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Class action suit against Ohio BMV over bogus lamination fees continues, plaintiffs who received postcards don’t need to do anything to remain part of the class

Marc Dann

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If you received a postcard regarding the Madyda v. BMV case, it is because you are one of the people who paid a fee to have your driver’s licensed laminated by a deputy registrar between 2018 and 2020, even though the deputy registrars were not performing the service.

That makes you a member of the class of plaintiffs in the lawsuit DannLaw has filed against the BMV and the state of Ohio. If you would like to remain in the class and receive a portion of any funds or other compensation we recover on behalf of the plaintiffs you do not need to do anything. If you prefer to bring your own claim against the BMV, the postcard contains instructions for opting out.

Again, you do not need to do anything if you want to continue to be a member of the class. DannLaw will provide regular updates as the case proceeds.

Here is a detailed description of the case:

DannLaw files class action suit against Ohio Bureau of Motor vehicles to recover $3 million in bogus fees charged by deputy registrars

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Since July 2, 2018, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) has allowed the state’s 200 deputy registrars to charge people obtaining or renewing driver’s licenses or state-issued I.D.s a $1.50 lamination fee even though the registrars were no longer producing—or laminating—the cards on site. As a result, an estimated two million Ohioans have been charged $3 million for a service that was not performed.

Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, told the Columbus Dispatch the registrars should not be pocketing the fee. “Clearly, the registrars should not be charging for something they are not providing … that’s not fair. Many of us don’t think about a buck fifty, it’s not a big deal. But it is a big deal when you think about being charged extra fees for no reason. We want to spend our money on what we expected.”

Attorney Marc Dann, founder of the Cleveland-based consumer protection law firm DannLaw agrees with Ms. Turcer. And, if the messages that have been pouring into the firm’s Facebook page are any indication, so do people who paid the bogus fee. “We posted an item on our Facebook page asking anyone who has renewed their license or state I.D. since last July to contact us,” the former Ohio attorney general said. “The response was overwhelming. Those who paid the fee were outraged. They want their money back and they want the state to stop ripping people off.”

Today the legal team at DannLaw took the first step toward recovering the unwarranted fees by filing a class action suit against the BMV in the Ohio Court of Claims. The suit asks the Court to award anyone who paid the lamination fee $1.50 plus interest. The complaint may be read/downloaded here:Madyda Alexander 2019 03 19 Complaint – Lamination Fee INITIAL DRAFT (002)

“While the dollar amount on a per-person basis may be small, there’s nothing trivial about the BMV allowing the registrars to pocket $3 million for doing nothing,” Atty. Dann said. “If everyone shrugs their shoulders and says ‘it’s only a buck fifty’ does that mean it’s ok for the state to grab five dollars or ten dollars from its citizens? Where do you draw the line? At its core, this case isn’t about the $1.50, it’s about holding government officials accountable for their actions. That’s the best way to ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again.”

According to Atty. Joe Romano of Bay Village, Ohio who is serving as co-counsel on the case the overcharges stem from the fact that in order to comply with federal regulations the BMV itself rather than the registrars began producing and mailing the licenses and I.D. cards last July. “Apparently, and this is something we hope to learn more about as the case progresses, neither the deputy registrars nor the staff at the BMV noticed that people were still being charged the $1.50 lamination fee even though the registrars weren’t laminating a darn thing,” he said.

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DannLaw founder Marc Dann
Attorney Marc Dann

I am pleased to announce that attorneys Kurt Jones, Alisa Adams and Andy Engel as well as paralegals Maureen Dial, Madellyn Brown, and Ivona Gates who were formerly associated with Advocate Attorneys LLP have joined DannLaw and will now represent their consumer arbitration clients as members of our outstanding legal team.

The seamless transition of the Advocate staff to DannLaw will ensure that clients continue to work with the attorneys and support staff they know and trust and that cases will proceed without undue disruption or delay.

We welcome our new colleagues, and we look forward to providing their clients with exceptional level of professional service that has made DannLaw one of the nation’s leading consumer protection and class action litigation law firms.

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Dann Law

Hello and Happy Spring. I’m reaching out today to provide our clients and friends with updates about several pending cases, new investigations and an exciting new addition to the DannLaw legal team. 

