Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_12-cv-01997/USCOURTS-casd-3_12-cv-01997-4/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 890
Nature of Suit: Other Statutory Actions
Cause of Action: 28:1331 Fed. Question

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

PAUL STEMPLE, individually and 

on behalf of all others similarly 

situated,

Plaintiff,

Case No. 12-cv-01997-BAS(WVG)

ORDER GRANTING

PLAINTIFF’S EX PARTE 

APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL

OF SETTLEMENT 

DISTRIBUTION PLAN

[ECF No. 116]

v.

QC HOLDINGS, INC.,

Defendant.

Presently before the Court is Plaintiff Paul Stemple’s unopposed Ex Parte 

Motion for Approval of Settlement Distribution Plan. (ECF No. 116.) Plaintiff 

commenced this class action against Defendant QC Holdings, Inc. seeking relief for 

violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227. (ECF No. 1.) 

After several years of litigation, the Court granted the Motion for Final Approval of 

the Class Action Settlement (“Final Approval Order”) on November 7, 2016. (ECF 

No. 113.) This approval included, among other things, that a claims administrator 

would pay each Settlement Class Members their pro rata share of the Settlement 

Fund, or approximately $1,208. (ECF No. 113 at 2, 7.) 

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Plaintiff now requests that the Court modify the distribution plan for the 

settlement proceeds to the Settlement Class Members in the following ways. First, 

Defendant will send one settlement check in the amount of $1,163.24 to the validly 

claiming Settlement Class Members who provided the claim administrator

(Kurtzman Carson Consultants, or “KCC”) with their valid tax identification 

information. Currently, this includes 457 out of 664 Settlement Class Members. 

Second, Defendant will also mail two settlement checks, one in an amount slightly 

under $600 (approximately $577) in 2017 and the other in the amount of the 

remaining portion in January 2018, to the validly claiming Settlement Class Members 

who did not provide KCC with their valid tax identification information by 

November 27, 2017. These two checks will total approximately $1,155.00 and

account for the additional costs associated with sending two checks instead of one. 

Currently, this includes 207 out of 664 Settlement Class Members.

Plaintiff makes this request largely due to the Internal Revenue Service’s

requirement that any individual recovery exceeding $600 must be accompanied by a

tax identification number. (Mot. at 2.) The IRS penalizes $250 for each check 

without the required tax identification information. KCC sent out requests for the 

tax identification numbers to every Settlement Class Member, and only received 457

valid tax identification numbers to date. (Id. at 2). Hence, for the remaining 207 

Settlement Class Members, Plaintiff seeks to send these individuals two checks, 

neither of which will exceed the $600 threshold, to avoid the IRS’s penalty and 

maximize these individuals’ recovery. (Id. at 4.) Plaintiff has also made the final 

calculation of the settlement proceeds, which amounts to $1,173.19 per claim for 664 

valid claims. After dividing the costs of distributing the settlement checks among 

the Settlement Class Member, each member will receive $1,163.24. Those 

Settlement Class Members who did not provide a valid tax identification number will 

bear the additional cost of distributing two checks instead of one, and their individual 

recovery will be further reduced to approximately $1,155.00. The Final Approval 

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Order approximated $1,208 per claim for the individual recovery amount for 645 

valid claims. The Court made previous fairness determinations in its Final Approval 

Order. Likewise, the Court finds that this amendment to the Final Approval Order is 

fair and approval is warranted.

For the reasons stated both in this Order as well as its Final Approval Order, 

the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s ex parte motion for approval of the settlement 

distribution plan (ECF No. 116). Accordingly, the Court amends its previous Final 

Approval Order (ECF No. 113) in the following ways:

1) The Court inserts the following item to its Order as item six: “(6) The Claim 

Administrator shall mail—in 2017—one settlement check in the amount of 

$1,163.24 to the validly claiming Settlement Class Members who provided 

the Claim Administrator with their valid tax identification information. 

Currently, this includes 457 Settlement Class Members. The Claim 

Administrator will also mail—in 2017 and in January 2018—two 

settlement checks, one in an amount slightly under $600 (approximately 

$577) and the other in the amount of the remaining portion owed, to the 

validly claiming Settlement Class Members who did not provide the Claim 

Administrator with their valid tax identification information by November 

27, 2017. Both checks will be accompanied by an explanatory letter. These 

two settlement checks should amount to approximately $1,155.00 to 

account for the additional costs associated with sending two checks instead 

of one. Currently, this includes 207 Settlement Class Members.”

2) Each of the following item numbers will be renumbered accordingly to 

account for this additional item (e.g. item six becomes item seven and so 

on).

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: September 5, 2017

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