Primary plaintiff Rainbow Business Solutions filed the Northern Leasing credit card equipment fees class action lawsuit in 2010. Nine other primary plaintiffs eventually joined the class action lawsuit that alleged the defendants collaborated to charge fraudulent fees and property taxes in connection with the leasing of processing services and credit card equipment.
According to class counsel, the lead plaintiffs asserted that Northern Leasing and seven other defendants helped a few Independent Sales Organizations (ISO) convince several retailers to enter into equipment leases by using illegal sales tactics. The ISOs allegedly presented leases that appeared one page long. However, the defendants allegedly concealed two additional pages the retailers did not see when agreeing to the terms of the lease. The hidden pages included incredibly high monthly lease fees, which the ISOs earned as commissions income. Class counsel reported the primary plaintiffs accused the ISOs of implementing abusive tactics in the attempt to recover non-payment of the hidden fees.
Several attempts at mediation and negotiations took several years before both parties agreed to the class action settlement, which a judge preliminarily approved in August of 2017. Terms of the class action settlement require Northern Leasing and the other defendants to compensate eligible class members for the contested fees and taxes. As of September 28, 20017, the class action settlement claims administer has not set an amount for the class action settlement fund.
What You Need To Know About The Northern Leasing Credit Card Equipment Fees Class Action Lawsuit
Eligible class members of the Northern Leasing class action settlement include “all persons and businesses who since March 26, 2006 paid property taxes to any of the Leasing Defendants based on a cost greater than the equipment cost. The Leasing Defendants are Northern Leasing Systems Inc., MBF Leasing LLC, Northern Funding LLC, Jay Cohen, Leonard Mezei, Sara Krieger, Sam Buono, and SKS Associates LLC.” Class members have until October 3, 2017 to opt out of the class action settlement or dispute any provision of the agreement. No proof of purchase is required in addition to what the claim form requires eligible class members to complete.
Qualifying class members must submit a valid claim form by December 29, 2017. The judge presiding over the class action settlement case Rainbow Business Solutions Inc., et al. v. Merchant Services Inc., et al., Case No. 10-CV-01993 CW, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has scheduled the final hearing on November 28, 2017. To learn what transpired at the final hearing, visit the class action settlement website www.NorthernLeasingSettlement.com. The class action settlement website also presents the list of attorneys who represent the class and defense counsels, as well as frequent updates concerning the amount of the potential award.
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