First I would like to introduce and welcome Jeff Crossman to DannLaw. Jeff, who recently joined DannLaw after serving in the Ohio House and running for Ohio Attorney General, will be litigating complex class action, mortgage servicing, and corporate/business cases. 

Picture of Jeff CrossmanJeff brings more than two decades of legal experience to Dann Law.  During his career, he has represented a variety of clients in complex matters, successfully resolving disputes for both individuals and businesses ranging from small startups to national corporations.  Jeff has served as an associate with a prominent national law firm, as in-house legal counsel for multiple national companies, and recently served two terms as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives where he gained invaluable experience in public policy, government, and changes made to the legal system. The sum of Jeff’s experience has given him a unique perspective and a deep understanding of the legal landscape, which he leverages to achieve the best outcomes for his clients.

Jeff believes that every client deserves high-quality legal representation personalized to fit the client’s needs, and he is committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for each and every one of his clients.

Education

  • B.A. University of Mount Union
  • M.A., University of Akron
  • J.D., Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, magna cum laude

Bar Admissions

  • State of Ohio
  • Federal District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
  • Pending: Federal District Court for the Southern District of Ohio 
  • 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

 Mortgage Servicing Litigation

Our Mortgage Servicing Litigation team, which includes Dan Solar, Michael Smith, Saher Chaudrey, Javier Merino, Brian Flick, Kim White, and Karen Ortiz, continue to bring groundbreaking cases on behalf of homeowners involved in disputes with their mortgage servicers:

  1. Delays  and mistakes made by servicers assisting homeowners who took advantage of Covid Related Mortgage Payment Forbearance provided by the CARES Act and the American Recovery Act.  As a result of these errors, many borrowers exited forbearance with higher interest rates than they should have and some are facing unnecessary and unwarranted foreclosure actions. 
  2. Homeowners put at risk because servicers mishandled tax, insurance, and other escrow payments.. 
  3. Problems that have occurred when mortgage servicing is transferred from one company to another. This problem is especially prevalent when borrowers and services are engaged in loss mitigation activities. 
  4. Accounting problems following the successful completion of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy. 
  5. Violations of Ohio’s Residential Mortgage Loan Act. Dannlaw has obtained numerous consumer/borrower favorable court decisions involving servicers who failed to abide by changes in the Ohio Law that protects borrowers.

Foreclosure Defense

As foreclosure protections sunset our Foreclosure Defense team led by Whitney Kaster with support from Amanda Severt, Karen Ortiz and Roberto Rivera are litgating cases and developing thoughtful and innovative loss mitigation and legal strategies that will enable our clients to stay in their homes. If you are or may be about to enter foreclosure, please contact form or call us at 216-373-0539. We are here to help.

Class Action Lawsuits 

The members of our class action practice group, Brian Flick, Javier Merino, Andy Wolf, Jeff Crossman, Saher Chaudrey,Kim White and Liza Marigliano are pleased and proud to report that they have worked with co-counsel to obtain preliminary approval of several class action cases across the United States in the past several months.  There are active claim deadlines in the following cases.  If you believe you are a member of the class in one or some of these actions, we encourage you to visit the case settlement websites to review the terms of settlement and if appropriate files a claim: .

Nationstar

In the Class Action case against Nationstar Mortgage and payment processor ACI we successfully negotiated a $9 million settlement that is set for final approval on May 31, 2023 in the Federal District Court in North Carolina. You still have  time to submit claims if Nationstar pulled money from your bank account without permission in April of 2021. Visit this website to make a claim https://achloanpaymentlitigation.com/.

Michigan Ave. Immediate Care

Michigan Avenue Immediate Care  has agreed to a $900,000 settlement fund for people whose personal information was exposed to the dark web as the result of a data breach. If you were a patient of the of that Chicago medical practice file a claim here:  https://www.maicincident.com/

Parker Hannifin

We’ve reached a favorable $1.75 Million  settlement for present and past employees of Parker Hannifin who were impacted by a data breach. If you ever worked at Parker Hannifin please follow this link to learn more and file a claim www.phdatasettlement.com.

We are also investigating and litigating several other significant class action cases including:

Pricing Fraud by Dollar General.  DannLaw has filed cases against Dollar General in Ohio, New York and New Jersey based on allegations that prices listed for items on shelves are lower than prices charged at the register. If you live anywhere in the United States and believe you have been overcharged by Dollar General or any other retailer, please contact our office by completing and submitting our contact form or calling 216-373-0539.

