American Express Gift Card Settlement Payments May Be Distributed Soon

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More information about the American Express gift card class action settlement may be released soon following an order issued last week by a federal judge, which orders the parties to vet the documents they have filed under seal to ensure they comply with the law. This order could mean that payments from the AmEx gift card settlement may be distributed soon.

“Over the course of this case, the parties have filed numerous documents under seal,” U.S. District Judge Joan B. Gottschall wrote in her Nov. 14 order. “Indeed, a protective order was entered … on April 13, 2009, but that order did not grant carte blanche to file documents under seal willy-nilly.”

Judge Gottschall stresses in her order that the parties have not released enough information for her to “determine the value of the plaintiffs’ claims that are being released.” She acknowledges that while the $3 million class action settlement appeared to be within the range of reasonableness and worthy of preliminary approval, she requires more specific information before she can determine whether she should give final approval to the deal.

“When parties need to keep certain information confidential,” Judge Gottschall explained, “the proper procedure is to file a public document and a sealed supplement containing (i.e., highlighting or underlining) the confidential information.”

“Litigants may file entire documents under seal only where every aspect of the sealed filing is confidential,” the judge continued. “The entire record will be opened up for public viewing unless the parties more carefully identify what contents are proper for sealing.”

The parties will have until Dec. 1 to vet the documents they have filed under seal to make sure they comply with the law, according to Judge Gottschall’s order.

The American Express class action lawsuit was filed in 2009 and alleged that American Express failed to notify purchasers of the full terms and conditions applicable to its gift cards. The plaintiffs allege that this failure caused consumers to be unable to use the full value of the gift cards because merchants either could not or refused to process transactions with two forms of payment. The AmEx gift card class action lawsuit also alleged American Express improperly applied fees against the available gift card funds.

Class Members of the American Express gift card settlement include all purchasers, recipients, holders and users of any gift cards issued by American Express from Jan. 1, 2002 until Sept. 21, 2011. Under the terms of the class action settlement, Class Members who file claims may be eligible to receive up to $40.

The deadline to file a claim for the American Express class action settlement passed on March 6, 2014.

More information about the American Express gift card class action settlement was not immediately available. Keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter for the latest updates. You can also mark this article as a “Favorite” using your free Top Class Actions account to receive notifications when this article is updated.

The plaintiffs are represented by Bock & Hatch LLC.

The American Express Gift Card Class Action Lawsuit is Kaufman, et al. v. American Express, Case No. 1:07-cv-01707, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.

UPDATE: The deadline to file a claim for the American Express gift card class action settlement is now Nov. 16, 2015. Click here or visit www.KaufmanClassActionSettlement.com for details.

UPDATE 2: The Court granted final approval of the settlement on Mar. 8, 2016. Appeals of the settlement have been filed. Claims will not be paid out until the appeals are resolved.