The purpose of the Notice is to let Class Members know that a proposed Settlement has been reached in the class action lawsuit entitled Daniel Berman et al., v. Freedom Financial Network, LLC et al., Case No. 4:18-cv-01060-YGR , pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. You have legal rights and options that you may act on before the Court decides whether to approve the proposed Settlement. Because your rights will be affected by this Settlement, it is extremely important that you read the Notice carefully.

In a class action, one or more people, called Class Representatives, sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. All of these people are a Class, or Class Members. One court resolves the issues for all Class Members, except those who exclude themselves from the Class.

The Class Representatives brought this lawsuit alleging that Defendants violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227, et seq. (TCPA) by making calls using an artificial or pre-recorded voice in order to sell Freedom Financial Network, LLC or Freedom Debt Relief, LLC’s’s products. Plaintiffs also alleged that Defendants made calls and sent text messages to telephone numbers on the National Do-Not-Call Registry without the prior permission of the people contacted. Under the TCPA, a person is entitled to receive $500 for calls that were placed using an artificial or prerecorded message without the person’s consent and up to $500 per call for National Do-Not-Call Registry violations. If the person proves the calls were placed or sent willfully, the person is entitled to triple the amount awarded up to $1,500.

The Court has certified a Class for Settlement purposes only (the “Settlement Class”). U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers (the “Court”) is in charge of this class action.

Defendants deny that they should be held liable for calls that were made.

The Court did not decide in favor of the Plaintiffs or the Defendants. Instead, both sides agreed to a Settlement. That way, they avoid the cost of a trial, and the people affected will get compensation. The Class Representatives and their attorneys think the Settlement is best for the Settlement Class.

You are in the “Settlement Class” if, between May 17, 2017 and April 17, 2018, you received a call that was placed using an artificial or pre-recorded voice in order to sell Freedom Financial Network, LLC and Freedom Debt Relief, LLC’s products.

Defendants produced a list of telephone numbers that includes Settlement Class Members’ telephone numbers. You can find out if your number is on this list by visiting the Phone Number Look-up page on this website and following the instructions. You must have a number on the list to participate in the Settlement.

Defendants have agreed to pay $9,750,000 to be divided among all Settlement Class Members who send in a valid Claim Form after any fees, costs, service awards, and settlement administration expenses have been deducted. Defendant, Fluent, Inc., also has agreed to change its telemarketing practices. Settlement Agreement available on the Court Documents page of this website describes these changes in detail.

Each Settlement Class Member is entitled to submit a Claim Form. Your share of the Settlement will depend on the total number of timely and valid Claim Forms that Settlement Class Members submit and whether you have a National Do-Not-Call Registry claim in addition to a pre-recorded call claim. Class Members who have pre-recorded call claim will receive one (1) share and Class Members with both a National Do-Not-Call claim and a pre-recorded call claim will receive two (2) shares. You can learn if your number is included in the Settlement and if will receive a single or double share by visiting the Phone Number Look-up page on this website and following the instructions.

Class Counsel estimates you will receive approximately $60-$170 but this is only an estimate. The actual amount you will receive could be substantially higher or lower than the estimate. Actual payments will be calculated based on the total number of valid and timely claims submitted and the total number of claimants who have National Do-Not-Call claims.

To qualify for payment, you must submit a Claim Form by November 25, 2023. You may submit a Claim Form on this website by going to the File a Claim page and following the instructions. If you received a Postcard with an attached Claim Form, you may also complete the Claim Form, tear it off at the perforated line, and mail it. You may also download a paper Claim Form from the File a Claim page or call the Settlement Administrator at 1-800-329-4562 to request a paper Claim Form be mailed to you. Claim Forms sent by mail must be postmarked by November 25, 2023 and mailed to Berman TCPA Settlement, c/o A.B. Data, Ltd., P.O. Box. 173036, Milwaukee, WI 53217.

The Court will hold a Final Hearing on February 20, 2024 to decide whether to approve the Settlement. If the Settlement is approved, appeals may still follow. It is always uncertain whether these appeals can be resolved, and resolving them can take more than a year. Please be patient. The date and time of the hearing may change. Changes and updates will be posted on this website.

Unless you exclude yourself, you are staying in the Settlement Class and will be a Settlement Class Member. That means you can’t sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against Defendants regarding the claims that are the subject of the settlement. If the settlement is approved and becomes final and not subject to appeal, then you and all Settlement Class Members release all “Released Claims” against all “Released Parties.” It also means that all of the Court’s orders will apply to you and legally bind you.

The Settlement Agreement, available on the Court Documents page of this website describes the claims you are releasing (the “Released Claims”) and against whom you are releasing claims (“Released Parties”) in detail, please read it carefully.

The Settlement Agreement is between Plaintiffs and Defendants only. By participating in the Settlement, you are not releasing any claims for damages you may have against anyone else.

If you don’t want a payment from this settlement and you want to keep the right to sue or continue to sue Defendants, then you must take steps to remove yourself from the Settlement Class. This is called excluding yourself—or is sometimes referred to as “Opting Out” of the Settlement Class.

