Birks v. Small Community Specialists

A Court authorized Notice because you had a right to know about the Settlement of this Action and about all of your options before the Court decided to give final approval to the Settlement. The Long-Form Notice explains the Action, the Settlement, and your legal rights.

Judge Brendan A. Hurson of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland is overseeing this case. The case is known as Birks v. Small Community Specialists, L.L.C., Case No. 8:23-cv-00837-BAH (D.Md.). The people who sued are called the “Plaintiffs.” Defendants are Small Community Specialists, L.L.C., Associations, Inc., and HOAM Ventures, Inc.

The Action claims that Defendants charged Maryland consumers convenience fees to make homeowners association and condominium associations dues and assessment payments through an online application called TownSq app. (“Convenience Fees”). The Action asserts that Defendants’ practice of charging such fees, among other things, violated the Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act and the Maryland Consumer Protection Act.

The Complaint in this Action is posted here and contains all of the allegations and claims asserted against Defendants.

Defendants deny each and every allegation of unlawful conduct, any wrongdoing, and any liability whatsoever. No court or other entity has made any judgment or other determination of any liability. Defendants further deny that any Settlement Class Member is entitled to any relief and, other than for settlement purposes, that the Action is appropriate for certification as a class action.

In a class action, one or more people, called Class Representatives (in this one, homeowners who paid their dues through the TownSq App), sued on behalf of people who have similar claims.

All of the people who have claims similar to the Class Representatives are members of the Settlement Class, except for those who excluded themselves from the class.

The Court has determined that every person who fits the following description is a Settlement Class Member:

All Maryland consumers who paid a fee to Defendants for making a homeowners association or condominium association dues or assessment payment using the TownSq app between February 14, 2020 and July 3, 2024.

Plaintiffs have made claims against Defendants. Defendants deny that they have done anything wrong and admit no liability. The Court has not decided that the Plaintiffs or Defendants should win the Action. Instead, both sides agreed to a Settlement Agreement. That way, they avoid the cost of a trial, and the Settlement Class Members will receive relief now rather than years from now, if at all.

The complete terms of the approved Settlement are set forth in a formal Settlement Agreement (the “Agreement”), which is on file with the Court and also available here.

In the approved Settlement, Defendants have agreed to create a $600,000.00 settlement fund. All Settlement Administrative Costs, any Court-awarded attorneys’ fees and expenses to Class Counsel, and any Service Awards to the Class Representatives will be paid out of the Gross Settlement Fund first. The remaining balance of the Settlement Fund (the “Net Settlement Fund”) will be distributed among the Class Representatives and all Settlement Class Members who are not excluded from the Settlement Class, as set forth below.

Also, as part of the Settlement, Defendants have agreed to (1) ensure that all entities owned by Defendants that communicate directly with Maryland consumers regarding payment of their homeowner’s association and condominium associations fees and assessments are licensed under the Maryland Collection Agency Licensing Act, and (2) send notices twice per year for three years after the settlement is finally approved by the Court to Maryland homeowner’s association and condominium association members who reside in communities that offer the TownSq application, informing them of available free payment methods for making payments as an alternative to using the TownSq application.

Allocations of the Net Settlement Fund will be calculated on a person-by-person basis, such that each Settlement Class Member who paid at least one convenience fee will receive a minimum payment of $2.95 and the remaining funds will be distributed on a pro rata basis based on the amount of convenience fees each Settlement Class Member paid during the Settlement Class Period. Settlement Class Members who receive a Settlement Payment are solely responsible for distributing or allocating their payment between or among all co-account holders. By way of illustration, if you are a consumer who paid 1% of the total convenience fees collected by Defendants during the Settlement Class Period, you will be allocated 1% of the remaining Net Settlement Fund after each Settlement Class Member receives his or her initial $2.95 minimum payment.

The Court awarded attorneys’ fees and costs in an amount of 40% percent of the Settlement Fund, or $240,000.00. The Court approved Service Awards to the Class Representatives in the amount of $5,000.00 each. The Fee and Service Award Application, Final Approval Order, and all supporting papers are available for your review on the Important Documents page of this Settlement Website.

You are not required to make any payments to Class Counsel in this action.

As long as you did not exclude yourself from the Settlement, you will automatically receive cash benefits from the Settlement and do not need to take further action.

Payments will be made by check mailed to Settlement Class Members or, at the Settlement Class Member’s election, by a digital method, if selected by December 10, 2024. Checks will be valid for 60 days. Settlement Class Members may request that the Settlement Administrator reissue a check for one additional 60-day period for good cause shown. If there is any amount in the Settlement Fund that remains following the distribution of checks to Settlement Class Members as a result of checks being returned as undeliverable or not being cashed within 60 days, those funds will be distributed on a pro rata basis to Settlement Class Members who cashed their checks or received electronic payments. Within 180 days after the Settlement Administrator mails the first Settlement Class Member Payments, the Settlement Administrator will decide whether additional funds should be distributed to the Settlement Class Members through a secondary distribution. If the amount of the remaining funds is so minimal that a secondary distribution would be impracticable or infeasible, then, subject to the Court’s approval, the remaining funds shall be distributed to the Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition.

The Court granted Final Approval of the Settlement on December 10, 2024.

If you remain in the Settlement Class (i.e., you did nothing and did not otherwise exclude yourself from the Settlement), you will automatically receive a payment and give up your right to bring your own lawsuit against Defendants about the claims in this case.