Salmonella Poisoning in Jif Peanut Butter 

The FDA, along with CDC and state and local partners are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Senftenberg infections linked to certain Jif brand peanut butter products produced at the J.M. Smucker Company facility in Lexington, Kentucky. If you believe you have been impacted by the outbreak please complete and submit our contact form or call us at 216-373-0539.

Traffic Camera Violations in the City of Girard

Tickets were wrongly issued to drivers along Rt 80 in Girard Ohio

Impact Cases

Federal Government’s failure to compensate victims of  “Snap Skimming”  DannLaw recently filed a case in Ohio against the United States Department of Agriculture regarding the agency’s failure to reimburse Ohioans whose SNAP benefits have been “skimmed” by unknown third parties beginning in January of 2022. 

Skimming occurs when criminals use a device placed over a point-of-sale card reader to steal information from payment cards like SNAP EBT and cash assistance cards. That means SNAP or cash assistance benefits may have been stolen with the cardholder’s knowledge.

If you believe you have been a victim of SNAP theft, please please complete and submit our contact form or call us at 216-373-0539.

Racial Discrimination in Mortgage Lending by Wells Fargo We have assumed a  leadership role in investigating allegations that Wells denied  borrowers of color mortgage financing at a rate almost double that of white borrowers.. 

Ohio PUA Unemployment Benefits

In Bowling v. Dewine we continue to pursue $900 million in fully federally-funded COVID-19 supplemental unemployment insurance benefits the DeWine administration callously denied Ohioans who were left jobless as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. 

Data Breach Cases

We are also bringing Class Actions for Data Breaches against the following Companies:

Last Pass/GoTo Technologies

Carrington Mortgage and Alvaria, Inc.

Snap Finance–Brian Flick has been appointed co-lead counsel

Key Bank/KeyBank Mortgage/Fulton Bank/Overby-Seawell

Samsung

Bet MGM (Where Javier Merino is taking a Lead Role)

Lakeview Loan Servicing

If you or someone you know has been impacted by these data breaches please complete and submit our contact form or call us at 216-373-0539.

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DannLaw founder Marc DannAs most of you know, the next hearing in the supplemental unemployment benefit case is scheduled for Tuesday, January 24, 2022 before Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Holbrook. If you are interested in attending the hearing it will be conducted in Courtroom 5B in the Franklin County Courthouse which is located at 345 High Street in Columbus. The hearing may also be viewed via a live stream here: https://www.fccourts.org/480/Live-Stream

As the day approaches, I want to commend the extremely talented attorneys who have from Day One been totally engaged in the battle to force Governor DeWine to do the right thing by     reversing his decision to deny tens of thousands of Ohioans the fully federally funded unemployment benefits they deserve and desperately need. Please join me in thanking Brian Flick of DannLaw, Andrew Engel of Advocate Attorneys, LLP, and Thomas A. Zimmerman, Jr. and Matthew C. De Re of the Zimmerman Law Offices. Absent their hard work and dedication this fight would have been lost long ago.

I also wanted to share the consolidated class action complaint we have filed. You may view it here: Bowling Candy 2023 01 02 TS Consolidated Class Complaint. I invite everyone to read the entire document. For those who would just like to cut to the chase I have pulled out what in legal terms is called our “Prayer for Relief,” and also provided a plain English summary.

In Plain English we demand:

  • That the named plaintiffs, Candy Bowling Candy, Shawnee Huff, James Parker, Sarah Russell, Sebastian Nash, and Zachary Dunn represent all the people Governor DeWine screwed over by callously and unjustly cutting off the benefits;
  • That DeWine did not follow the law which requires him to secure all available federal unemployment benefits for the people he is supposed to represent:
  • That the Court order DeWine to retroactively provide Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program to plaintiffs and the members of the class;
  • That the Court order the governor and the state to immediately reinstate Ohio’s participation in all federal unemployment Benefit Programs;
  • That the state pays the attorney’s fees associated with bringing and pursuing the case;
  • That the judge does whatever else he believes are necessary to right the grievous wrong that has been done to so many Ohioans.

To boil it down even more we’re saying these are the people who were hurt, they shouldn’t have been, now give them the money.