To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must send a letter saying that you want to be excluded from the Daniel Berman et al., v. Freedom Financial Network, LLC et al. Settlement. You must sign the letter and include the following statement: “I request to be excluded from the settlement in the Freedom Financial action.” You must also include your full name, address, telephone number where you may be contacted, the telephone numbers you maintain were called, and your signature.

Your exclusion request must be postmarked no later than November 25, 2023, and must be mailed to Berman TCPA Settlement, c/o A.B. Data, Ltd., P.O. Box 173001, Milwaukee, WI 53217

You cannot exclude yourself on the phone or by fax or email. If you ask to be excluded, you will not get any payment, and you cannot object to the Settlement. You will not be legally bound by the Terms of the Settlement.

No. Unless you exclude yourself, you give up any right to sue Defendants for the claims that this Settlement resolves. If you already have a lawsuit that may relate to the claims being released as part of this Class Action Settlement, you should speak to your lawyer in that case immediately. You must exclude yourself from this Settlement Class to continue your own lawsuit. Remember, the exclusion deadline is November 25, 2023.

No. If you exclude yourself, do not submit a claim to ask for payment.

The Plaintiffs are:

Daniel Berman, Stephanie Hernandez, and Erica Russell, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated.

The Defendants in the settlement are:

Freedom Financial Network, LLC, Freedom Debt Relief, LLC, Fluent, Inc., and Lead Science, LLC

The Court has appointed Broderick Law, P.C., The Law Office of Matthew P. McCue, Paronich Law, P.C., and Terrell Marshall Law Group PLLC to represent you and other settlement Class Members. These lawyers are called Class Counsel. You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

Class Counsel will ask the Court to approve payment of up to $3,250,000 to them for attorneys’ fees, which is one-third of the Settlement Fund, together with $200,000 to cover out-of-pocket expenses. This payment would pay Class Counsel for their time investigating the facts, litigating the case, and negotiating the settlement. Class Counsel also will request the following service awards for the Plaintiffs: Daniel Berman: $5,000, Stephanie Hernandez: $5,000, Erica Russell: $5,000. The Court may award less than these amounts.

If you remain a Settlement Class Member, you can ask the Court to deny approval by filing an Objection. You can’t ask the Court to order a different settlement; the Court can only approve or reject the Settlement. If the Court denies approval, no settlement payments will be made and the lawsuit will continue. If that is what you want to happen, you should object. Any objection to the proposed Settlement must be in writing. If you file a timely written Objection, you may, but are not required to, appear at the Final Approval Hearing, either in person or through your own attorney. If you appear through your own attorney, you are responsible for hiring and paying that attorney.

All written objections and supporting papers must (a) clearly identify the case name and number (Berman v. Freedom Financial Network, LLC, Case No. 18-cv-01060-YGR), (b) include your name, telephone number, address, and the telephone number on which you received the telemarketing calls at issue in this case; (c) be submitted to the Court either by filing the objection electronically or in person at any location of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California or by mailing them to the address below, and (d) be filed or postmarked on or before November 25, 2023.

Objecting simply means telling the Court that you don’t like something about the Settlement. You can object only if you stay in the Settlement Class. Excluding yourself from the Settlement Class is telling the Court that you don’t want to be part of the Settlement Class. If you exclude yourself, you have no basis to object because the case no longer affects you.

The Court will hold the final Fairness Hearing at 2:00 PM on February 20, 2024, before the Honorable Yvonne Gonzales Rogers at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Courtroom One, 4th Floor, 1301 Clay Street, Oakland, CA 94612. The purpose of the hearing is for the Court to determine whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the Class. At the hearing, the Court will hear any Objections and arguments concerning the fairness of the proposed Settlement, including those related to the amount requested by Class Counsel for attorneys’ fees and expenses and the service award to the class representatives. After the hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the Settlement. We do not know how long these decisions will take.

Note: The date and time of the Fairness Hearing are subject to change by Court Order. Any changes will be posted to this website. You can also monitor case activity and for changes to the dates and time of the Fairness Hearing by accessing the Court Docket in this case through the Court’s Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov, or by visiting the Office of the Clerk of the Court for the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, 1301 Clay Street, Oakland, CA 94612, between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Court holidays.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. But you are welcome to come to the hearing at your own expense. If you send an objection, you don’t have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as your written objection was filed and mailed on time, and meets the other criteria described in the Settlement Agreement, the Court will consider it. You may also pay a lawyer to attend, but you don’t have to.

If you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you may ask the Court for permission to speak at the hearing concerning any part of the proposed Settlement Agreement. If you file an objection (see Question 15) and intend to appear at the hearing, you must state your intention to do so in your objection. You cannot speak at the hearing if you exclude yourself or if you fail to state your intention to do so in your Objection.

If you do nothing, you’ll get no money from this Settlement. But, unless you exclude yourself, you won’t be able to start a lawsuit, continue with a lawsuit, or be part of any other lawsuit against Defendants about the claims in this case.

The Notice summarizes the proposed Settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement. You may review the Notice and Settlement Agreement on the Court Documents page of this website.

You can call or email the Settlement Administrator at 1-800-329-4562, info@bermantcpasettlement.com; or write to Berman TCPA Settlement c/o A.B. Data, Ltd., P.O. Box 173036, Milwaukee, WI 53217. You can also contact Class Counsel, at 206-518-6233.