Hengle Vs Asner Settlement Payment Date
A $25,535,929.00 fund will be created from contributions by the Defendants to provide additional cash payments to Class Members. If the Court approves the Settlement, and if you are entitled to any payment, a check for your portion will be automatically mailed to you.
The amount of any cash payment to you will depend on what you paid in principal and/or what you paid in interest above your state’s legal limits, as well as the amount of money available in the settlement fund.
You will only get a proportionate share of the recovery because the total amount of the settlement funds available likely will not be enough to pay everyone the full amount paid on their loan. You may also go to the website to determine if you will receive a payment, and you can contact the Settlement Administrator using the contact information below to get an estimate of the amount you likely would receive if the Settlement is approved.
The cash payments made as part of this Settlement are in addition to the cash payment(s), if any, that you may have received as part of the separate settlement of the earlier, related litigation in George Hengle, et al. v. Scott Asner, et al., Civil Action No. 3:19-cv-250, unless you excluded yourself from (or “opted out” of) that settlement.
You will not receive a cash payment, but will receive other benefits, if you:
• Did not make any payments on your loan with Golden Valley, Silver Cloud, Majestic Lake, or Mountain Summit; or
• Lived in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin and did not make payments above the full principal amount of your loan; or
• Lived in Alabama, Alaska, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, Washington D.C., and Wyoming and did not pay interest above your state’s legal limits; or
• Lived in Utah or Nevada (which had no interest rate restrictions).
Other Benefits:
Defendants will agree not to provide capital, services, or assistance to Golden Valley, Silver Cloud, Majestic Lake, or Mountain Summit, as well as their successors, for a period of three (3) years, and will not participate in the collection of any of the loans at issue in the lawsuit, regardless of whether you have made any payments on those loans.
WHAT IS THIS LAWSUIT ABOUT?
The claims involved in the Settlement arise out of loans made in the name of Golden Valley, Silver Cloud, Majestic Lake and Mountain Summit, which are owned by the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake, a federally recognized Native American tribe (the “Tribe”). The Plaintiffs in this case claim that Defendants, who are individuals and entities unaffiliated with the Tribe, violated federal and state laws by making and collecting loans with annual interest rates in excess of the amount allowed by state laws. Defendants vigorously deny any wrongdoing and the facts of Plaintiffs’ claims.
They assert that the loans are legal because, among other reasons, (1) the rates and terms were authorized under the respective laws of the Tribe, and (2) the borrowers each explicitly agreed that tribal laws governed the loan(s). Defendants also defend against the Plaintiffs’ claims on numerous other grounds, including the expiration of the applicable statutes of limitation and that they were passive investors who were uninvolved in the operation or management of the lending enterprise.
