The proposed Settlement establishes: (a) “Common Fund Settlement Amount” totaling $1,500,000.00 which includes an estimated $942,500.00 for “Net Settlement Consideration” and (b) prospective relief.
The Common Fund Settlement Amount will be used to pay Class Members in this Litigation. The cost to administer the Settlement as well as attorneys’ fees, litigation expenses and payments to the Class Representative will also come out of the Common Fund Settlement Amount. The amount of the Net Settlement Consideration may be diminished by Class Counsel expenses/costs and additional settlement administrative costs.
The Settlement Agreement provides detailed information about the Settlement’s benefits and the plan of distribution. Settlement documents are available by clicking here.
In summary, the Settlement Agreement provides for distribution of the Settlement Funds as follows:
- 81% of the Net Settlement Consideration will be divided per Tenancy among all participating Subclass A and all participating Subclass B Settlement Class Members (the “Security Deposit Subclasses A & B”);
- 19% of the Net Settlement Consideration will be divided per Tenancy among all participating Subclass C Settlement Class Members;
- The $7,500 Service Award will be paid to the Class Representative, Dorothiene M. Hill, in addition to her Class claims;
- The estimated expenses of the Claims Administrator are in the amount of $50,000. In the event that costs and expenses for notice and administration of this Settlement exceed $50,000, additional sums as needed may be deducted from the Net Settlement Consideration allocated to the Security Deposit Subclasses A & B, up to $20,000. In the event that the costs of administration of the Settlement exceed $70,000, additional sums may be deducted from the attorney fee award to Class Counsel;
- Not more than one-third of the Common Settlement Fund, or $500,000, plus reasonable expenses and costs will be requested by Class Counsel as a one-time cash payout in full and final satisfaction of any and all claims by Class Counsel for attorney fees, expenses, and court costs pertaining to the Litigation. In the event the Court awards Class Counsel fees of less than $500,000 of the Common Fund Settlement Amount, upon such an order becoming final, the difference will be used to increase the Net Settlement Consideration and shall be distributed by the Claims Administrator in equal amounts to each Participating Class Member. Should the Court approve less than the requested amount, Class Representative and Class Counsel retain the right to appeal that.
- Any undistributed Net Settlement Consideration will be paid to a non-profit entity established by Defendant for the benefit of tenants of the Defendant’s Chicago-based apartment properties or, if directed by the Court, paid to the Chicago Bar Foundation.
The amount to be paid to each participating member of the Settlement Class will be determined per Tenancy, not per person. In the event multiple persons shared a given Tenancy, the Individual Settlement Payment will be distributed equally amongst all known named adults listed on the qualifying new lease agreement or a renewal agreement.
It is currently estimated that each Tenancy will receive a cash payment of between $300 and $400 or more; this is only an estimate and those figures may change depending upon the final number of valid Tenancies and Claims.