Saliba v. KS StateBank Corp.

A court authorized the sending of a notice because you had a right to know about a proposed Settlement of a class action lawsuit known as Ricci Saliba v. KS StateBank Corporation and about all your options before the Court decided whether to give Final Approval to the Settlement. The Notice explains the Lawsuit, the Settlement, and your legal rights.

The person who sued, Ricci Saliba, is called the “Plaintiff.” KS StateBank Corporation is called the “Defendant.”

To view a copy of the Long-Form Notice, click here.

The Lawsuit alleges that automated marketing text messages regarding Defendant’s mortgage loan products were sent to Plaintiff’s and the Settlement Class Members’ wireless telephone numbers without prior express written consent in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act 47 U.S.C. § 227 (“TCPA”) and seeks actual and statutory damages under the TCPA on behalf of the named Plaintiff and a class of all individuals in the United States.

Defendant claims they complied with all applicable laws. They deny every allegation of wrongdoing, liability, and damages that were or could have been asserted in the litigation. They also deny that the claims in the litigation would be appropriate for class treatment if the litigation were to proceed through trial.

Because the Parties settled the case, the Court has not decided who is right.

The Settlement resolves the Lawsuit.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (commonly referred to as the “TCPA”) is a federal law that restricts telephone solicitations and the use of automated telephone equipment.

In a class action, one person called the “Settlement Class Representative” (in this case, Ricci Saliba) sues on behalf of herself and other people with similar claims.

All the people who have claims similar to the Plaintiff’s claims are members of the Settlement Class, except for those who excluded themselves from the Settlement Class.

The Court has not found in favor of either Plaintiff or Defendant. Instead, both sides have agreed to a settlement. By agreeing to the Settlement, the parties avoid the costs and uncertainty of a trial. Because the Settlement was approved by the Court, Settlement Class Members will receive the benefits described in the Notice. Defendant denies all liability in this case. Plaintiff and her lawyers think the proposed Settlement is best for everyone who is affected.

The Settlement Class includes any person who received a text message from Roy Meshel advertising Defendant’s mortgage loan products from March 10, 2016, through May 25, 2021.

If you are not sure whether you are in the Settlement Class or have any other questions about the Settlement, call the toll-free number 1-855-654-0007.

You also may send questions to the Administrator at the following address:

TCPA – KS StateBank Settlement
P.O. Box 5475
Portland, OR 97228-5475

Defendant has agreed to pay $775,000.00 to create a cash Settlement Fund. The Settlement Fund will be used to pay all Settlement Costs, an attorneys’ fee award, and a Service Award to the Settlement Class Representative. The remaining Net Settlement Fund shall be distributed as cash payments to Settlement Class Members who do not opt out of the Settlement. The cash payments will be distributed on a per-text-message basis to Settlement Class Members. Class Counsel anticipates that Settlement Fund Payments will be approximately $198 per text message, less attorneys’ fees and costs, Plaintiff’s Incentive Award, and the costs associated with notice and administration.

You did not have to file a claim to receive a Settlement Fund Payment. Unless you opted out of the Settlement, you will be automatically mailed a Settlement Fund Payment in the form of a check.

The Court held a Final Approval Hearing on October 6, 2021, and determined that the Settlement should be approved. Payments to Settlement Class Members will be made after any appeals are resolved (see FAQ 19). If there are appeals, resolving them can take time. Please be patient.

If you did not want benefits from the Settlement, and you wanted to keep the right to sue Defendant on your own about the legal issues in this Action, then you must have excluded yourself from the Settlement Class. The deadline to exclude yourself from the settlement was September 6, 2021.

No. Unless you excluded yourself, you gave up the right to sue Defendant for the claims that the Settlement resolves. You must have excluded yourself from this Settlement Class in order to pursue your own lawsuit.

Unless you opted out of the Settlement, you cannot sue or be part of any other lawsuit against Defendant about the issues in this case, including any existing litigation, arbitration, or proceeding. Unless you excluded yourself, all the decisions and judgments by the Court will bind you. Specifically, if you did not exclude yourself from this Settlement Class, you have agreed to the following release.

