Frequently Asked Questions

A lawsuit entitled Mark William Dunn, et al. v. OE Federal Credit Union was filed in the Alameda County Superior Court, Case No. 22CV009792 (the “Action”). Plaintiffs MARK WILLIAM DUNN and STEPHANIE DUNN (“Plaintiffs”) allege that the Notices of Intent (called an “NOI” for short) sent by OE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION (“OEFCU”) between April 12, 2018, and April 12, 2022, and after your vehicle or other good was repossessed or voluntarily surrendered, did not comply with the Uniform Commercial Code, among other laws. The Action alleges that OEFCU is and was not entitled to collect any “deficiency balance” after it sold your good because the NOIs did not comply with the law. A “deficiency balance” is the difference between what you owed on the loan and what OEFCU got from the sale. Plaintiffs brought claims for violations of California Commercial Code § 9614, et seq. and Business and Professions Code § 17200, et seq.

In response to the Action, OEFCU has denied all of Plaintiffs’ allegations. After consideration of each side’s arguments, the parties have reached a settlement of the Action.

The Action is called a “Class Action” because the Plaintiffs seek relief on behalf of other people with similar claims, called “Class Members.” The parties have agreed to treat the Action as a Class Action for settlement purposes only.

The phrase “Settlement Class” is defined as all consumers:

• (a) Who financed or refinanced consumer goods (such as cars, trucks, vans, and other vehicles) through OEFCU;
• (b) Whose consumer goods were repossessed by or voluntarily surrendered to OEFCU.
• (c) Who was issued a NOI by OEFCU at any time from four years preceding the filing of the Complaint to April 12, 2022; and
• (d) Against whose account a deficiency balance was assessed.

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, you may be a Settlement Class member if all of the above apply to you, and the Court gives final approval of this settlement, unless you submit a valid and timely request for exclusion.

If the settlement is approved by the Court, all Settlement Class members, whether or not they paid money towards the “deficiency” amount, will receive non-cash benefits as described below. In addition, Settlement Class members that paid towards the alleged “deficiency” will be eligible to receive cash refunds, also described below. If the settlement is not approved by the Court, Settlement Class members will not get any benefits of the settlement and the parties will go back to Court for a trial on the merits of the Action.

Settlement Class benefits. As part of the settlement, OEFCU will write off any remaining Deficiency Balance on Settlement Class member’s Accounts and stop all collection efforts on such Deficiency Balances. OEFCU will also request that Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, and Innovis delete from your credit report all references to your OEFCU Account at issue.

For members of the Settlement Class who paid all or some of a Deficiency Balance, you will also receive a refund of 100% of the amount that OEFCU received toward your Deficiency Balance. The refund check will be made out to the first-named borrower on the Account, as identified in OEFCU’s loan servicing system. These refund checks will go stale after 90 days. You do NOT need to do anything to receive these benefits.

Attorneys’ Fees and Award to Class Representative. Class Counsel will seek attorneys’ fees and costs of $145,000.00, subject to approval by the Court at the final approval hearing referred to below. If the Court approves the fees and costs sought by Class Counsel, fees and costs will be paid by OEFCU on top of, and not from, your benefits under the settlement. In addition, the Class Representatives will request an award of $3,000.00 each to be approved by the Court at the final approval hearing. Any service award to the Class Representative will be paid by OEFCU on top of, and not from, your benefits under the settlement.

Any benefits you receive may or may not be the subject of state or federal taxation, depending on your circumstances. Class Counsel are not tax attorneys, and you are advised to seek separate legal advice on matters of taxation. If you have concerns about taxation of benefits in the case, you may want to opt out and receive no benefits. (See Your Rights – Exclusion)

The settlement is a compromise. In exchange for the benefits described herein, every Settlement Class Member who does not opt out will be bound by the terms of the settlement, once final, and by the Court’s judgment and all court orders in the Action and will give OEFCU a Release. A release means you can’t sue or be part of any other lawsuit against OEFCU about the claims or issues raised in this Action ever again. For more information about the terms of the Release, you may consult the Settlement Agreement on file with the Court.

If you are a Class Member, you are automatically included in the settlement, unless you request to be excluded. If you exclude yourself, you will not receive any benefits of the settlement, but you will not be bound by any judgment or release in this Action and will keep your right to sue OEFCU on your own if you want. If you exclude yourself, you may not object to the settlement. (That is, you may not both exclude yourself and object to the settlement.)

Also, if you exclude yourself OEFCU will not be bound by the terms of the settlement as to you.

To exclude yourself from the settlement, you must send a request for exclusion to the Class Administrator at the address below postmarked no later than June 10, 2024, and containing all of the following: (1) Your full name; and (2) A statement of your intent to exclude yourself. If you do not follow these procedures to exclude yourself, your rights will be determined in this Action if this settlement receives final judicial approval.

If you do not request to be excluded, you may object to the settlement. (That is, you may not both exclude yourself and object to the settlement.) To object to the settlement in writing, you may send a written objection to the Class Administrator, at the addresses provided below, postmarked no later than June 10, 2024. Your objection must provide all the following: (1) Your full name; and (2) A clear statement of each objection. Objectors are not required to attend the Final Approval Hearing but may do so. Absent good cause found by the Court, the Court will allow Objectors to be heard at the Final Approval Hearing even if the Objector has not filed a written objection.

The proposed settlement must be finally approved by the Court. The Court has set the Final Approval Hearing for July 18, 2024 at 10:00 A.M. (subject to change without further notice), in the Superior Court of Alameda County, Department 23, located at 1221 Oak Street, Oakland, CA 94612, to determine whether the settlement should be approved as fair, reasonable and adequate; whether certification of the Settlement Class is proper; the amount of reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, and the amount of the service award; and whether the settlement should be finally approved.

You do not need to hire a lawyer but may do so if you want to. You and the Settlement Class are already represented by Class Counsel listed below, at no out-of-pocket cost to you.

The settlement will not take effect until: (1) the Court approves the settlement at the Final Approval Hearing, and (2) the Final Approval Order is entered by the Court and no longer subject to any appellate challenge. After the Court grants final approval and the time to appeal has expired or appeals are exhausted, the settlement will become final, and you will receive the class benefits set forth above. If the Court does not approve the settlement, members of the Settlement Class will not receive any benefits described in this notice and it will be as if no settlement had been reached.

This Notice, which has been approved by the Court, is only a summary. You may call the Settlement Administrator directly for updates regarding the Court hearing dates at (888) 232-0981 or you may also view the Important Dates section of the website. If you have additional questions concerning this Action, the Class Notice, or settlement, you may contact Class Counsel. Please do not contact OEFCU or its counsel.

The pleadings and other records in this litigation may be examined online on the Alameda County Superior Court’s website, known as “eCourt Public Portal,” at

https://eportal.alameda.courts.ca.gov.

After arriving at the website, click the “Search” tab at the top of the page, then select the Document Downloads link, enter the case number, and click “Submit.” Images of every document filed in the case may be viewed at a minimal charge. You may also view images of every document filed in the case free of charge by using one of the computer terminal kiosks available at each court location that has a facility for civil filings.

To view the Register of Actions, go to the “Search” tab at the top of the page, then select the “Search by Case Number” enter the case number, select “Search” and click the link to the case name. You will be able to see the Register of Actions and more.

Please do not contact the Judge or the Judge’s Court staff.