FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The Court has preliminarily certified a class action for settlement purposes only. You are a Settlement Class Member who is eligible to receive a settlement payment if you were called on your cell phone by Powell Electric, or you called Powell Electric at 800-660-8076 or 310-836-8076 from your cell phone, between May 14, 2019, and May 14, 2020, the call was recorded while you were in California, and you did not consent to have the call with Powell Electric audio recorded.

Excluded from the Settlement Class are: (i) the Judge to whom the Action is assigned; (ii) any members of the Judge’s staff or immediate family; (iii) Defendant; (iv) Defendant’s officers, directors, assigns, employees, independent contractors, attorneys, and legal representatives; and (v) all persons who file a timely and proper request to be excluded from the Settlement Class.

A list of telephone numbers used by Powell Electric to place calls on a recorded line during the Class Period that are the subject of this Settlement (“Outgoing Telephone Numbers”) is found below:

If you have questions about whether you are a Settlement Class Member, or are still not sure whether you are included, you can call 1-833-514-0013 for more information.

Powell Electric has agreed to pay a total settlement amount of $1,900,000.00, to create a Common Fund to pay cash compensation to Settlement Class Members without the need to submit a claim form, pay Class Counsel’s attorneys’ fees and litigation costs, pay a service award to the Class Representative, and pay costs and expenses of settlement administration, as approved by the Court. Defendant also agrees to change its call recording practices advising all parties at the outset of each recorded call that the call may be monitored or recorded.

The Common Fund will be used to pay a settlement check to each of the approximately 6,906 Settlement Class Members whose name and address are known or identified through reasonable efforts. Each Settlement Class Member will be sent a check in the amount of at least $178.00 as a cash payment. The actual amount of the Settlement Class Members’ settlement check depends on how much the Court awards for attorneys’ fees and litigation costs, a service award to the Class Representative, and notice and settlement administration expenses.

Here, from the Common Fund, Class Counsel will seek up to $570,000.00 as payment for attorneys’ fees (i.e., 30% of the Common Fund); up to $25,000.00 in litigation costs; up to $4,000.00 as a service award to the Class Representative for her efforts in bringing this lawsuit and representing the interests of the Settlement Class Members; and notice and settlement administration expenses estimated to be $70,437.00.

If ordered by the Court, any remaining amount from uncashed Settlement checks may be redistributed in further distributions to Settlement Class Members who cashed their Settlement check. However, if a further distribution would be administratively infeasible (e.g., less than $1 per qualifying Claimant), the remaining amount will instead be provided to one or more charitable organizations as a Cy Pres award. Plaintiff proposes that any Cy Pres award go to the National Consumer Law Center. Defendant does not oppose this recommendation.

If you are a Settlement Class Member, unless you exclude yourself, you will be bound by the terms of the release of claims in Settlement Agreement. This means that, if the Settlement is finally approved, you cannot sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against Powell Electric or anyone else having to do with the audio recording of cellular telephone calls by Powell Electric between May 14, 2019, and May 14, 2020, inclusive, and all of the decisions and judgments by the Court will bind you.

CIPA, Cal. Pen. Code § 632.7, provides for damages of $5,000.00 for any individual whose call(s) on a cordless or cell phone is intentionally recorded without that individual’s knowledge or consent. Powell Electric has denied that it made any illegal recordings of calls to or from any cell phones or did not advise call recipients that the calls may be recorded and has asserted several defenses to the lawsuit. CIPA does not provide for a recovery of attorneys’ fees to a prevailing individual plaintiff. This Settlement permits Settlement Class Members the opportunity to obtain a smaller amount of money, risk-free, as a compromise.

If you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement, you will be unable to file your own lawsuit regarding the claims described in this Notice, and you will release Powell Electric from any liability for the Released Claims defined in Section 14 of the Settlement Agreement.

Remaining in the Settlement Class means that you, as well as anyone claiming through you, such as heirs, successors, and assigns, relinquish and discharge each and all of the Released Parties from each of the Released Claims (as defined below).

Released Claims. Following entry of the Final Approval Order and Judgment, and upon receipt by the Settlement Administrator of all funds from Defendant that are required to be paid under the Settlement, Class Representative and each Settlement Class Member, on behalf of themselves and their respective heirs, assigns, successors, executors, representatives, guardians, parents, attorneys, agents, and all other persons who are now or may hereafter become entitled to assert claims derived from or on behalf of Class Representative and each Settlement Class Member (collectively, the “Releasing Persons”), shall be deemed to have, and by operation of the Final Judgment shall have, fully, finally, irrevocably, and forever released Defendant and each of its respective officers, directors, agents, employees, partners, vendors, suppliers, shareholders, representatives, predecessors, successors and insurers (including but not limited to Travelers Indemnity Company of Connecticut), or anyone acting on its behalf (collectively, the “Released Parties”), from any and all liabilities, claims, causes of action, suits, debts, judgments, damages, punitive damages, penalties, costs, attorneys’ fees, losses, claims, or demands, whether known or unknown, accrued or unaccrued, existing or potential, suspected or unsuspected, that (1) are alleged in the operative First Amended Complaint, or (2) arise out of facts asserted in the operative First Amended Complaint, including any and all claims relating to Defendant’s practices of audio recording cellular telephone conversations allegedly without the consent of the Class Representative and Settlement Class Members throughout California as it concerns the Defendant’s Telephone Numbers as well as Defendant’s outgoing telephone calls, inclusive of Defendant’s alleged violations of California’s Invasion of Privacy Act (“CIPA”), California Penal Code § 632.7, and any comparable common law or any federal or state statutory law that may give rise to claims for the recording of calls without consent, or (3) arise out of the institution, prosecution, assertion, defense, or settlement of the Action (hereafter, the “Released Claims”).

