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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS 

EASTERN DIVISION

HENRY ESPEJO, individually and on behalf 

of all others similarly situated, 

Plaintiff,

v.

SANTANDER CONSUMER USA, INC., an 

Illinois corporation,

Defendant.

______________________________________

Case No.: 1:11-cv-08987

Honorable Charles P. Kocoras

Magistrate Judge Sidney I. Schenkier

FAYE LEVINS, individually and on behalf of 

all others similarly situated, 

Plaintiff,

v.

SANTANDER CONSUMER USA, INC., an 

Illinois corporation,

Defendant.

Case No.: 1:12-cv-09431

Honorable Charles P. Kocoras

Magistrate Judge Sidney I. Schenkier

DECLARATION OF JAY EDELSON IN SUPPORT OF 

PLAINTIFF LEVINS’S MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION

 Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, I hereby declare and state as follows: 

1. I am an attorney admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the 

Northern District of Illinois. I am entering this declaration in support of Plaintiff Faye Levins’ 

Motion for Class Certification. This declaration is based upon my personal knowledge, except 

where expressly noted otherwise. If called upon to testify to the matters stated herein, I could and 

would competently do so. 

2. I am the founder and CEO of Edelson PC, and have been appointed as interim 

lead class counsel in the related actions Espejo v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc., No. 11-cv-
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8987 (N.D. Ill.) and Humphreys v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc., No. 12-cv-4671 (N.D. Ill.). 

(See dkt. 43.) 

Plaintiff’s Role as Class Representative 

3. It is my opinion that Plaintiff Faye Levins is a more than adequate class 

representative in this matter, having actively participated in the litigation on behalf of the 

proposed Class for nearly four years. 

4. Indeed, Plaintiff has diligently participated in discovery, producing documents 

and answering written discovery requests from Defendant Santander Consumer USA, Inc. 

(“Santander”), as well as sitting for an exhaustive all-day deposition, where she articulated her 

understanding of both the issues in the case and her role as class representative. (Plaintiff’s 

daughter Jacqueline and her sister Mary Godwin also had their depositions taken by Santander, 

while another sister, Angela Allen, responded to a subpoena from Santander by affidavit.) 

5. From her initial review of the pleadings and other filings, to her active 

participation in discovery, through the deposition of her daughter and sister, Plaintiff has pursued 

the interests of the proposed Class and Subclass in this case, and is committed to doing so 

through trial and any appeals.

Edelson PC’s Significant Class Action Experience

6. I am also confident that my law firm, Edelson PC, is well suited to continue to 

represent the proposed Class and Subclass as Class Counsel. My firm is a recognized leader in 

class action litigation, with a particular focus on consumer privacy and technology issues, 

including claims under the TCPA.

7. Not only has my firm secured groundbreaking TCPA rulings in cases such as 

Satterfield v. Simon & Schuster, Inc., 569 F.3d 946, 949 (9th Cir. 2009) (confirming the statute’s 
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application to text messages), but we have also obtained certification of the largest adversarially 

certified class in TCPA history, and subsequently obtained summary judgment in the Class’s 

favor as well. See Birchmeier v. Caribbean Cruise Line, Inc., No. 12-cv-4069, dkts. 241, 421 

(N.D. Ill.) (Kennelly, J.).

8. Further and as reflected in Exhibit P hereto, attorneys from Edelson PC routinely 

serve as class counsel in TCPA actions of similar size, scope, and complexity, including many 

within this District. See, e.g., Birchmeier v. Caribbean Cruise Line, Inc., No. 12-cv-4069 (N.D. 

Ill.); Kolinek v. Walgreen Co., No. 13-cv-4086 (N.D. Ill.); Hopwood v. Nuance Communc’ns, 

Inc., et al., No. 13-cv-2132 (N.D. Ill.); Rojas v. CEC, 10-cv-5260 (N.D. Ill.).

