Terry v. Wasatch Advantage Group Frequently Asked Questions (Reimbursment)
If you want to receive payment electronically and/or request to be paid a lower amount, click here:
- Your total estimated payment is listed in the notice mailed to you. You can also login here to check your estimated payment amount, choose to receive payment electronically, or choose to receive a lower payment.
- Unless you opt out, you will automatically receive a payment and you will be part of the settlement.
- You can call 1-800-683-4872 to find out if payment could affect whether you qualify for government benefits programs (like Section 8, Medi-Cal, or CalFresh) or the amount of benefits you receive. This service is free to you.
- Wasatch will make changes to its additional services policies for California properties. Additional services must be optional for Section 8 tenants.
There is a proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit. The case was brought on behalf of Section 8 tenants who paid additional service fees at Wasatch properties in California between April 14, 2011, and November 30, 2022.
You received a notice because you are a member of this group of Section 8 tenants, called the “class.” The notice describes the proposed settlement, explains your rights, and helps you decide what to do next.
Read the notice sent to you and decide if you want to:
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Options |
More information about each option |
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Do Nothing |
If you do nothing, you will receive a check in the mail and will be part of the settlement. |
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You can request to be paid electronically instead of by check. You can also request to receive a lower amount if you believe payment will affect your eligibility for government benefits. |
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Opt Out |
Opting out means you won’t receive any payment and won’t be part of the class. You would have the right to file your own lawsuit for damages against Wasatch or the other Defendants. You cannot opt out of the policy changes required by the settlement. |
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Object |
Stay in the class, but tell the Court that you don’t like the settlement. If the Court approves the settlement, you will still receive payment. |
Deadline to select a different payment option: January 21, 2025
Deadline to opt out or object: January 21, 2025
Settlement approval hearing: January 23, 2025
The Court will hold a hearing about whether to approve the settlement.
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The hearing will be on January 23, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. at: Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse Courtroom 3, 15th Floor 501 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 |
The scheduled hearing date could change. You can check the date on this website. You can attend the hearing. You can also ask the Court for permission to speak and express your opinion about the settlement. You can also hire your own lawyer at your own expense.
This lawsuit is about whether Wasatch’s policies requiring Section 8 tenants at its California properties to pay for “additional services” beyond the allowed rent amount violated federal and California laws. Examples of additional services are in-unit washers & dryers, parking, storage space, media packages, and renter’s insurance.
Wasatch and the other Defendants deny that they did anything wrong.
A class action settlement is an agreement between parties to resolve the case. Settlements can provide money to class members and changes to practices that caused harm.
In July 2024, the parties agreed to a settlement to end the lawsuit. Both sides want to avoid the risk, delay, and expense of more litigation.
You can receive all or part of your payment and be part of the settlement, meaning that you give up your ability to sue Wasatch and the other Defendants for damages on these same issues. You can choose not to be part of the settlement, which means you will not receive any payment, but you would still be able to bring your own lawsuit for damages. This is called “opting out.” You can also object to the settlement if you don’t like it.
Wasatch will also change its additional services policies at California properties. You cannot opt out of these policy changes.
Because a class action decides the rights of all class members, the Court must approve the settlement. Payments will be made only after the Court approves the settlement. If the Court does not approve the settlement, the settlement will not happen and the lawsuit will continue.
The Court will hold a hearing about whether to approve the settlement.
The hearing will be on January 23, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. at:
Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse
Courtroom 3, 15th Floor
501 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
The scheduled hearing date could change. You can check the date on this webstie.
You can attend the settlement approval hearing. You can also ask the Court for permission to speak and express your opinion about the settlement. You can also hire your own lawyer at your own expense.
You can get a complete copy of the proposed settlement and other key documents in this lawsuit on this website.
The settlement requires Wasatch to inform current Section 8 tenants at its California properties that additional services (such as parking, media packages, renters’ insurance, and in-unit washers & dryers) are optional, are not part of the rent, and cannot be required to rent an apartment. Wasatch must give Section 8 tenants a new choice upon renewal whether or not to enroll in additional services, and tenants can cancel them at any time. All payments will be applied first towards rent, then to additional service fees. Wasatch cannot evict Section 8 tenants for unpaid additional services fees. However, Wasatch can use other legal remedies to collect unpaid fees for additional services that tenants enroll in and refuse to give up.
Defendants will pay $5 million into a settlement fund. This money will be used to reimburse class members for all additional service fees they paid to Wasatch between May 1, 2011, and November 30, 2022. Class members will also receive interest as part of the settlement payment, which is payment of additional money because of the time tenants have waited to be reimbursed by Wasatch for the additional service fees.
The money in the settlement fund will also be used to pay to administer this settlement (expected to be approximately $130,000), and to make $5,000 payments to each of the three tenants the Court appointed to represent the interests of the class for the time and effort they put into the case and the risks they took. The Court has to approve these costs.
Class members will “release” their claims as part of the settlement, which means they cannot sue Wasatch or the other Defendants for the same issues in this lawsuit. You can read the full terms of the settlement on this website.
If there is money left over in the settlement fund after all the payments are made, it will be donated to legal aid organizations in California that provide free legal services, including to Section 8 tenants in the regions where Wasatch has properties.