The Settlement Agreement (available under Case Documents) provides more detail regarding the release and describes the Released Claims with specific descriptions in necessary, accurate legal terminology, so read it carefully. You can talk to the law firm representing the Class listed in Question 9 below for free, or you can, at your own expense, talk to your own lawyer if you have any questions about the Released Parties or the Released Claims or what they mean.

The release does not apply to Settlement Class Members who timely opt-out of the Settlement.

To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you must deliver or send a letter by mail to the Settlement Administrator saying that you want to be excluded from the settlement in Jennifer Goodwin v. K M P Enterprises d/b/a Powell Electric, Case No. 20STCV18428. Be sure to include your full name, address, and the cell phone number(s) that you used to call Powell Electric or the cell phone number(s) at which you received a call from Powell Electric during the Class Period. You must also include a statement that you wish to be excluded from the Settlement and personally sign the statement. You must mail your exclusion request postmarked no later than November 22, 2023, to:

If you ask to be excluded, you will not get any cash payment from the Settlement, and you cannot object to the Settlement. You will not be legally bound by anything that happens in this lawsuit. You may be able to sue (or continue to sue) Powell Electric in the future for the Released Claims. Although no other person may exclude you from the Settlement Class, nothing prohibits you from obtaining the assistance of another, such as a lawyer or family member, in preparing or submitting any individual exclusion.

Class Counsel will ask the Court to approve payment to compensate them for attorneys’ fees for investigating the facts, litigating the case, and negotiating the Settlement, plus costs. Class Counsel will also request an award to the Class Representative as compensation for her time and effort in representing the Settlement Class Members. These payments, along with the costs of administering the Settlement, will be made out of the Common Fund (as described in Section 5 above) and as may be approved by the Court.

You can tell the Court that you do not agree with the Settlement or some part of it.

If you are a Settlement Class Member and do not exclude yourself, you can object to the Settlement, or any part of the Settlement, for example, if you do not think the Settlement is fair. You can state reasons why you think the Court should not approve Settlement. The Court will consider your views. To object, you must mail a written statement saying that you object to the proposed Settlement in Jennifer Goodwin v. K M P Enterprises d/b/a Powell Electric, Case No. 20STCV18428. Be sure to include (a) your full name, address, and telephone number, and, if you are represented by counsel, the name of your counsel; (b) proof of your membership in the Class in the form of a statement made under penalty of perjury; (c) a statement of each objection; (d) if represented by counsel, a written brief detailing the specific reasons, if any, for each objection, including any legal and factual support you wish to bring to the Court’s attention and any evidence you wish to introduce in support of your objection(s); and (e) a statement of whether you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing, either with or without counsel. All objections shall identify any lawyer that represents you as to your objection and provide that lawyer’s address and telephone number, but you do not have to have a lawyer. Any documents that you wish for the Court to consider must also be attached to the objection, and your objection should be mailed to the Settlement Administrator.

Your objection to the Settlement must be postmarked no later than November 22, 2023.

The objection must be mailed to:

You may speak at the Final Approval Hearing, but you are not required to appear at the Final Approval Hearing. The Court will permit any Settlement Class Member and their attorneys to appear and speak at the Final Approval Hearing even if the Settlement Class Member has not submitted a written objection.

Effective April 4, 2022, face masks are strongly recommended inside the Courthouse. Visit www.lacourt.org for any updates on the Court’s social distancing procedures. The General Information telephone number for the Courthouse is: (213) 310-7000.

If you do nothing, and are a Settlement Class Member, you will receive a cash payment in the form of a check after the Court finally approves the Settlement and any appeals are resolved, if your name and address are known to the Settlement Administrator and your cell phone number matches Defendant’s records. You may update or provide your name and address to the Settlement Administrator via the online portal. If you received a Notice by mail or via email, Powell Electric’s records suggest that you are likely a Settlement Class Member. Unless you exclude yourself, you will not be able to start a lawsuit, continue with a lawsuit, or be part of any other lawsuit against Powell Electric or any other person having to do with the legal issues in this case.

This Notice summarizes the proposed Settlement. More details are provided in the Settlement Agreement. You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreement by calling the Administrator toll-free at 1-833-514-0013; writing to Goodwin v. KMP Enterprises d/b/a Powell Electric, c/o Simpluris, Inc., PO Box 25203, Santa Ana, CA 92799 or view the Case Documents on this website where you will also find answers to common questions about the Settlement and other information to help you determine whether you are a Settlement Class Member and whether you are eligible for a cash payment, as well as a sample Exclusion Form.

Additionally, you may view the Registrar of Actions in this case via www.lacourt.org/casesummary/ui/, and you may obtain Court records (for a fee) by visiting the office of the Clerk of the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, located at 312 North Spring Street, CA 90012, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Court holidays. Appointments are strongly encouraged for Clerk’s office services.