Ferrari v. Autobahn, Inc.
- Yvonne Rogers
- 4:17-cv-00018
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Ferrari v. Autobahn, Judge Rogers approved sending $1,622.88 from uncashed settlement checks to Bay Area Legal Aid.
The settlement class members, the settlement administrator, Bay Area Legal Aid, and the defendants identified as Autobahn, Inc. doing business as Autobahn Motors; Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC; and Sonic Automotive, Inc.
What happened
Ferrari v. Autobahn involved consumer-protection claims brought for customers of a Belmont, California, car dealership. The case had a settlement agreement addressing funds from checks that were not cashed.
The plaintiffs asked the court to approve Bay Area Legal Aid as the recipient of $1,622.88 in those funds. They argued that the organization’s work matched the lawsuit’s purpose and the class members’ geographic location.
The court approved the request and ordered the settlement administrator to pay all funds from the uncashed checks to Bay Area Legal Aid. The class members gave up any ownership interest in those funds. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers signed the order.
The detailed version
- Ferrari v. Autobahn, Inc. · No. 4:17-cv-00018
- Yvonne Rogers
- Oct. 15, 2019
Background
The plaintiffs brought consumer-protection claims on behalf of customers of a Belmont, California, car dealership. The settlement agreement contained a provision governing funds from checks that class members did not cash. The plaintiffs moved for approval of a cy pres recipient—a charitable organization that receives remaining settlement funds when those funds cannot be distributed to class members.
The motion concerned $1,622.88 associated with uncashed checks. The plaintiffs proposed Bay Area Legal Aid as the recipient. The opinion states that Bay Area Legal Aid serves clients in consumer-protection cases in seven Bay Area counties, and that the class was overwhelmingly located in the Bay Area. Class counsel also assured the court that neither class counsel nor counsel for the Autobahn defendants had any connection to Bay Area Legal Aid.
Ruling
The court found Bay Area Legal Aid appropriate because its mission matched the purposes of the lawsuit and the class of plaintiffs, while also considering the geographic distribution of the class. The court ordered that:
- Bay Area Legal Aid was approved as the recipient of the cy pres funds.
- The settlement administrator must pay Bay Area Legal Aid the funds associated with all uncashed checks.
- The settlement class members waived and abandoned any ownership interest in the uncashed checks and associated funds.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers signed the order on October 15, 2019.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.