The Fitzgerald v Wildcat Settlement received final approval on 17 December 2024 for the $37.35 million settlement fund. The settlement involved all LDF lending companies, as the plaintiff alleged the LDF lending companies and the entities behind them had violated the state laws as they collected loans with annual interest rates in excess amount.
Class members who have not excluded themselves from the settlement can expect the payment soon. The class member will receive the payout within 60 days of the effective date (16 January 2025), hence you can expect the payment by March/ April 2025.
With the compensation to the class members, the class members can expect other benefits as well, such as the tribal officials will not transfer or sell personal information of the customers for commercial purposes during the class period. The class members can find out more about the payout in the article below.
Payout Amount
The class members of the Fitzgerald v Wildcat settlement would receive the monetary compensation through cash awards from the settlement fund of $37.35 million. According to the settlement agreement, the administrator will first use the settlement fund to cover the following costs:
- Service Awards to Plaintiffs up to $15,000 for each, totalling $120,000
- Attorney’s fees and costs that would not exceed $12,449,999.
- Settlement administration costs and expenses
- Any other fees associated with settlement expenses
After the administration covers the above-mentioned expenses, the remaining funds will be used to pay the cash award to the class members who have not filed the exclusion form. The payout amount may differ for the class member as it depends on the principal and interest you paid above the state laws limit.
The class members can find the list of rates by state on the official settlement website. The class members will not receive a cash benefit if they meet certain conditions, but they will be entitled to other benefits. As per the pro rate basis, the class members can expect cash awards greater than $2.
Who will receive it?
The US citizen who meets the following eligibility conditions would be entitled to receive the cash payment and other benefits from the Fitzgerald v Wildcat settlement:
- You are a class member and you obtained the loan from LenduMo, National Small Loan, Lendgreen, Bridge Lending Solutions, Zfunds, Makwa Financial, Sky Trail Cash, Bear Claw Lending, Quick Help, Loan at Last, UbiCash, Nine Torches, MitigCapital, Cash Aisle, Lakeshore Loans, Evergreen Services, Blue River Lending, Avail Blue, or Radiant Cash between class period, 24 July 2016 and 01 October 2023.
- The class member of the Fitzgerald v Wildcat settlement would have received the notice.
- The class member who has been excluded from the settlement by submitting the form would not be entitled to the cash benefits and other benefits.
Cash Payment Exclusion
Fitzgerald v Wildcat settlement offers debt cancellation, monetary compensation, and other benefits; however, if you meet the following conditions, you will not receive the cash payments:
- When you did not make any payments for the loans you got from the LDF companies mentioned above.
- When you lived in Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Arizona, Kansas, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New Jersey, Ohio, North Carolina, Vermont, South Dakota, Virginia, and Vermont, and never made any payments above the principal of the loan;
- When you live in Nevada or Utah, where there is no interest rate limit, the lawsuit may not be applicable there.
- When you lived in Alaska, California, Florida, Hawaii, Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas Washington, Tennessee, Washington DC, or Wyoming and not paid the interest above the state limits.
Other Benefits
The Fitzgerald v Wildcat settlement provides the following other benefits apart from the cash rewards as compensation:
- Debt cancellation: As per the settlement agreement, any covered loans that have a balance with the defendants will be nullified, so the class members will not owe any debt to the loan provider companies. According to the settlement, this will lead to the cancellation of $1.4 billion in debt.
- Restriction on Tribal Officials: Under the settlement agreement, the Tribal Officials have agreed not to sell, transfer, or assign the loans covered in the settlement to any third party or share their personal loan information between the class period.
- Credit Monitoring: The Tribal officials have requested to delete the credit reports of the loans made during the class period from the various consumer reporting agencies.
Payment Method
The class members will automatically receive the cash payments under the Fitzgerald v Wildcat settlement through payment methods, such as through in-bank accounts or through physical checks. The information mentioned in their LDF company’s loan information will be used to process the payments.
If the class members have changed their address or any other information, they should immediately inform the administrator about the change through email at [email protected] or call at 800 348 2540.