Payments sent January 9, 2025, by mail or digital payment, if elected. Digital Payment elections must have been made by December 10, 2024. If no digital payment was elected, a paper check was issued. Please understand that digital payment elections are no longer being accepted. The deadline to request a reissue of the initial payment is May 27, 2025.

The Court appointed Bradley T. Canter of The Law Offices of Ronald S. Canter, LLC and Joshua I. Bienstock of Bienstock Law, LLC to represent you and other Settlement Class Members in this Action and for purposes of this Settlement, and for no other purpose. These attorneys are called “Class Counsel”. You will not be charged for these lawyers. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer in this case, you may hire one at your own expense.

You may contact Class Counsel at:

The Court awarded attorneys’ fees and costs in an amount of 40% percent of the Settlement Fund, or $240,000.00. The Court approved Service Awards to the Class Representatives in the amount of $5,000.00 each. The Fee and Service Award Application, Final Approval Order, and all supporting papers are available for your review on the Important Documents page of this Settlement Website.

Requests for exclusion must have been received by October 24, 2024. Exclusion requests are no longer accepted.

No. Unless you excluded yourself, you gave up the right to sue Defendants for the claims that the Settlement resolves. You must have excluded yourself from the Settlement Class in order to pursue your own lawsuit.

No. You will not receive a payment if you excluded yourself from the Settlement.

Objections to the Settlement must have been received by October 24, 2024. Objections are no longer accepted.

The Court granted Final Approval of the Settlement on December 10, 2024. The Settlement is legally binding on all Settlement Class Members, including Settlement Class Members who objected. If you or someone acting on your behalf are currently litigating claims against Defendants or other Released Entities that are the same as or similar to those addressed here, you will be barred from pursuing the claims released by the Settlement unless you validly opted out. Under the terms of the release, you will not be able to sue for any claim relating to Convenience Fees for payments made through the TownSq app between February 14, 2020 and July 3, 2024.

The full terms of the release, which will bind all Settlement Class Members as to certain claims against Defendant and certain affiliates and related entities (“Released Entities”), are set forth in the Settlement Agreement, which is on file with the Court and available here. Unless you excluded yourself, you will be a Settlement Class Member, which means that any claims you have regarding convenience fees you paid to Defendants will be fully and completely resolved, and that you cannot sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against Defendants about Defendants’ collection of Convenience Fees. It also means that the Court’s Orders approving the Settlement and the judgment in this case will apply to you and legally bind you.

If you wanted to keep the right to sue or continue to sue Defendants, on your own, about Defendants’ collection of Convenience Fees, you must have excluded yourself from the Settlement in this case. If you excluded yourself, as set forth above, you will not receive any of the benefits of the Settlement, as described above.

The Court held a Final Fairness Hearing on December 10, 2024, and granted Final Approval of the Settlement.

If you remain in the Settlement Class (i.e., you did nothing and did not otherwise exclude yourself from the Settlement), you will automatically receive a payment and give up your right to bring your own lawsuit against Defendants about the claims in this case.

Payments were sent on January 9, 2025, by mail or digital payment, if elected. Digital payment elections must have been made by December 10, 2024. If no digital payment was elected, a paper check was issued. Please understand that digital payment elections are no longer being accepted.

If you received an email from noreply@epiqpay.com, you were determined to be eligible for a payment in the Settlement. By default, individuals eligible for payments will receive a prepayment notification email a few days before they receive an email containing a link to claim their payment.  If you claim a payment, you will also receive one or more follow-up emails from our payment partner, Tremendous, confirming the progress of your payment. Upon making your selection the payment portal will inform you when you should expect to receive your payment confirmation email from Tremendous. You should rely on the follow-up email you receive from Tremendous to inform you of the timing of your payment. If you do not immediately claim your payment, you may also receive one or more reminder emails.

If you have any questions about the EpiqPay email you received, please send your full name and current email address to info@HOAConvenienceFeeSettlement.com so we can look up your file. If a tracking number was listed at the bottom of your EpiqPay emails, please provide that to us, as well.

EpiqPay is the official digital payment platform for Epiq Class Action & Claims Solutions, Inc. EpiqPay offers individuals who are eligible to receive payments in mass actions an easy, convenient, fast, and secure way to claim their payments. General information about EpiqPay is available at

https://www.epiqglobal.com/en-us/technologies/class-action-and-mass-tort-technologies/epiqpay

Claiming your EpiqPay payment is simple and easy. All EpiqPay payment and reminder emails contain a "Claim Payment" link. As long as you click the "Claim Payment" link before the payment expiry date listed in your email, the link will take you to a payment dashboard where you can choose your preferred method of payment. Then, click your preferred payment method. Depending on the method of payment you choose, you may be asked to confirm your selection or provide one or two pieces of information so your payment can be processed. After that, you will receive a small number of interim notifications from our payment partner at rewards@tremendous.com letting you know your payment is "in process" and, eventually, you will receive a link to your payment card information, if you chose that as your option. Contact information for our payment partner is available on these notifications in case you experience any issues using your card.

Emails regarding digital payments for this matter commenced on January 9, 2025, and digital payments will be available to claim through March 10, 2025. During that window, Epiq digital payment emails were or will be sent from noreply@Epiqpay.com, so please review your inbox for messages from that email address. Due to variability in individual recipient email account SPAM and junk security settings, users are encouraged to review their junk and SPAM folders in case the digital payment emails went to those locations.

No. Once a user selects their preferred payment option, it typically takes 2-5 business days for the value of the award to reach end user cards or accounts. Upon making your selection, you will start to receive a series of emails from EpiqPay and our digital payment partners that will keep you apprised of the progress of your payment.