Upon the Effective Date of the Settlement, and with the exception of the contractual rights and obligations independently created by this Agreement, the Releasing Parties shall automatically be deemed to have fully and irrevocably released and forever discharged Defendant KS StateBank Corp. a/k/a KS StateBank and all its current and former employees, agents, representatives, vendors, contractors and subcontractors, consultants, third-party service providers, telephone messaging service providers, indemnitees, parent companies including Manhattan Banking Corporation, a Kansas corporation, subsidiaries, affiliates, divisions, owners, managers, directors, officers, shareholders, partners, insurers, predecessors, successors, assigns, wholesalers, resellers, distributors, retailers, attorneys, and all persons or entities involved in the generation, preparation, or distribution of the Messages, or on whose behalf they were sent (collectively referred to as the “Released Parties”) from the following (collectively, the “Released Claims”): any and all claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227, et seq. (the “TCPA”) that arise out of or relate to any text messages directed to or received by any Settlement Class Members by Defendant’s former employee Roy Meshel, or by or on behalf of Defendant.

The Settlement Agreement provides more detail regarding the Releases and describes the Released Claims with specific descriptions in necessary, accurate legal terminology, so read it carefully. You can talk to the law firms representing the Settlement Class listed in FAQ 15 for free, or you can, at your own expense, talk to your own lawyer if you have any questions about the Released Claims or what they mean.

The Settlement Agreement is available here.

No. You will not get a payment from the Settlement Fund if you excluded yourself from the Settlement.

The Court appointed the following lawyers as “Class Counsel” to represent all members of the Settlement Class.

You were not be charged for these lawyers. If you wanted to be represented by another lawyer, you would have had to hire one to appear in Court for you at your own expense.

Class Counsel requested a reasonable amount for attorneys’ fees plus reimbursement of reasonable, actual out-of-pocket expenses incurred in the litigation. The fees and expenses awarded by the Court will be paid out of the Settlement Fund. The Court decided the amount of fees and expenses to award.

Class Counsel also requested a reasonable Service Award be paid from the Settlement Fund to the Settlement Class Representative for her service as representative on behalf of the whole Settlement Class.

You were not required to make any payments to Class Counsel in this Action.

The deadline to object to the Settlement was on or before September 6, 2021.

Objecting meant telling the Court that you did not like something about the Settlement. You could have objected to the Settlement only if you did not exclude yourself from the Settlement. Excluding yourself from the Settlement meant telling the Court that you did not want to be part of the Settlement. If you excluded yourself from the Settlement, you had no basis to object to the Settlement because it no longer affected you.

The Court held a Final Approval Hearing on October 6, 2021, and determined that the proposed Settlement should be approved.

YOU DID NOT HAVE TO APPEAR AT THE HEARING TO RECEIVE THE BENEFITS OF THE SETTLEMENT.

No. Class Counsel answered any questions the Court may have had, but you were welcome to attend the hearing or have hired a lawyer to attend at your own expense.

The opportunity to speak at a hearing has passed. The Court held a Final Approval hearing on October 6, 2021, and approved the Settlement. More details about the Court’s decision can be found in the Final Approval Order.

If you are a Settlement Class Member and did nothing, you will get benefits from the Settlement. In other words, if you did nothing, you will automatically be mailed a Settlement Fund Payment. Further, unless you excluded yourself, you will be bound by the judgment entered by the Court.

If you have questions regarding the Settlement, you may contact the Administrator at:

TCPA – KS StateBank Settlement
P.O. Box 5475
Portland, OR 97228-5475

1-855-654-0007 (Toll-Free)

You may also view additional information, including the Settlement Agreement and copies of other relevant documents and Court Orders, on the Documents page of this website.

PLEASE DO NOT TELEPHONE THE COURT, THE JUDGE, OR THE CLERK OF THE COURT.