank class action lawsuit that involves wrong number calls.

Potential Award

Class Counsel estimates that each Class Member will receive between $15 and $35 from the Comenity Bank class action settlement. However, the actual amount each Class Member will receive depends on the number of valid claims that are filed. The settlement fund will be distributed on a pro rata basis to all Class Members who submit a valid and timely Claim Form. According to the TCPA settlement website, if all Class Members file valid and timely claims, each Class Member would receive $1.36.

Proof of Purchase

When filing a claim, you must provide your:

• Name;
• Claim number, if you received a postcard in the mail about the TCPA class action settlement;
• Cell phone number on which you may have been called;
• Current address for receipt of the Settlement payment, if different from the postcard notice address; and
• The last four digits of your Social Security number.

In order to be eligible for benefits from the Comenity Bank class action settlement, the cell phone number you provide must be on the Settlement Administrator’s list of eligible cell phone numbers.

Claim Form

Claim Form Deadline

1/29/2015

Case Name

Carrie Couser v. Comenity Bank, Case No. 3:12-cv-02484-MMA-BGS, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California

Final Hearing

4/20/2015

UPDATE: The Comenity Bank class action settlement received final approval on May 27, 2015. According to the settlement administrator, checks would be mailed within 30 days of that date.

Settlement Website

www.CouservComenitySettlement.com

Claims Administrator

Couser v. Comenity Bank Claims Administrator
P.O. Box 43315
Providence, RI 02940-3315
1-888-939-8042

Class Counsel

KAZEROUNI LAW GROUP APC
HYDE & SWIGART
LAW OFFICES OF TODD M. FRIEDMAN PC

Defense Counsel

CARLSON & MESSER LLP