If you prefer all of it in legalese read below. If you stop here, please know that we appreciate your support and your kind words. Your energy and commitment to fighting for what’s right has fueled our campaign for justice.

Wish us luck on the 24th, and of course we will provide updates after the hearing.

Legalese version of the Prayer for Relief:

Plaintiffs, individually, and on behalf of the Class, pray for an Order as follows: A. Finding that this action satisfies the prerequisites for maintenance as a class action and certifying the Class defined herein;

  1. Designating Plaintiffs as representatives of the Class and their undersigned counsel as Class Counsel;
  2. Entering judgment in favor of Plaintiffs and the Class and against Defendants;
  3. Declaring that (1) pursuant to O.R.C. § 4141.43(I), Defendants must secure all possible federal unemployment benefits available to unemployed Ohioans, (2) Defendants violated their statutory duties under O.R.C. § 4141.43(I) by prematurely terminating Ohio’s participation in FPUC benefits as of the week of June 26, 2021, and (3) Defendants’ continued failure and refusal to secure all available advantages on behalf of Ohio and Franklin County Ohio Clerk of Courts of the Common Pleas- 2023 Jan 02 2:11 PM-21CV004469 23 Ohio citizens, such as the FPUC benefits, is in derogation of Defendants’ constitutional powers and violates their clear statutory duties;
  4. Mandatorily enjoining and ordering Governor DeWine and Director Damschroder, in their official capacities, ODJFS, and Defendants’ officers, employees, and agents, all persons acting in concert or participation with any Defendant, or under any Defendant’s supervision, direction, or control to reinstate Ohio’s participation in FPUC, and use Ohio’s share of the Remaining Funds to retroactively provide the FPUC benefits to Plaintiffs and Class members;
  5. Ordering—pursuant to O.R.C. § 2731.01, et seq.—Governor DeWine and Director Damschroder, on behalf of the State of Ohio, to take all actions necessary to immediately reinstate Ohio’s participation in all federal unemployment Benefit Programs available from the United States Department of Labor, including restoring FPUC benefits to the State of Ohio, as is required by O.R.C. § 4141.43(I), or, in the alternative, promptly pay FPUC benefits due to Plaintiffs and Class members for the period beginning on June 26, 2021 through September 6, 2021, as is required by O.R.C. § 4141.28(I);
  6. Awarding Plaintiffs and the Class attorneys’ fees and costs, including interest thereon, as allowed or required by law;
  7. Granting all such further and other relief as this Court deems just and appropriate.

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DannLaw founder Marc DannWhile the $3.7 billion settlement between Wells Fargo and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is welcome news, it doesn’t resolve all the issues surrounding the bank’s bad behavior–a point made by CFPB Director Rohit Chopra who noted that Wells’ rinse-repeat cycle of violating the law has harmed millions of American families.” He also said the company is a serial offender that puts one third of American households at risk of harm and that finding permanent resolution to this bank’s pattern of unlawful behavior is a top priority.
As most of you know, holding Wells accountable is also a top priority for DannLaw. We successfully represented clients in a class action suit related to the same issues outlined in the CFPB order and we are currently pursuing cases in California and New Jersey.
In addition, we continue to recieve calls and emails from homeowners who are involved in home mortgage disputes with Wells. If Wells is your lender or servicer and you believe you are being abused by the bank please contact DannLaw today by calling Lisa at 216-250-4012, emailing intake@dannlaw.com, or visiting https://dannlaw.com/contact/ to schedule a no-cost consultation that will enable us to determine if you are entitled to financial compensation.
Under the terms of the agreement with the CFPB Wells will provide $2 billion in compensation to consumers for engaging in the following activities:
• Unlawfully repossessing vehicles and bungling borrower accounts: Wells Fargo had systematic failures in its servicing of automobile loans that resulted in $1.3 billion in harm across more than 11 million accounts.
• Improperly denying mortgage modifications: During at least a seven-year period, the bank improperly denied thousands of mortgage loan modifications, which in some cases led to Wells Fargo customers losing their homes to wrongful foreclosures.
• Illegally charging surprise overdraft fees: For years, Wells Fargo unfairly charged surprise overdraft fees – fees charged even though consumers had enough money in their account to cover the transaction at the time the bank authorized it.
• Unlawfully freezing consumer accounts and mispresenting fee waivers: Customers affected by these account freezes were unable to access any of their money in accounts at the bank for an average of at least two weeks.
The terms of the agreement require Wells to contact its victims. Eligible consumers don’t have to take any action.
We wish we could say we believe Wells will now clean up its act. But we don’t. We know the bank is taking advantage of homeowner and consumers every day. If you are one of them, please contact DannLaw today wo we can protect your rights, your family and fight for the compensation you deserve.