If the Court approves the settlement, you do not need to do anything. You will receive a check in the mail and be bound by the settlement.
If you want to receive your full payment electronically or request to be paid a lower amount, you can do that by clicking the Payment Election button or calling:1-833-419-3493
Please refer to the notice sent to you by mail or call 1-833-419-3493 or log in here.
Class members cannot be paid until at least 30 days after the Court approves the settlement. If there are no delays, payments will be made in spring 2025.
Please update your contact information with the Settlement Administrator on this website.
If you think the estimated payment amount above is wrong, you can dispute it by sending a letter or email by January 21, 2025 to:
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Terry v. Wasatch Advantage Group Settlement Administrator P.O. Box 301132 Los Angeles, CA 90030-1132 |
Your written dispute must include:
(1) the case name and number;
(2) your full name and all other names used while living at Wasatch properties;
(3) your address, phone number, and email address (if you have one);
(4) a description of your dispute and supporting documents or other evidence (if you have them); and
(5) your signature (either handwritten or typed).
If the interest amount listed above is more than $600, you will receive a tax form (IRS Form 1099). A copy of the tax form will also be sent to the IRS. IRS Form 1099 does not apply to the reimbursement portion of the payment. If you would like tax advice, you can contact a qualified tax advisor. The lawyers in this case and the Settlement Administrator cannot give you tax advice.
Government benefits programs provide support like food, housing, healthcare, and financial assistance. In California, these programs include Section 8, Medi-Cal, Medicare, MAGI-Medi-Cal, CalWORKS, CalFresh, Section 8, SSI/SSP/SSDI, In-Home Supportive Services, and WIC. For more information, click here.
As part of the settlement, you can get free advice about whether the settlement payment may affect your eligibility for government benefits programs or the amount of benefits you receive. You can choose whether to receive the full payment, a lower payment, or no payment.
To get advice about whether payment will affect your government benefits, you can call 1-800-683-4872. This is free to all class members.
In a class action, the court appoints lawyers to represent the interests of all the class members. For this case, the Court appointed the following lawyers:
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Laura L. Ho, Esq. Anne Bellows, Esq. Stephanie Tilden, Esq. GOLDSTEIN, BORGEN, DARDARIAN & HO 155 Grand Avenue, Suite 900 Oakland, CA 94612 (888) 316-8870 |
Lindsay Nako, Esq. Lori Rifkin, Esq. Fawn Rajbhandari-Korr, Esq. Meredith Dixon, Esq. IMPACT FUND 2080 Addison Street, Suite 5 Berkeley, CA 94704 (510) 845-3473 |
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Andrew Wolff, Esq. LAW OFFICES OF ANDREW WOLFF, PC 1615 Broadway, 4th Floor Oakland, CA 94612 |
Jesse Newmark, Esq. CENTRO LEGAL DE LA RAZA 3400 E. 12th Street Oakland, CA 94601 (510) 437-1863 |
You can also hire your own lawyer at your own expense.
So far, your lawyers have not been paid any money for their work or expenses. Lawyers’ fees and costs will be paid as part of the settlement. You do not have to pay anything to the lawyers.
The settlement allows the Court to approve a payment to the lawyers of up to $4.5 million. This is called “attorneys’ fees and costs,” and it pays the lawyers for their work and expenses they paid. This amount is separate from the $5 million settlement fund for class members.
You can opt out of the settlement. If you opt out, you will not receive a payment, but you will have the right to file your own case for damages against Wasatch or the other Defendants. You cannot opt out of the additional services policy changes at Wasatch properties in California.
To opt out, you must mail or email your request to opt out by January 21, 2025 to:
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Terry v. Wasatch Advantage Group Settlement Administrator P.O. Box 301132 Los Angeles, CA 90030-1132 |
Include the case name and number, your full name and all other names used while living at Wasatch properties, your address, phone number, email (if you have one), and your signature (handwritten or typed).
If you disagree with any part of the settlement but don’t want to opt out, you can object. You must say why you think the Court should not approve the settlement and whether your objection applies to just you, a part of the class, or the entire class. The Court will consider this when it decides whether to approve or reject the settlement. The Court cannot change the settlement. You can, but don’t have to, hire a lawyer to help you with an objection.
To object, you must mail or email your objection by January 21, 2025 to:
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Terry v. Wasatch Advantage Group Settlement Administrator P.O. Box 301132 Los Angeles, CA 90030-1132 |
Your written objection must include:
(1) the case name and number;
(2) your full name and all other names used while living at Wasatch properties;
(3) your address, phone number, and email address (if you have one);
(4) the reasons why you think the agreement should not be approved;
(5) whether you or your lawyer intend to appear at the settlement approval hearing and your lawyer’s name; and
(6) your signature (handwritten or typed).
- Case documents can be found here.
- For questions about the settlement, call: 1-833-419-3493
- For free advice about your government benefits, call: 1-800-683-4872
- You are welcome to contact the Settlement Administrator or attorneys listed above with any questions. Please do not contact the Court.
- Para asistencia en español, por favor llame 1-833-419-3493 o haga clic aquí.