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Due to an administrative error, Class Members are receiving lower awards than expected in a Caterpillar class action lawsuit settlement.
An administrative error by Epiq Class Action & Claims Solutions, the court-appointed settlement administrator, has resulted in drastically smaller award amounts for claimants in the $60 million Caterpillar settlement.
Epiq reportedly underestimated the number of valid claims, meaning each Class Member will be receiving a smaller award than originally estimated.
The $60 million settlement was reached in June 2016 with claims due by Mar. 20, 2017. Of the $60 million settlement, $20 million went to attorneys’ fees and legal expenses, leaving $40 million to be distributed among the Class Members.
Court documents originally estimated that claimants would receive awards between $500 and $10,000 per affected engine. Additional reimbursement for up to $15,000 for consequential losses was also available.
The estimated awards were based on the 35,000 engines known to be part of the settlement. In August 2016, when the settlement terms were submitted to the court, 1,368 claims had been filed with more claims expected.
According to a submitted letter to the court from Epiq, more than 3,000 claimants filed 4,000 claims covering 16,811 engines. Payment from the settlement was approved for 2,083 claimants covering 11,685 engines.
On March 30, Epiq sent the payments to the approved claimants with a note informing claimants that the awards were reduced to 45.8 percent of the claimed amounts due to the number of claims. A week later, Class Action Capital told Epiq that the payments were too low, prompting an internal review. Class Action Capital filed settlement claims on behalf of 27 entities.
Epiq concluded that it likely misinterpreted Class Action Capital’s claims. According to a court-submitted explanation, an error occurred when Epiq reviewed online submissions. “For CAC’s claims, it listed one or more engines in the fields provided,” Epiq’s letter explains. “It then uploaded a spreadsheet of additional engines that it wished to include as part of its claims via the supporting documents portal (the ‘Spreadsheet Engines’). There were no cover letters for the spreadsheets indicating that this was CAC’s intent.”
Due to the error, the additional engines in each claim were not considered when calculating the awards for the Class Members. Epiq estimates that Class Action Capital clients could have been underpaid by more than $1 million.
Epiq has stopped payments on all checks sent on March 30 to correct the error. Claimants who received wire transfers or have already cashed their checks have been told they will likely need to return any portion that exceeds the recalculated award amount.
Epiq estimates that the second round of claims will be completed in around 60 days.
“Once the dust has settled, and claimants are paid correctly, we can turn our focus inward,” Epiq Vice President Michael O’Connor states in his letter to the court. “We need to very carefully examine how we are handling and reviewing incoming documents and the resources we are utilizing to look at those materials. In every case I have been a part of with Epiq, no matter how clear your instructions to claimants are that claims can only be submitted via method X and must include materials Y, there will be many claimants who submit claims via methods R, T and Z and include every material except Y.”
The Caterpillar Diesel Engine Class Action Settlement is In re: Caterpillar Inc. C13 and C15 Engine Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 1:14-cv-03722-JBS-JS, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
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10 thoughts onCaterpillar Engine Settlement Administrator Calculation Error
OK. So I have read the re-payment would be more. I have also read the repayment would be less. I also read the re-payment would be made in the “next 60 days”. What is the true scoop? Will the payment be made soon? I had been close to 90 days now and still no money. I am still out here on the road, using my money to repair a problem Caterpillar has already admitted to, paid the settlement and washed their hands of the whole situation. Now, an administrator is holding the money, making money on my money, and I am struggling to pay the bills associated with replacing the terrible mistake from Cat. What is the logic behind this snafu? What judge needs to be admonished for not forcing the re-payment to be made? Can anyone answer any of these questions?
You can contact the settlement administrator with your questions: https://www.enginesettlement.com/. There is a toll free number listed on the home page of the settlement website.
So in lame man’s terms I think I figured it out.
27 businesses (trucking co’s probably) hired this firm Class Action Capital to file their claims and Epic not carefully inspecting supporting documents overlooked numerous engines that these company’s had claimed because no where on the claim form did they make reference to the “Engine Spreadsheets”. The error = $1 million.
Stay with me now this is a math problem….
$60 million settlement – $20 million lawyer’s fee = $40 million for claims
$1 million out of $40 million = 2.5%
So in order to pay the $1 million owed to these 27 entities everyone has to give back 2.5% of their check to make it up.
So the checks should have been reduced to 43.3% instead of 45.8%.
So if your check was for $4,579 it will probably now be for $4,330.
Which is 2.5% less.
I am totally guessing on this but that is what I got out of it.
Too much time on my hands right now LOL…..
And just to make a note:
I don’t believe Caterpillar is at fault for this payment issue they gave $60 million a long time ago to settle these claims and as far as the claims administrators go for Epic they are dealing with an enormous amount of claims here and yes a mistake was made it was an over sight but guess what some times it happens.
Nope. Wrong my first check was for 6,989. TodayI received the “correct” check and it’s for 3,250. ?
It’s all just a slap in face anyway ruined businesses and lives comparable to knowing you have AIDS and not wearing a condom then afterwards saying here’s a hundred bucks go away caterpillar is a company run by criminals I hope ther having a good time in this life cuz I don’t think their next will be so promising
Please add me this case
While taking responsibility and fixing the issue, Epiq VP is quick to blame us the claimants for not following directions.
Yes, a large portion of people do not read the directions to just about anything, then claim ignorance or lack of comprehension when something goes wrong. “It didn’t say that.” “I didn’t know.” “The legal speak is hard to understand.” —- But– Why can my average self follow directions and get it submitted right, but you can’t? While you’re heaping denial on top of it and vehemently shaking your head? Read.
So sure, it is the claimants’ initial fault for screwing it up and not using the “Engine Spreadsheet.” But EPIQ should have had an internal audit process and somebody checking each claim to prevent the wrongdoing from happening. P00p rolls downhill.
I would like to be apart of this settlement I have all my paperwork too
It’s too late for you, Shanta.