Equity Residential Class Action Settlement Massachusetts Only
Class Eligibility
You are a member of the class if you received a SODA from Equity that listed charges against your security deposit for physical damage to the apartment and that was not signed under the pains and penalties of perjury, and if you did not receive your entire security deposit back from Equity within 30 days of when your tenancy ended or when you vacated the apartment.
Estimated Amount
Varies
If you are a member of the Class and you file a valid and timely claim, you are eligible to receive a payment from the Settlement Fund. This payment is intended to compensate you for damages in connection with the security deposit you gave to Equity in connection with your tenancy at an Equity apartment, but the amount you receive may not necessarily be the same as the amount of your security deposit; it may be less than the amount of your security deposit, or it may be more, depending on certain factors and subject to certain limitations, as described below.
The amount of the payment that you receive will depend on how many eligible claims are filed and approved, the value of those claims, and the amount in the Net Settlement Fund available for payment of claims. The term Net Settlement Fund refers to the balance remaining in the Settlement Fund after payment of the costs of notice and administration, class counsel attorneys’ fees and expenses, and an incentive award to the Plaintiff. Individual claims will be capped at a maximum of $3,000 per claimant, regardless of the number of separate claims made by co-tenants or co-occupants of that apartment.
Proof of Purchase
Yes
Case Name
Scott Phillips v. Equity Residential Management LLC, Case No. 13-12092-RWZ
District Court for the District of Massachusetts
Case Summary
The lawsuit claims that Equity violated the Massachusetts Security Deposit Law, Mass. Gen. Laws, c. 186 §, 15B, based on allegations that Equity provided statements of deposit (“SODAs”) to former tenants that listed charges taken against the tenants’ security deposits but that were not signed under the pains and penalties of perjury; that Equity’s SODAs did not adequately describe the damages to the apartment units for which charges were assessed; and that Equity improperly charged tenants’ security deposits for cleaning charges. Equity denies that it did anything wrong.
Settlement Pool
$908,000
Settlement Website
Deadline
05/29/2018