9. To date, myself and other attorneys at my firm—including Rafey S. Balabanian, 

Benjamin H. Richman and J. Dominick Larry—have dedicated substantial resources to the 

investigation and prosecution of Plaintiff’s and the Class’s claims. Between this action and the 

related case Espejo v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc., 11-cv-8987 (N.D. Ill.), attorneys from 

Edelson PC have, inter alia, engaged in significant motion practice (including motions to stay 

and to compel arbitration), participated in four all-day mediation sessions, taken and defended a 

dozen depositions, and carefully reviewed thousands of pages of document production, which 

included technical user manuals and voluminous call records. 

10. Looking forward, we will continue to devote the time and other resources 

necessary to represent the interests of the proposed Class and Subclass, including through trial 

and any appeals.
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Exhibits Referenced in Plaintiff’s Motion for Class Certification 

11. Attached hereto as Exhibit A is a true and accurate copy of excerpts of the 

Transcript of the Rule 30(b)(6) Deposition of Wayne Nightengale, taken in the related Espejo

matter on October 22, 2014.

12. Attached hereto as Exhibit B is a true and accurate copy of the financing 

documents relating to Faye Levins’s Drive Financial loan, produced by Santander in discovery in 

this case bearing bates numbers SCUSA/B 0035 through SCUSA/B 0074. 

13. Attached hereto as Exhibit C is a true and accurate copy of excerpts of the 

Transcript of the Deposition of Mark Mooney. 

14. Attached hereto as Exhibit D is a true and accurate copy of Defendant Santander 

Consumer USA, Inc.’s Response to Plaintiff Espejo’s Second Set of Interrogatories. 

15. Attached hereto as Exhibit E is a true and accurate copy of excerpts of a 

document titled “Santander Consumer USA Inc. Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Policy 

Including State Debt Collection Laws, Revision and Publication Date: February 2010,” produced 

by Santander in discovery in the related Espejo action bearing bates numbers SCUSA/E 8536 

through SCUSA/E 8554.

16. Attached hereto as Exhibit F is a true and accurate copy of excerpts of the 

Transcript of the Deposition of Joseph Burda. 

17. Attached hereto as Exhibit G is a true and accurate copy of excerpts of a 

document titled “Unified Director User Guide,” produced by Santander in the related Espejo

action bearing bates numbers SCUSA/E 0120 through SCUSA/E 0721. 

18. Attached hereto as Exhibit H is a true and accurate copy of the Declaration of 

Wayne Nightengale, produced by Santander in expert discovery in this action. 
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19. Attached hereto as Exhibit I is a true and accurate copy of excerpts of the 

Transcript of the Rule 30(b)(6) Deposition of Mark Nerios. 

20. Attached hereto as Exhibit J is a true and accurate copy of the activity notes for 

Plaintiff Faye Levins’s account, produced by Santander in this action bearing bates numbers 

SCUSA/B 00001 through SCUSA/B 00034. 

21. Attached hereto as Exhibit K is a true and accurate copy of excerpts of a 

document produced by Santander in the related Espejo action bearing bates numbers 

SCUSA/E 8587 through SCUSA/E 9087. 

22. Attached hereto as Exhibit L is a true and accurate copy of excerpts of the 

Transcript of the Deposition of Faye Levins. 

23. Attached hereto as Exhibit M is a true and accurate copy of a document produced 

as part of T-Mobile, Inc.’s Response to Santander’s May 20, 2015 subpoena to produce 

documents.

24. Attached hereto as Exhibit N is a true and accurate copy of the proposed Class 

Action Settlement Agreement in the case captioned Hibler v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc., 

No. 5:13-cv-1354 (C.D. Cal.). 

25. Attached hereto as Exhibit O is a true and accurate copy of excerpts of the 

Transcript of the Deposition of Michele Rodgers. 

26. Attached hereto as Exhibit P is a true and accurate copy of the firm resume of 

Edelson PC. 

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I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. 

Executed on April 21, 2016 at Chicago, Illinois. 

 s/ Jay Edelson 
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

 I hereby certify that on April 21, 2016, I served the above and foregoing by causing a true 

and accurate copy of such paper to be filed and served on all counsel of record via the Court’s 

CM/ECF electronic filing system.

 s/ Rafey S. Balabanian