Every Fortune 500 company is eligible for many of the numerous million-dollar class action settlements that are available each year. Out of all these cases, there may be only one or two cases a year that justify dedicating resources. It can be challenging to determine which cases, if any, are worth pursuing. Class action settlement recoveries for eligible companies can range from a few thousand to several million dollars. Moreover, regardless of the size of each settlement, each has its own complexities, filing requirements, claims period, class definition, deficiency notices and other unique issues. Further, assessing whether a company invested adequate resources will take time as it may take twelve months or longer to receive a recovery on a filed claim.
Companies risk underinvesting or overinvesting with respect to the resources they dedicate to Class Action Settlement Recoveries. As a result, these companies are either (A) losing out on thousands, potentially millions, of dollars of recovery, or (B) using too much of their internal resources to chase after settlements with little recovery, which could be used for more high value projects, or worse (C) doing both (A) and (B).
There are several issues to consider when determining what resources to invest in order to maximize your company’s recovery from class action settlements. The major items include:
- Determining Settlements in Which the Company is Eligible to File – There are hundreds of class action settlements each year. Companies must determine which settlements they are eligible for based on class member definitions and class periods.
- Calculating the Claim Amount – This is not as simple as it sounds. Many class periods go back 10 to 15 years. Large companies may not have records for this entire period. Determining how to address the missing records can be the difference between a small recovery and a substantial recovery.Further, different divisions of the company may have different systems for tracking financial and operating data critical for preparing a claim. Acquisitions and divestitures further complicate the claims preparation process. Filing and supporting a claim requires not only legal expertise to put all the pieces together to maximize the claim and resulting recoveries.
- Preparing the Claim Form – Improper preparation of the claim form along with failing to include proper supporting documentation is one of the main reasons claims are rejected by the claims administrator. In addition, putting too much information in a claim submission may raise unnecessary issues. Preparing a complete, concise claim form will increase the chances your claim will be accepted as filed.
- Responding to Requests and Deficiency Notices of the Claims Administrator – Claims administrators often raise questions and request additional supporting information on large claims. These notices often have short deadlines of just a few weeks. Responding to these notices requires a rapid and complete response.
- Meeting Deadlines – Deadlines for filing a claim and responding to claims administrator notices must be met or the claims may be denied. Organizations handling their own claims filing may face challenges in meeting these timelines given internal deadlines or conflicting priorities.
- Limited Class Action Claims Filing Experience – As with any process, there are ways to simplify and maximize your company’s claim with extensive knowledge that comes with the experience of filing numerous claims and dealing with the claims administration process. Because only a few settlements are worth a company filing a claim in each year, most internal resources do not have this experience.
- Lack of Industry Knowledge – Claims administrators are selected by interested parties and approved by the Court to perform a very important function, i.e. administer the settlement, and often, are required to do so utilizing cost effective methods. Unfortunately, what this means for claimants are long waits on the phone, waiting for responses to emails and/or follow-up calls on unanswered requests.
Effective class action settlement advisors have deep relationships with claims administrators and can help navigate the class action settlement claims process.
CAC Recovery LLC is the only claims filing service that is founded by a former President and Senior Executive of a leading claims administration company, with relationships at every major claims administration company. Our company:
- Identifies your business’ eligible class action settlements
- Analyzes the settlements to highlight those that more than justify any resource commitments
- Develops a claim preparation plan based on your company’s unique circumstances
- Compiles, analyzes and prepares the data necessary to file the claim
- Identifies methods to obtain filing information through third party resources or estimates
- Interacts directly with the claims administrators to respond to any request for additional information or deficiency notices
- Works on a commission basis paid only after you receive your recovery
- Oversees the entire settlement process from identifying the case through distribution
Our associates have over 20 years of management experience in the class action claims industry. We simplify the claims process for our clients, and our deep industry connections and in-depth knowledge of the filing process helps to maximize class action payouts for our clients. If you believe your company may qualify for a class action settlement, contact us so we can put you on the path to maximizing recovery while minimizing efforts.