The CEG team boasts decades of collective experience, having managed over 1,800 class action administrations covering a wide spectrum of areas including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), human rights, data breach, Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), insurance, Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), antitrust, securities fraud, and other class action matters. Throughout these cases, CEG's leadership successfully identified and notified millions of class members, distributing hundreds of millions of dollars in recoveries to individuals who met the criteria for each respective class.
CEG offers an array of class action notice and settlement administration services including, but not limited to, the following:
Pre-settlement Consultation
Damages Data Analysis
Mediation Preparation
Settlement Agreement Review
Notice Plan Development
Drafting Notice Documents
Compilation of Class Member Lists
Mail and Email Class Notice
Digital and Social Media Notice
Call Center and Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
Automated Voicemail Transcription
Multilingual Support
Advanced Class Member Location
Website Hosting and Management
Notice Plan Effectuation Affidavits
Notice Adequacy Analysis
Paper and Electronic Claims Processing
Pro Rata Calculations
Escrow Agency Services
Qualified Settlement Fund (QSF) Administration
Class Settlement Payment Options
Settlement and QSF Tax Reporting
Class Notice
CEG is a nationally recognized expert in the design, preparation and dissemination of legal notice. Ensuring that class members are aware of, understand, and can act on their legal rights is the essence of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 23. By using industry-approved measurement processes and accredited consumer data, CEG develops notice programs that fully comply with the requirements of Rule 23 and its state equivalents. Our notice programs have never faced a successful objection.
CEG’s case-specific notice programs utilize available class data, demographic, geographic, behavioral, and interest-based criteria to effectively connect with specific audiences via direct mail, email, third-party notice, publication, and digital media. Advancements in technology and communication outlets offer an expanding range of methods to efficiently and effectively notify class members. CEG’s notice campaigns fulfill the following legal notice requirements:
Timeliness: Notice is timely and provided at the appropriate stage in the litigation process.
Content: Notice adequately describes the nature of the action, the definition of the class, the claims, issues, or defenses involved, and the binding effect of a class judgment.
Opt-Out Information: Notice informs class members of their right to opt out of the action (if applicable) if they wish to pursue individual claims separately.
Method of Notice: Notice is given through various means such as direct mail, email, publication, or other appropriate forms of communication. The method chosen is the most effective means of reaching class members.
Scope: Notice is provided to all members of the class or a reasonable subset of the class that adequately represents the interests of absent members.
For example, CEG utilizes the telephone numbers and emails of individuals who should receive notice to match to similarly situated social media users so that the publication notice, in the form of digital banners, is disseminated across different platforms such as mobile and desktop web, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Google Ads, X (formerly Twitter), Adobe, Amazon marketing services, etc.
The court has always approved the form and manner of CEG notice that ensured it met the requirements of Rule 23 and provided adequate information to class members.
Courts have also endorsed the effectiveness of CEG’s notice programs. CEG was appointed as the Settlement Administrator in the matter of Leslie Ann Wilkie Peltier, et al. v. Deb Haaland, et al., No. 20-cv-03775 (D. D.C.), a class action lawsuit to redress alleged breaches of trust by the United States Department of the Interior, the United States Department of the Treasury, and the United States of America with respect to the accounting and management of two Judgment Awards of the Indian Claims Commission (ICC). The $59 million settlement provided relief to several generations of tribal families. As part of this litigation, CEG’s team worked over the course of several years to develop a novel class notice plan and claims adjudication process that would effectively and efficiently distribute settlement funds to surviving tribal members and their heirs, many of whom are ageing. At the preliminary approval hearing, presiding Federal Judge Thomas F. Hogan overseeing the settlement noted that CEG was “instrumental in helping to shape the deal…”
At the final settlement approval fairness hearing in Leslie Ann Wilkie Peltier, et al. v. Deb Haaland, et al., No. 20-cv-03775 (D. D.C.), class counsel noted that CEG “made extensive efforts to identify and reach” the class and that CEG’s class notification efforts “have met or gone beyond the Rule 23 and due process…requirements…The notice program here has been thorough…” In his order granting final class action settlement agreement approval, Federal Judge Thomas F. Hogan noted that CEG’s class notification process provided “the best notice practicable under the circumstances…and it was reasonably calculated to reach the class members.”
CEG provides reach and frequency analysis in its class action notice campaigns. That involves measuring the number of unique individuals exposed to the notice (reach) and the number of times they are exposed (frequency). These metrics, detailed further in the Federal Judicial Center’s Judge’s Class Action Notice and Claims Process Checklist and Plain Language Guide 2010, ensure that the notice is effectively communicated to the affected class members, maximizing awareness and understanding while avoiding oversaturation. Proper analysis helps achieve compliance with legal requirements, enhances the campaign’s effectiveness, and ensures cost-efficiency by balancing the extent and repetition of the communication.
In addition, CEG provides notice adequacy analysis that assesses whether the communication efforts to inform potential class members about the class action lawsuit meet legal standards and are effective in reaching and informing them. This analysis ensures that the notice is clear, concise, and comprehensive, providing all necessary information about the class action, including the nature of the lawsuit, the rights of class members, and any required actions they need to take. The goal is to confirm that the notice method is appropriate and sufficient to alert a significant portion of the class, ensuring that affected individuals are adequately informed and can participate or opt out as needed. This involves evaluating the content, distribution channels, timing, and overall reach and frequency of the notice to ensure compliance with legal requirements and the best possible communication to the class members.
CEG completes the notice with the Declaration on Mailing confirming the details of how class action notices were distributed to class members with a description of the mailing process, compliance with court orders, dates of mailing, the total number of notices sent, and any additional steps taken to ensure delivery to provide the court with evidence that all identified class members were adequately notified according to legal and procedural requirements.
Class Action Fairness Act Notice (CAFA)
CAFA Notice, under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, requires notifying federal and state officials about the filing of a class action lawsuit or proposed settlement. Sent to the U.S. Attorney General and relevant state officials within 10 days of filing, the notice must include key details and documents including but not limited to the complaint, dates of scheduled hearings, copies of draft class member notifications, settlement agreement(s), etc. The purpose is to ensure transparency and allow officials to review and potentially intervene in the settlement process, ensuring it is fair, reasonable, and adequate for class members.
