In re Midland Credit Management TCPA Litigation

Plaintiffs allege that Defendants contacted their cell phones using auto-dialing technology without prior express consent.  These calls were made in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

1. Final Approval granted.
2. The four serial objector-linked objections were all withdrawn prior to Final Approval.
3. At least one objection withdrawal (Objector Sweeney's, discussed below) was due to a payoff of $35,000 from Class Counsel.
4. No payments to objectors were disclosed in the public record of this case.
5. All remaining objections were overruled.

1. Class is impermissibly "fail-safe."
2. Class membership is not ascertainable.
3. Settlement violates Defendant's consent decree with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
4. Release is overbroad.
5. Relief is inadequate and illusory.
6. Settlement is contrary to Churchill factors.
7. Attorneys' fees are excessive.

1. Clear sailing provisions are improper.
2. Settlement terms are uncertain.

1. Settlement should be considered a "coupon settlement."
2. Relief is illusory.
3. Settlement is overvalued.
4. Settlement contains intra-class conflicts.
5. Settlement amount in inadequate.
6. Notice is inadequate.
7. Settlement ignores certain debt collection practices.
8. Attorneys' fees are excessive.

1. Claims process lacks sufficient oversight.
2. There is no definite timeline for the claims administration process.
3. A portion of the attorneys' fees should be withheld to provide adequate oversight.
4. Attorneys' fees do not reflect actual recovery by the class.
5. Attorneys' fees are excessive and not supported by the docket record.
6. Settlement lacks a cy pres provision.
7. There are no caps on costs or expenses.
8. Notice is inadequate.

In sworn deposition testimony in In re Yahoo! Mail Litigation, Objector Sweeney testified that he had received a payment of $35,000 from Class Counsel in exchange for dropping his objections in this case.  Objector Sweeney testified that he had not sought court approval for this payment and the payment does not appear in the record of this case.  (see Patrick Sweeney Deposition Transcript at 149:23-150:24).