Important Update: Settlement checks were mailed to eligible claimants on September 24, 2019.
What is this lawsuit about?
This lawsuit alleges that Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company may be liable for: (1) alleged prerecorded robocalls that an auto insurance lead generation company called Variable Marketing, LLC made and transferred to Nationwide Agents asking recipients to "press 1" to receive auto insurance quotes ("Variable Calls") (2) alleged prerecorded robocalls that an auto and homeowners' insurance lead generation company called MediaAlpha transferred (either the telephone call and/or Lead Information derived from the telephone call) to Nationwide ("MediaAlpha Calls"); and (3) telephone calls Nationwide and/or its alleged vendors made to persons registered on Nationwide's Internal Do Not Call Registry for more than 31 days ("Nationwide IDNC Calls").
Nationwide has denied all liability or responsibility for these calls, and alleges that it did not make or authorize them. The Court did not decide in favor of the Representative Plaintiffs or Nationwide. Both sides agreed to a settlement instead of going to trial. The Settlement avoids the further cost and risk associated with continuing the lawsuits; pays money to recipients of the calls who are eligible Settlement Class Members; and releases Nationwide and the Released Parties from liability.
Who is included?
The Settlement provides relief for all Settlement Class Members, who are described as:
MediaAlpha Settlement Class: All persons within the United States who received a telephone call advertising Nationwide’s homeowners or automotive insurance products, whose telephone call or Lead Information was transferred by MediaAlpha to Nationwide during the Class Period. This class includes Plaintiff Ken Johansen, Rita Johansen and the approximately 427,123 MediaAlpha Settlement Class Members identified in MediaAlpha’s business records.
Nationwide IDNC Settlement Class: All persons within the United States who (a) received more than one telephone solicitation within any 12-month period falling within the Class Period (b) on their phone number that had been registered on the Nationwide Internal Do Not Call Registry for more than 31 days, (c) the purpose of which was to advertise Nationwide’s automotive or homeowners’ insurance products. This class includes Plaintiffs Ken Johansen, Rita Johansen, Alvina Haile-Recio, and the 239 Nationwide IDNC Settlement Class Members Nationwide identified in its business records.
Variable Settlement Class: All persons within the United States who received a telephone call from Variable Marketing, whose telephone call or Lead Information was transferred to a Nationwide Agent during the Class Period. This class includes Plaintiffs Diane Rice-Redding and Ricky Coleman and the approximately 16,949 individuals identified through the Variable lead database.