Driver Solutions Settlement Information

Driver Solutions Class Action Settlement Q&A

On September 30, 2014, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued an order conditionally certifying a class of consumers who were sued by Driver Solutions over unpaid tuition debt.  If you received a Notice of Class Action Settlement, then you have been identified as a member of the potential class action against Driver Solutions.

Q:  Does this mean I am being sued?

A:  This does not mean you are being sued.

Driver Solutions was sued by a consumer for alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act including allegations that Driver Solutions violated federal law by filing lawsuits against ex-students for unpaid tuition debt in a location other than Marion County, Indiana.

Q:  If I have received this Notice of Class Action Settlement, what does that mean?

A:  If you have received a Notice of Class Action Settlement, then you have been identified as someone who falls within the Class Definition.

The Class Definition is:  “All persons within the United States who signed an enrollment agreement and note with the Defendant Driver Solutions, LLC at any location other than in Marion County, Indiana and against whom suit was filed on or after July 13, 2010.”

Q:  What does this Notice of Class Action Settlement mean?

A:  The Notice of Class Action Settlement provides the general terms of the proposed class action settlement (see Page 2).  It also explains the options available to each member of the proposed class (see Pages 3 – 4).

Q:  What are the general terms of the settlement?

A:   The general terms of the settlement are as follows:

1. Defendants have agreed to pay $430,000 on a pro rata basis to those members of the Class from whom Defendants actually collected money at any time from July 13, 2010 to the present, in proportion to each such Class Member’s share of the total amount collected by Defendants during the Class period.
2. Defendants have agreed to release all members of the Class from any liability for any debt owed to Defendants effectively extinguishing a total of $56,267,211.00 in outstanding debt owed by the members of the Class to Defendants.
3. For those members of the Class against whom a judgment was taken, Defendants have agreed to file a Satisfaction of Judgment with the court in which the judgment was obtained within 60 days of the date on which a Final Judgment is entered in this matter.
4. Defendants have agreed to pay an incentive award to the Named Plaintiff.
5. Defendants have agreed to bear the costs of administration of the Class.
6. Defendants have agreed to pay the reasonable and necessary attorneys’ fees and expenses of the Plaintiff’s attorneys in an amount approved by the Court and not to exceed $300,000.

Q:  What benefit do I get out of all of this?

A:  The Class is divided into two groups of people – those who paid money toward the judgment and those who did not pay money toward the judgment.

If a member of the Class did not pay any money to the Defendants after a judgment was taken, then that member of the Class will receive the benefit of having the judgment taken by Driver Solutions noted as being satisfied which essentially means it will be treated as though it was paid in full and nothing more is owed.

If a member of the Class did pay money (or money was garnished by the Defendants), then that member of the Class will receive the benefit of having the judgment taken by Driver Solutions noted as being satisfied which essentially means it will be treated as though it was paid in full and nothing more is owed.  That member of the Class will also receive a check in an amount which will be calculated as follows:

$430,000 will be distributed on a pro rata basis to those members of the Class from whom Defendants actually collected money at any time from July 13, 2010 to the present, in proportion to each such Class Member’s share of the total amount collected by Defendants during the Class period.

Q:  What do I have to do to participate in the Class?

A: If you would like to participate in the Class, then you do not have to do anything at all.  By receiving the Notice of Class Action Settlement and not doing anything, you will automatically be included in the Class.

Q:  What other options do I have?

A:  The options available to the members of the Class are fully detailed on Pages 3 and 4 of the Notice of Class Action Settlement.  For a complete explanation of the Class Members’ options, please refer to Pages 3 and 4 of the Notice of Class Action Settlement.  Briefly, should a member of the Class not want to participate in the proposed settlement, that member of the Class can elect to “opt out” of the Class and/or object to the proposed settlement.

Q: If the settlement is approved, how can I get a copy of the Satisfaction of Judgment?

A:  Assuming a Final Judgment is entered in this matter, Defendants have sixty days from the date of that Final Judgment to file a Satisfaction of Judgment in each Class Member’s case notifying the Marion County court that the judgment has been satisfied.  Once that has occurred, members of the Class will be able to contact the Marion County court in which their judgment was taken and request a copy of the Satisfaction of Judgment directly from the Marion County court where the document was filed.