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The End of Covid Forbearance is here. Time to rework your loan. 

DannLaw founder Marc DannMortgage forbearance and other programs made available to homeowners during the COVID-19 pandemic are about to end. That means millions of homeowners are or will soon be pursuing loan modifications or other work out options with their lenders. Karen Ortiz, Roberto Rivera, and DannLaw’s highly experienced and knowledgeable legal staff are here to help families navigate the complicated process and select the payment structure that best meets their needs. Please contact us to arrange a no-cost, no-obligation consultation by calling 216-373-0539 or completing our contact form.

Changes at DannLaw

We are sad to announce that Attorney Whitney Horton is leaving DannLaw after being a valuable member of our team for more than seven years. If Whitney has been working on your case, a notice of substitution of counsel will be filed in the next few weeks. Whitney Kaster, who was at DannLaw before the pandemic is returning to the firm on Monday April 24. Attorney Kaster will work me and Emily White on foreclosure defense matters and with Brian Flick on Consumer Protection cases.  In addition, Amanda Severt who has been our administrative assistant has been promoted and will now work as a paralegal assigned to foreclosure cases and state court litigation.

 Student Loan Changes

The U.S. Department of Education is making changes to the Income Based Repayment program for Federal Student Loans that should enable lower income borrowers to fulfill their obligations faster and qualify for Public Service or other Loan forgiveness programs sooner. You may read about the changes here. Richard Cordray who served as Ohio Treasurer and AG before being named the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and is now in charge of Student Loan Issues at the DOE drafted and implemented these significant improvements.  

Foreclosures Are Ramping Up 

Along with forbearance and other relief programs, foreclosure stays are ending.  That means hundreds and perhaps thousands of new judicial foreclosure actions will be filed in Ohio, New Jersey and other states. We have the experience, expertise, and knowledge needed to save your home.

Remember this important point: The filing of a foreclosure lawsuit is the beginning, not the end of the process. Please reach out to DannLaw or another attorney as soon as you know a foreclosure action has been filed against you. If you’ve been served with a foreclosure complaint you have a short time–28 Days in Ohio–to retain a lawyer and file an answer. The vast majority of people who retain us because they want to stay in their home are able to do exactly that.

In addition to defending the foreclosure action, we conduct a thorough investigation to determine if your mortgage loan servicer has followed all applicable rules and laws that govern mortgage lending. If we discover violations, we can bring and pursue claims against the mortgage company. Our foreclosure clients pay an affordable monthly payment into our trust account to cover the fees that we earn in their cases. We offer a free consultation. If you or anyone you know has been sued for foreclosure please contact us here, or call us at 216-373-0539. To schedule an appointment with me visit calendly.com/mdann.

 Regulation F Changes the Game for Debt Collectors and Consumers 

 The CFPB has enacted new strict rules that govern the manner in which debt collectors may contact you by mail, email, text, telephone or social media. You can read about the new regs here. In addition, Credit Reporting Agencies will no longer report most medical debt. This should help consumers improve their credit score. If you believe a debt collector has made a misrepresentation to you or contacted you by phone, letter, text, or email at an inappropriate time you may be entitled to financial compensation. Please feel free to contact us to discuss your situation.

 Data Breach Cases

Multiple courts have selected DannLaw to serve as Class Counsel in data breach Cases. A data breach occurs when a company fails to properly safeguard its customers’ personal information. Our legal staff devotes considerable time and resources to pursuing and securing just compensation for the inconvenience, expense, and aggravation data breach victims endure.

I have a new perspective on that today. I’ve been ensnared in multiple data breaches. Someone obtained my personal information and “took over” my bank account. I’ve spent 20 hours sorting out payments, ACHs and was forced to visit my bank three times. I have a renewed passion to ensure that companies who allow breaches to occur are held accountable for their actions.  If you are notified that your information is at risk due to a breach, contact us immediately so we can take all available legal steps to secure just compensation for you and other data breach victims.