Love Stone v. Aargon Agency, Inc.

Background

Gregory Love Stone brought this class action on behalf of himself and similarly situated people against Aargon Agency, Inc., doing business as Aargon Collection Agency. The settlement class consisted of consumers who paid Aargon an additional fee to use a credit or debit card to pay a debt Aargon sought to collect for a third-party creditor during the period from June 27, 2016, through December 31, 2017.

The court held a final approval hearing on October 15, 2018. It incorporated the parties’ settlement agreement and earlier approval orders into the final order.

Settlement Approval

The court found that the settlement resulted from arm’s-length negotiations. It also found that notice complied with the settlement agreement, the court’s earlier order, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, and due-process requirements. The notice was the best practicable under the circumstances and provided sufficient individual notice to class members who could be identified through reasonable efforts.

The record showed that no class member objected to the proposed settlement or opted out, and no objector appeared at the final approval hearing. The court finally approved the settlement as fair, reasonable, and adequate under Rule 23 and finally certified the settlement class for settlement purposes.

Distribution and Injunction

The court approved the settlement-award distribution plan and ordered the settlement administrator to follow the agreement’s terms. If any funds remained for distribution, the University of Minnesota Law School Consumer Law Clinic was approved as the recipient of those funds.

The order provided that, as of the settlement’s effective date, Stone and settlement-class members released the released parties from the released claims. It also permanently barred and enjoined them from pursuing those released claims in court, administrative proceedings, arbitration, or other forums.

The order stated that the settlement and related negotiations were not admissions or evidence of a statutory, legal, or common-law violation, liability, wrongdoing, or the truth of the claims. It also established what would happen if the settlement were terminated, canceled, or failed to become effective.

Disposition and Fees

The court dismissed the action with prejudice, without costs to any party except as provided in the settlement agreement. It approved Class Counsel’s application for $50,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs and approved a $6,250 service award for Stone. The court found those amounts appropriate based on the benefit to the class, the risks and work involved, counsel’s experience, the litigation’s difficulty, and the absence of objections or opt-outs.

Judge Katherine Menendez entered the final approval order on October 25, 2018. The order approved the settlement rather than deciding whether Aargon was liable for the claims alleged in the action.